Sunny, increasing clouds in the PM
High 39
Wind S 6-8
Creeks low and clear
Water temps 35-45
A gorgeous day to fish today! It is already warm (for January!) and pleasant out. Look for fish to feed earlier in the day after a warmer night and the sun hitting the water this morning. Your most important piece of equipment right now is your thermometer! A rising water temperature means fish will feed. As water temperature starts to drop, fish activity starts to shut down.
Fish are feeding on small bead head nymphs with a bit of flash, as well as midge larvae. There is a chance for rising fish with the temperatures today. Hatches include midges and winter stoneflies.
Leeches have been excellent lately, and with warmer water temperateres, do not hesitate to tie on a larger streamer to find some hungry big fish!
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Partly Cloud
High 30
Wind S 8-13
Creeks low and clear (winter flows)
Water temps 36-44
The temperatures over the next few days are ideal! Not too warm to cause rapid snowmelt, and not too cold that it stinks being outside!
Look for midges and winter stoneflies to hatch if the sun is out most of the day.
Water temperatures are key. Fish will eat on rising water temperatures, and will begin to shut down on falling temperatures.
Creeks are ice free for the most part, and the snow on the banks is not too deep to make walking impossible. In other words, for January we are looking at pretty much ideal conditions for the weekend and into next week.
Fish are eating micro nymphs and small flashy bead heads. Scuds, midge larvae, and pink squirrels are also in the mix. Leeches and streamers are always a fantastic winter fly, and you can find some surprisingly big fish this time of year. Just remember to keep your retrieve a bit slower than you normally would.
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Cloudy
High 34
Wind NW 13-17 with gusts
Creeks Low and Clear
Water Temps 38-44
Warmer weather the next few days and heading into the weekend! The slightly warmer temperatures gave us midge hatches and we even saw some winter stoneflies yesterday. Fish were feeding on the surface.
Fishing is solid for winter time! Fish are eating just below the riffles and into the runs. You can also find pods of fish in the deeper pools. The water is low and clear with fish being a bit spooky, so use some caution as you stand out quite a bit with a white background!
Trout are eating leeches and streamers in the deeper pools, and are feeding on small, flashy bead head nymphs and midge larvae in the runs and riffles.
An unweighted pheasant tail greased and in the surface is deadly for rising fish when the standard midge dries are not getting them to eat.
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Sunny with clouds in the PM
High 31
Wind SW 7-15
Clear and low water
Water Temps 35-42
Gorgeous, sunny morning this morning will start to wake the fishery up. Yesterday was a bit cooler than expected and fishing was difficult. We're looking at some pretty excellent temperatures the next few days (pushing 40 on Saturday) with a slight chance for some precipitation. With days in the 30s and sunny and nights only dropping down into the 20s, we are in great shape for winter fishing in the driftless.
Midge larvae, smaller pink squirrels, copper johns, leeches and streamers are all still the foods of choice. With a touch warmer water temperature do not be afraid to throw some larger streamers at the fish too!
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CLoudy
High 26
NW Wind 10-16
Creeks low and clear
Water temps 35-40
The wintry weather is starting to fade after today. We got about 2 inches of snow last night, and today will be windy as the storm leaves the area.
Tomorrow looks better, and Thursday through the weekend we are going to have 30 degrees and warmer. Looks like another good winter weekend!
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High 33
Partly Cloudy Changing to a Wintry Mix and Snow in the afternoon/evening
Wind E 6-8 mph
Looks like we are going to get a little bit of precipitation tonight. Nothing disastrous, they are calling for an inch or two to fall total.
The temperatures for the week look fantastic! With mid 20s to low 30s every day, and fairly mild nights look for fishing to be solid all week long!
The weekend had fish feeding on the normal stuff, midge larvae, smaller pink squirrels, leeches, scuds, and buggers. Nothing changes in the winter for fly selection really.
There were some sporadic rising fish eating midges on the surface in the afternoon. Not a major hatch, but some fish were looking up and some were caught on the surface.
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Sunny, Cloud in the later afternoon
High 27
Wind S 7-10
Creeks low and clear
Water temps mid 30s to 40.
Sun is your friend!
The sun is bright this morning in a cloudless sky. This sets up a good fishable day. Focus on the creeks that get the most solar energy during the day. The water temperatures on those creeks will rise more rapidly which kickstarts fish feeding activity.
Fish are feeding on small scuds, midge larvae, leeches and buggers.
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Partly Cloudy
High 24
Wind N 5-7
Creeks low and clear
Water temps 38-40
Decent daytime temperatures followed by chilly nights this weekend. The fishing will be pretty good all weekend with favorable temperatures to be outside and not too cold to freeze gear up all day long. Earlier this week the frigid temperatures put some ice on sections of the creeks, so make sure you are fishing near springs or on streams that get a good amount of solar energy all day long. Fishing in the shade probably isn't going to work all that well!
