Fishing Report

Mostly sunny, with a high near 35. North wind 6 to 10 mph.
Midge hatches have been really fun lately. The only problem is that they are not area wide, you have to find the hatching swarms to find the fish. Don’t get too attached to one or two spots, a little extra walking could help you find the pods of happy fish in the winter!
Small, dark and heavy is what you should be fishing subsurface. Things like spanish bullets, perdigons, and zebra midges. When the hatch comes off, fishing simple single bodied adult midges (clusters don’t seem to work as well).
As always, slow twitching a leech or streamer in the runs below the riffles can produce some larger fish right now too.

Mostly sunny, with a high near 46. Breezy, with a west wind 13 to 22 mph, with gusts as high as 40 mph.
Gorgeous day out there, except for the winds!
Creeks are low and clear (normal winter flows) with temperatures in the higher 30s. Expect things to start fishing early as the sun is shining today. Unfortunately the sunny and warm weather is a double edged sword. It will get things going quickly and you will feel comfortable as an angler, but it will also cause snowmelt to get into the creeks sooner. While it shouldn’t muddy anything up, the ice cold water hitting the creeks will shut fishing down. Watch your temperatures, once the water starts to cool down so does the fishing.
Dark and thin bodied patterns will be effective today all day long. While flies may hatch, expect the best dry action to be in the spots sheltered from the winds. If the gusts become too overwhelming, tie on a leech or smaller streamer.

Cloudy, with a high near 34. West wind around 8 mph.
Creeks are winter low and clear with temperatures in the mid to high 30s. Things have been pretty good for the winter the past few days, and today it will be comfortable to be out on the creeks. Fishing will be best between 10 and 2. If you want to chase rising fish, there is a chance to see them mid day today eating midges. Otherwise roll small and dark tungsten bead heads on the bottom or slowly twitch leeches through the holes. Sunday will be much warmer, but we run the risk of snowmelt dropping water temperatures in the early afternoon. Watch that thermometer, you want to be fishing rising water temperatures for the best fishing.

NOTE: Please do not handle trout with gloves on! It might take a while longer to warm your hands up, but gloved hands take a ton of protective slime off of a fish. Also, if it is around freezing air temperature, try to not take trout out of the water. Gills freeze easily!

A 20 percent chance of snow. Cloudy, with a high near 31. South wind around 6 mph.
Creeks are clear and flowing a touch low. Fishing has been good (for the winter) between 9 and 3. Watch for snowmelt Sunday. Once the water temperature drops, fishing will shut off. It is a good idea to carry a thermometer with you.
Fish are eating small dark patterns early in the day. Perdigons, black copper johns, spanish bullets etc are very effective. Mid day if the midges are hatching, fishing a smaller (18/20) single body midge or emerger will get fish on the surface. After the hatch we like to switch to a thicker bodied nymph or scud. Purple Drank, coulee scuds, pink squirrels etc. Leeches and streamers are effective all day as long as your do not move them too quickly!

Scattered flurries between noon and 2pm. Cloudy, with a high near 26. Calm wind.
While it is quite cold out, the fishing can still be good mid day. You just have to be ambitious to be out there!
Leeches and small, dark, heavy nymphs are key. There are still a few midges hatching, but the hatch is small, expect more when air temperatures climb over freezing.

Areas of snow and freezing drizzle before 11am. Cloudy, with a high near 31. Calm wind becoming northwest around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. Little or no snow accumulation expected.
While still seeming warmer than average, it isn’t all that pleasant out there right now for humans.
Creeks are low and clear with temperatures in the high 30s. We have been getting daily midge hatches and seeing fish rise.
Fishing small nymphs in the runs, and leeches or smaller streamers in the deeper runs and pools is effective right now. We’re eyeballing mid to high 30s coming up this weekend, that could be a green light for comfortable weather and great fishing!

Cloudy, with a high near 32. West wind 3 to 7 mph.

The weather has held up nicely the past few days. Yes it is still winter, but it isn’t freeze your fingers off winter! Water temps are in the high 30s and midges have been hatching daily. We get a cool down Tuesday-Thursday but temperatures rebound into the 30s for the weekend!

Remember to fish rising water temperature! The productive time of day is from around 9-3. Before and after that things are too chilly and the fish slow down quite a bit. Look for midge hatches mid day. Otherwise fish nymphs deep and fish leeches slowly in the runs below riffle.

Snow, mainly before 4pm. Patchy fog. High near 34. Northeast wind 5 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. Total daytime snow accumulation of less than one inch possible.
It is still winter. There is about 4-5 inches of snow on the ground so getting around is a bit more work than normal. However if you need to get out and fish, it has been quite fun with the warmer temperatures the past couple of days. We had many customers come in and say they say midges for a couple hours yesterday mid day! The cloudy and overcast but warm-is weather means we should see the same over the next few days.
If rising fish are not your thing, then fish deep with thin bodied flies that have heavy tungsten beads on them. Fish these flies right below the riffles and into the runs.
Do not neglect leeches and streamers in the winter! Fish them a bit slower than normal and hang on, winter is one of the best times to catch a really large Driftless trout.

Snow, mainly before 4pm. High near 32. Southeast wind 3 to 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. Total daytime snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.
About 3 inches fell last night making morning travel a bit tricky and roadside parking difficult. The forecast changed for Friday now too calling for a bit more snow. Keep your eye on Saturday and Sunday, those are still looking like prime winter fishing days.
Despite the tricky weather, anglers have been having success on ice cream cones, zebra midges and two bit hookers subsurface. The midge hatch has been slow but a few risers are spotted each mid day.

Snow, mainly after 1pm. High near 31. South wind 11 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. Total daytime snow accumulation of less than one inch possible. 1-2 inches tonight.
Just a little bit more waiting, then fishing should really switch on starting tomorrow mid day! Temperatures will be perfect for mid day fishing, roughly from 10-2 as water temperatures warm and before snowmelt trickles in. Based on the forecast, the next few days are a green light for some good winter fishing! Shop will be open from 9-2 this week.