Fishing Report

Partly sunny, with a high near 45. Southeast wind 5 to 8 mph.
Shop will be closed this week until Saturday. Online and pickup orders only. You can place an online order and mark it as “in store pickup” or email us any orders.
Creeks are very low and clear. There is some snow on the ground that will start melting today and tomorrow. It isn’t enough to really muddy things up, but it will drop water temperatures.
Mid week and going into the weekend, the weather looks quite nice. Fishing is still decent, with water temperatures in the low 40s. It has not really taken off yet, as we need a bit warmer water, or a brief spike in water temperature to get the bugs going.

Increasing clouds, with a high near 45. Southwest wind 7 to 10 mph.
Another unseasonably warm day today. Creeks are very low and clear with temperatures in the low 40s. Fishing remains difficult due to the slow flows and crystal clear water.
Tonight we are forecasted to get some much needed snow. Our creeks are still in drought condition and the recent warm and dry spell have not helped that at all!
The weather turns colder again (highs in the high 20s) after today, so until Sunday or Monday we do not recommend traveling far to fish!

Sunny, with a high near 40. Northwest wind 8 to 14 mph.
Creeks are VERY low and clear with temperatures in the low 40s. Banks are free of all snow, the ground is dry.
Fish are incredibly spooky with the bright sun and low water. We really need some precipitation. I had read that Nashville has had more snow this winter than Minneapolis!
Trout will rise mid day to midges and winter stones, and we have even seen some blue winged olives already too. Subsurface fishing is easier as trout are less spooky below the surface. Focus on scuds and pink squirrels below the riffles in the shin to thigh deep water that has some current.

Creeks are clear to stained and a bit low. Temperatures are in the high 30s to low 40s for the next few days.

The weather is excellent to be outside in! The fishing remains just ok. The slow melting keeps water temperatures pretty stable,and in the winter we really need a pop in temperatures to kick start the hatch and trout activity. It isn’t terrible out there, but we are finding an hour to an hour and a half of solid fishing right now (approximately mid day).

The shop will be open on Saturday, 7 days a week starts early in March!

Remember to email us with any questions as we are not always in the shop to answer voicemails.

Patchy dense fog before 9am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a high near 38. Southwest wind 9 to 11 mph.
It’s still winter out there. While it is great to be outside instead of cooped up inside, don’t expect fantastic fishing. You will run into a fish or two, and maybe chance into a midge hatch.
Water temperatures are quite favorable for this time of year, the problem we run into is that a very slow melt is happening all day and sometimes through the night. This keeps the water temps from rising quickly and triggering bug and trout activity. The window of fishing opportunity is between 11 and 1 right now.

Shop is open Saturdays during the winter from 10-2. Always open online!

cloudy, with a high near 36. Light northwest wind increasing to 5 to 9 mph in the morning.
The unseasonably mild weather continues through next week. Thankfully the melting has been very slow, not warm enough to go crazy, and the rains have been light drizzle and haven’t flooded anything.
Creeks are clear to slightly stained with water temps peaking at about 40 degrees. Much of our snow and ice has melted making fishing accessible (still a pain to walk in the snow stream side, but there is not a ton of it). BE CAREFUL PARKING YOUR VEHICLE! There are shoulders that are free of snow, but please make sure you are able to pull your car off the road entirely and pull your mirror in as a courtesy please.
Midges and winter stoneflies are hatching mid day in smaller numbers, but we have seen some fish rising recently. Subsurface fishing leeches dead drift, or scuds and midges fished below riffles into the deeper pools have been effective. Remember this is winter fishing, not always the best catch rate, but it is really nice to be outside right now!

Rain, mainly after 1pm. Patchy fog. High near 35. Calm wind becoming southeast around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.
First off, the fishing will be decent for wintertime. This is not the time of year to expect crazy good fishing, but it is nice to be outdoors, and you might be surprised by a midge hatch or a pod of happy fish.
Water temps are right around 40, creeks are clear to slightly stained as the melting has been slow so far. The rains today should not be too terrible for clarity and temperature overall. When you are fishing watch water temps! With all this mini melting going on, temperatures can drop quickly, and once that happens fishing tends to shut down.
There are midges hatching mid day, and some trout rising to them. Most of our success has been on larger scuds or leeched dead drifted at the tail and head of the pools.

A slight chance of rain, snow, and freezing rain before 1pm, then a slight chance of snow between 1pm and 2pm. Patchy fog before 4pm. Otherwise, cloudy, with a high near 32. East wind 3 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
With the slightly warmer weather, creeks are freeing up. We saw a pretty significant increase of non iced up water yesterday and with the warmer temperatures and slow melt we should see more today and through the rest of the week.
If you just need to get outside, by all means do so! This is an excellent cabin fever elimination week. Get out there and enjoy some unseasonably warm winter weather!
If you are laser focused on fishing, the week will be dicey. Yes there is fishable water, and a few fish are being caught, but things are weird.
First, the ice is still covering quite a bit of our water. You can spend some time in the car finding open water, but some of your usual spots are probably still locked up.
Second, the melting is causing the water temperature to drop quickly in the day. Overnight temps are barely below freezing. This means a trickle of snowmelt is hitting the creeks early and lasting all day long. Ideally you want things to refreeze in the evening and slowly melt in the afternoon.
Third, the forecasted rain later this week. So far it is only supposed to mist/drizzle, but if it gets any heavier it could mess up the creeks a bit clarity and temperature wise.

We will keep you posted on how things look throughout the week. If the rains do not hit hard things will be good later on in the week. Again, do not expect lights out fishing, but focus on enjoying some time outside and hope for a pleasant surprise!

Looking at creeks today, a rough estimate would be about 80% of our creeks are still frozen with little fishable water. With the warmer temperatures next week we should see them free up in a day or two. There is definitely fishable water out there right now, and will be more later in the week after a slow melt. The bottom line is fishing might be pretty mediocre this coming week, but getting outside and enjoying some milder winter weather after this cold snap will be good for the soul!

Shop will be open all week from 8;30 to noon

Increasing clouds and cold, with a high near 5. Wind chill values as low as -19. Northwest wind 8 to 11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Today and through the weekend will be COLD. Not at all worth heading out there.
We get an extreme swing of temperatures early next week with Monday’s high being around 32 degrees. Through later in the week the temperatures will touch the mid 30s. These are favorable conditions for winter fly fishing in the Driftless. BUT, keep in mind that the window of good fishing in the winter is short (roughly 9am to 3 pm). You want to fish a rising water temperature. Let the sun hit the water and warm the streambed up then start fishing late morning. Once the water temperature drops (sun changes angle, or snowmelt starts to hit the creeks) fishing shuts down quickly. Use your thermometer.

Starting Monday, Mat will be at the shop each morning all week from 8:30 to Noon. It’s winter time, and the unusual hours are because of the good temperatures. He will be in the mood to make some deals and clear out last years inventory for those of you who show up!