There is no need to get up early to fish. Water temperatures do not start warming up until about 10 a.m. Sleep in, grab an extra cup of coffee or a late breakfast and relax this weekend!
Fishing has been solid on midge larvae, leeches, and wooly buggers. Nothing special in terms of flies, the fish just want things slowly rolled along the bottom of pools and runs below riffles, especially where springs are dumping in.
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Cloudy
High 25
Wind Light and Variable
Creeks low and clear with a bit of ice still on them from a cold past few days
Water temps 38-40
25 degrees is what we consider the lower end of the temperature range to fish. Anything below 25 will be frustrating with iced guides. Anything above 25 (especially on full sun days) will be good winter fishing. Today and tomorrow will be decent, setting us up for some fun. Fish are holding in the deeper pools (especially those with springs on the bottom or flowing into them) and below runs. It might take a bit of extra drive time today to find ice free spots but this will get easier the next couple of days.
Fish are eating midge larvae and pupae, pink squirrels, leeches and buggers, and very small bead head flies.
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Cloudy
High 20
Wind SW 5mph
Creeks low and clear
Water Temps 38-40
The cold front is gone, and things will warm up a bit heading into the weekend! The mid to high 20s is the trigger for decent winter fishing conditions, so it looks like this weekend (highs in the mid to high 20s) might be a good one to get out of town and spend some time on the creeks!
Fish have been eating leeches and buggers slowly drifted through the holes, and midge larvae in the runs below riffles. The best fishing is between 10 and 2. Remember your thermometer as it is very important to see what water temperatures are throughout the day. The minute they start to climb, the fish will feed. The minute they start to drop, the fishing will start to shut down.
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Partly CLoudy
High 11 (windchill as low -17)
Wind W 11
Still cold for a couple more days. Thursday is looking like the first comfortable day this week. The weekend is forecasted for light winds and temperatures in the high 20s and low 30s. Excellent conditions for winter fishing!
Creeks are low and clear with water temps below 40 due to the frigid weather of the past couple of days. Tomorrow starts a warming trend that will push water temps closer to the magic 40 mark and they will continue to stabilize and warm through the weekend.
Midge larvae, scuds, squirrels, leeches and buggers are all the foods of choice this winter. Saturday and Sunday may see a midge hatch in the afternoon.
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Sunny
High 1
Wind W 8 MPH
Water low and clear
Water temps 35-40
Bitterly cold again today and lots of creeks will have ice after a couple of days of wind chill at 20-30 below! Things will get back to normal on Wednesday it looks like. Until then, tie some flies and stay warm!
On days that the temperature is below 20 the shop is open by appointment. Call us and we will open up for you if you are in town.
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Mostly Sunny
High 9
Creeks low and clear
Water temps 35-40
Sunny but cool with the temperature dropping throughout the day. Not the best conditions for fishing, but you can still find a few active fish early on.
Tomorrow looks brutal with wind chills to almost -30! Things normalize by Wednesday when temperatures return to normal. Anything in the 25 degree range (especially with sun) will be tolerable to fish. Colder than that it is just rough on your gear and yourself!
Fish are in deeper pools as water temps are in the high 30s to 40. Don't overlook colder (35/36 degree) water that is in the sun. It has been some of the better fishing lately as the water temps rise from the sun's heat!
Midges and squirrels have been excellent subsurface, as have leeches and thin mints. No real dry fly activity lately as midge hatches have been sparse with the changing weather.
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Cloudy, chance of flurries
High 29
Wind NW 10-15
Creeks low and clear
Water Temp 35-40
Today is the last day to get in some decent fishing before the weather turns too chilly! Despite some colder weather, yesterday was excellent fishing as water temps were warm enough to have some active fish. There were not a lot of midges hatching, but fish were happy to eat leeches, pink squirrels, and midge larvae.
Some streams have some ice on them, so be prepared to drive a bit to find the springs and warmer water. Also, be careful walking around on the shelf ice!
REMINDER: Winter hours M-F 9-Noon Saturday 9-4 Sunday 9-Noon
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Mostly Cloudy
High 36
Wind SE 9 mph
Today and tomorrow are the days to fish! Warmer temperatures mean active fish. Remember to use your thermometer and make sure you are fishing warming water, not cooling water. The peak of the day is between 10 and 2.
Fish are eating midges and leeches, and with the warmer temperatures we may see some rising fish the next couple of days.
Unfortunately the temperature plunges over the weekend with Saturday at a high of 6 and Sunday a high of -8! So call in sick today and tomorrow.
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Cloudy
Cold with wind chill below zero
Creeks low and clear
Water temps high 30s
After some brutally chilly weather, things are mellowing out over the next couple of days.
It looks like Thursday and Friday will be the fishy days this week.
The winter routine applies. Fish 10-2 especially on sunny days as the increase in water temperature is what switches fish on to feed.
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