Fishing Report

Patchy blowing snow between 11am and 5pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 32. Wind chill values as low as -7. Breezy, with a south wind 9 to 14 mph increasing to 16 to 21 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 36 mph.
Sunny, but cold. You’d have to be pretty hearty to be out there fishing today. The mid day will get some fish moving as this sun will warm the stream bed up, but man it is cold!!
Tomorrow is a bit better, but then the temperatures dip and will not hit 20 degrees again until Sunday.

A slight chance of snow and freezing drizzle before 11am, then a chance of flurries between 11am and noon. Cloudy, with a high near 25. West wind 5 to 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
We’re in winter mode. Creeks are low and clear and running in the mid 30s. There is some snow and ice on the ground. Nothing too terrible but enough to make walking a bit difficult.
Days like today are not good fishing. We really need the sun to shine on the creeks and warm the stream bed up through the day.
Wednesday is looking like a much nicer day with sun and temperatures reaching the mid 30s.

Snow likely, possibly mixed with drizzle before 5pm, then a chance of snow and freezing drizzle. Cloudy, with a high near 34. North wind 7 to 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Little or no ice accumulation expected. Total daytime snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.
We’re still waiting for some sunny days (doesn’t look like much sun until Monday or Tuesday) to get things moving. Fish are sluggish, which is normal in the winter, and have to be hit on the nose with a nymph to get them to eat lately. When things warm up a bit mid day we are seeing some sporadic hatches of midges and a few risers, but nothing to get too excited about. Leeching has been quite good in the meantime with fish eating a dead drifted or very slowly twitched leech pattern.
Remember to concentrate your fishing between 10 and 2 as water temperatures are rising for your best success. Much earlier or later than mid day can be frustrating!

Rain and snow likely before 2pm, then snow. High near 33. Southeast wind around 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. Total daytime snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible.
We’re forecasted to get a bit of snow over the next few days and into the weekend. Potentially 7-8 inches between today and Saturday. While the snow is needed here, it can cause travel difficulties. If you are heading this way, be extra careful driving.
Creeks are clear and low with temperatures in the mid 30s. We really need some sunny days to get the fishing going strong. With cloud cover and cooler weather, trout are sluggish. There are sporadic midge hatches as well as a few winter stoneflies, but nothing crazy lately. The main action is subsurface on heavy nymphs rolled along the bottom as well as slowly twitched leech patterns.

Mostly sunny, with a high near 34. Light and variable wind becoming west around 6 mph in the afternoon.
These cooler, sunny days are exactly what we are looking for in the wintertime. Sunny enough to get the water temperature to rise a bit, but not too hot to make things melt heavily. Remember to use your thermometer and fish when the temperature is climbing. Once it starts to drop things shut down completely.
We do have guides available for the next few days. If you want to learn to crack the winter code, give us a call and we can teach you how!

Mostly cloudy, with a high near 32. Southwest wind 10 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph.
Creeks are low and clear with temperatures in the mid 30s.
This week we get a pretty good mix of mild winter weather and sun. This looks like a good week to fish! Watch for midge hatches mid day.
There is not a lot of snow streamside so walking is not as bad as it usually is this time of year.

Cloudy, with a high near 27. Northwest wind 3 to 5 mph.
Creeks are low and clear. Water temperatures are in the mid 30s.
While this isn’t terrible winter fishing weather, it probably isn’t worth a long drive at this point. If you are here or just need to get outside, you will run into a few fish and maybe even a midge hatch mid day!
Leeches have been the best bugs lately. Fish them either dead drift into the pools, or slowly strip them in the deep parts of the creeks.
Small, dark midge patterns are working too both rolled along the bottom and on the surface when fish are rising.

Todd Durian, a great friend of our area who worked passionately for many years to protect and expand the ecology and fishery of the Driftless passed away recently. The Milwaukee leech was named in his honor years ago. This season and forevermore, we will know that whenever we tie on one of those flies he will be looking over us and the area he loved so much. Rest in peace Todd.

Areas of fog after 3pm. Otherwise, cloudy, with a high near 30. Light and variable wind.
Nothing major has changed. It is still winter fishing. Make sure you focus on the middle part of the day for the best results (10-2). Slowly rolling heavier nymphs on the bottom below the riffles is key. You can also find success slowly swimming leeches through the deeper, slow moving pools.
Creeks are low and clear with temperatures in the mid 30s.

Areas of freezing fog before noon, then areas of freezing fog after 5pm. Cloudy, with a high near 31. East wind 5 to 8 mph.
Creeks are low and clear (normal for winter). The temperatures are quite pleasant for January and the fishing has been good for winter. You are still best served fishing mid day when water temperatures tick up. Once any snowmelt hits the creeks (usually around 2 pm) the fishing shuts down.
We have seen midges hatching daily, but the rises have been sporadic. You really have to find the pods of happy fish to have success on the surface.
Subsurface fishing is best on thin bodied bugs and leeches fished slowly in the deeper pools and runs.