Fishing Report

The conservation congress is the way for our voices to be heard on potential changes to fishing and hunting in the state. Please make sure to vote online here:

https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/abou…

Two important questions to answer!

1) Do you favor changing the statewide general open season for trout and salmon in inland streams springs, and spring ponds to the first Saturday in April at 5 a.m. through October 15

Extending the trout season to the first Saturday in April instead of the traditional first Saturday in May will add a full month to the harvest season statewide. Your vote will help prevent “harvest anglers” from targeting and negatively impacting Trout Statewide and ahead of other species.

2) Do you favor having only one statewide county base regulation of 5 trout in total with no minimum size limit?

WI DNR would eliminate the yellow category ( 3 fish bag with an 8 inch size limit) statewide and make the green regulation the base for the entire state.

• Doing away with the yellow regulation would up the harvest on streams previously under that regulation and
• Take a tool out of the biologist’s toolbox, giving them one less option when managing the fishery.

Increasing clouds, with a high near 67. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph.
Creeks are low and clear with temperatures in the high 40s and low 50s.
Fishing has been solid despite the bright sunny weather. Things are clouding up the next couple of days thankfully.
We’re seeing olives mid day, and some midges and spring stoneflies as well. Caddis are not here, but are knocking on the door.
Subsurface fishing has been best on purple drank, thread frenchies, and scuds.

The perfect fish exists. A balance between brains and brawn, aggression and wariness, beauty and beast. A fish that will test your skills and patience as an angler and reward you with explosive takes, head shaking jumps and, if you are lucky enough, a photo of one of the most gorgeous fish out there. This fish is the golden dorado.

Despite their reputation as a savage predator, dorado are a very challenging species of fish to catch on the fly. Their evolutionary advantages, feeding behavior, and nomadic tendencies create a fish that can be difficult to catch, but will provide memories to last a lifetime.

We have been heading down to Argentina chasing dorado for quite a while now, and are obsessed. There is no better fish to chase on a fly rod!

Only a couple spots remain on our dorado experience. One week, two different lodges and two different experiences.

Email or call for more information!

Partly sunny, with a high near 58. West wind 9 to 14 mph.
Creeks are very low and clear and the trout are spooky! Water temperatures are right around 50 degrees,
The blue winged olive hatch has been good lately with many creeks getting a solid hatch mid day. WIth the sun and a slight bump in water temperatures we could see caddis anytime too.
Subsurface fishing has been good on leeches, scuds, and flashy dark colored nymphs.
Nothing major has changed lately conditions wise. The fish are still extremely spooky so approach the creeks with as much stealth and caution as you can! We are looking forward to the clouds in a couple of days to help anglers out a bit.

Mostly sunny through mid morning, then becoming cloudy, with a high near 57. Breezy, with a southwest wind 9 to 16 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.
Creeks remain very clear and low with temperatures hovering in the high 40s to 50 degrees area wide.
We have received a lot of phone calls this weekend about the rains in the area. We received little to no rain, and our soil is still so dry that everything that has fallen (including the foot of snow last week) soaked directly into the ground. Our creeks did not come up, nor did they get any kind of stain on them!
Fish are still incredibly spooky in the clear water. Focus on the riffles and broken water where the fish can not see as well. Nymphing during the day, then switching to olives when they are hatching, then switching back to nymphs and leeches after the hatch.
With the sunnier days ahead and some warmer temperatures, be on the lookout for the caddis to start hatching too!

Join us for a day of celebrating fly fishing in the Driftless. Cast the newest rods, check out some of the best fly lines for our area, talk fly fishing, enjoy the International Fly Fishing Film Festival on the big drive in screen in the evening.

Event starts in the afternoon with films showing at dusk.

Location: Starlite 14 Drive In Cinema Richland Center.

Tickets $15 Available in store, online, and at the event (if we are not sold out!)

Tent and Car camping will be available for $15 on site

Winston Fly Rods
Scott Fly Rods
Orvis Fly Fishing
Bauer Reels
Scientific Anglers
St. Croix Fly Fishing
Simms
Sage
Redington
Rio
Hatch Reels
Galvan Reels
and more……

Food by:
Dave’s Pizza (The pizza trailer will be there!)
Driftless Women on the Fly

Sunny, with a high near 53. Southeast wind 5 to 14 mph.
Creeks remain very clear and low with temperatures in the high 40s to 50 degrees.
Watch for blue winged olive mayflies to hatch right around mid day.
Overall fishing has been picking up the past few days. Our trout are getting more comfortable as spring settles in and are feeding with much more predictability. Nymphs and dead drifted leeches in the morning, then watching for rising fish (mostly olives, some midges and we have started to see a few caddis) mid day. The hatches can last until evening, but if they fade, switching back to the nymphs and leeches works well!

Mostly sunny, with a high near 48. North wind 5 to 10 mph.
Creeks are clear and most of the snow is already gone from the storm a few days ago. The ground was dry enough that the creeks never got color to them or had a level rise of any significance. Things remain low and clear, but trout are happy.
Nymphing or fishing small streamers/leeches in the riffles during the day, then watching for the olive hatch mid day is the rhythm. The olives are about a size 16 and when you find a pod of fish, you can spend a fair amount of time on the pod.

A chance of rain and snow showers before 4pm, then a slight chance of rain showers between 4pm and 5pm, then a chance of sprinkles and flurries after 5pm. Cloudy, with a high near 38. Breezy, with a north wind 11 to 18 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
The storm seems like it will leave our area later today with winds finally settling down a bit later today and into tomorrow.
Creeks are still clear to slightly stained as most of the snow (over a foot in some areas!!) melted slowly and was absorbed into the ground right away. There is still some melting that will happen today and into tomorrow, but it does not seem like enough to mess the creeks or fishing up much.
Olives are still hatching daily, and we will see the return of the beginning on the caddis hatch as it warms up into the weekend.
Overall, fishing is pretty good. Solid on bead head nymphs in the riffles and runs, and lots of fun if you find a pod or two of fish eating mayflies mid day!

Snow showers. High near 34. Windy, with a north wind 20 to 29 mph, with gusts as high as 44 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. Total daytime snow accumulation of 3 to 7 inches possible.
Creeks remain clear and a bit low.
The major news is we finally got some snow on the ground. Heavy, wet snow fell yesterday to the tune of anywhere between 3 and 10 inches area wide, and we are due for more!
The good news is most of it will slowly melt and percolate into the ground and refresh the springs. We will keep you updated on stream conditions, but we’re not expecting a major, rapid melt.