Fishing Report

Cloudy, with a high near 34. North wind 5 to 13 mph becoming east in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 22 mph.
3-7 inches of snow predicted tonight and temperatures will be in the high 20s the next few days. Nothing great condition wise. Shop will be open (Mat will be there!) Saturday if you want to swing in and say hello.
Fishing overall has been spotty as conditions have been inconsistent. Make sure to use your thermometer and fish rising water temps. That is THE key in the winter.

Monday: 40 and Rainy

Tuesday 36 and Drizzle

Wednesday; 3-5 inches of snow.

Grappling with another non-winter winter in the Driftless. Be careful looking at just temperatures as it does not always show the full picture of what will be going on in the creeks. The last couple of days have been nice weather (although January being so warm is a concern for future snow/water availability), however the last couple of days have been warm enough to melt a lot of snow, slowing down the fishing earlier than normal. Today’s rain and temperature will continue that trend.

Mid week temperatures return to normal with highs in the high 20s. A good amount of snow mid week is forecasted too.

For fishing, this boils down to keeping in mind that winter conditions are difficult when things are normal! With rapidly changing weather and snowmelt, your window mid day of rising water temperatures is just a bit more narrow. We are still seeing midges hatching daily, but unless it is the first day of a massive warming trend, fishing tends to be a bit more difficult. Our advice is if you are in the area, absolutely go out and enjoy the creeks. Driving a long way for a few hours of fishing isn’t something we would recommend until things stabilize a bit!

The shop will be open from 9-2 this coming Saturday. Swing on in to grab flies for the weekend and get your local intel on winter fishing.

The week ahead looks pretty good! Temperatures in the low 30s and some clouds are not ideal, but beat any super freezing weather in January for sure!

Fishing opening weekend was ok, with a few fish caught nymphing deep and a few reports of midge hatches. Expect that to continue this week, with most of the action below the surface.

Remember the days are a bit limited as you want to fish rising water temperatures. The best fishing is approximately from 10-2.

Patchy fog before 11am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with a high near 28. North wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the morning.
Catch and release season opens today!
While the weather isn’t excellent, it is just nice enough to get out and try to get a fish or two if you are in the area. We do not suggest driving too far for these conditions as it just isn’t prime winter opportunity.
There are some areas of shelf ice on the shaded creeks, and the snowpack is medium to low on most creeks.
The creeks themselves are running clear and cold with temperatures in the lower 30s to mid 30s.
The key to winter fishing is making sure you are fishing rising water temperatures. That means mid day from appoximately 10-2. As the waters warm up a bit, the stream bed life becomes active (midges mostly) and the fish will turn on and feed. Once the temperature starts to drop, things taper off pretty quickly.

The next few days in the Wisconsin Driftless look like some wintry mix and highs just at freezing. Saturday is calling for 26 and spotty sun with snow early.

Creeks are clear and running chilly and quite low right now. Watch for fishing to be best (remember season is not open until Jan 7th!) mid day when water temperatures bump up a bit. Your thermometer is your friend this time of year. Fish will eat when the water temp rises and fishing shuts down almost completely when temperatures start to drop again.

The menu will consist of small dark bugs both surface and subsurface.

The shop will be open Saturday from 9-2.

EARLY CATCH AND RELEASE SEASON OPENS JAN 7!

A 20 percent chance of rain. Cloudy, with a high near 45. South wind 3 to 6 mph.
Creeks are low and clear, but will get a bit of stain today with the melting. The rest of the week is forecasted to be in the high 20s to low 30s. Nothing remarkable ahead setting up for the early season. A

There have been fish rising to midges pretty much every day in this mild weather. Expect the best fishing in the winter to be mid day between about 10 and 2 when the water temperature is at its peak.

Hello everybody! We hope everyone enjoyed (or just survived) the holidays!

Here in the Driftless it has been very cold and we have had quite a bit of snow fall already which is excellent news for our creeks so far. The official season opens on January 7th. The shop is still currently closed and we will announce winter season hours soon (remember they are a bit odd and weather dependent, so watch social media and this page).

If you are interested in travelling with us to Argentina, just a heads up that there will be a slight increase in rates for 2023. If you want to fish on one of our hosted trips (or on your own) and want to lock in 2022 rates, let us know ASAP and we can make that happen for you. We are only able to do this until January 1st so email (info@driftlessangler.com) or message us soon!

We’re still around this winter, so if you have any questions, or want to get your trip or apartment stay on the calendar, call or email us!

We hope everyone is enjoying the fall and winter! As per usual our storefront is seasonally closed. However, our online store is always open, and we are checking e-mails and voicemails every day.

Please shoot us an email with any questions, or reach out via social media or WhatsApp with any and all questions. We are still here for you!

We can not thank you all enough for your continued support over the years!

Wisconsin’s inland trout season closes after today. That means the Driftless creeks are not open to any fishing (even catch and release) until January.

The shop will close at noon today so the guides and owners can get out and fish a bit before the end.

We will update off season hours here soon, but until then we will be taking a brief break.

Thank you all again!