Scattered showers before 8am, then a chance of rain after 8am. Cloudy, with a high near 45. Northeast wind 8 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible. Creeks are in pretty good shape after recent rains, clear to murky area wide. Yesterday's rains were never too heavy averaging an inch in the past 24 hours. We are seeing stain and some murky water, which will start to clear up quickly today. Most of the rain soaked into the ground (it smells like worms outside this morning!) Reports of olives hatching all day yesterday with fish rising all day too! Today will see clouds and possible showers again. It should not be enough or heavy enough to blow anything out significantly. These have been good soaking spring rains. Creeks are running in the low to high 40s water temperature wise, and running clear to murky. In the dirty water, fishing leeches and buggers as well as larger scuds and san juan worms is effective. On the clear waters, trout are eating heavy bead heads in dark colors and small (16-20) as well as scuds. There are hatches of olives and fish will eat olive emergers and dries when rising. Do not be afraid to try a small terrestrial to rising fish too!
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March 2016
Showers and thunderstorms likely, then periods of showers and possibly a thunderstorm after 11am. High near 53. South wind 10 to 14 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. Fishing has been fantastic the past few days with fish feeding well subsurface, and surface feeders in the afternoon on creek with temperatures over 45 (even on hippie stompers already!). Overall the Driftless is in excellent shape with good flows and clear water. We're slated for some rain the next day or two and we will keep you updated on clarity and conditions. It isn't supposed to be a heavy rain which means much of it will soak into the ground and make its way into the springs! Hatches of midges and olives daily, we have started to see a small number of black caddis on a few creeks as well. Subsurface leeches, franchise, and dirty birds have been excellent lately.
Mostly sunny, with a high near 59. South wind 7 to 14 mph. Sunny today, then clouds roll in for the next few days. Creeks are clear and flowing well with water temperatures in the 40s to 50. These are excellent conditions for spring! We have seen olives in the afternoons with many creeks giving us the opportunity to fish for rising fish. The best success is still subsurface on small bead heads, dirty birds (which won the one fly contest again!), scuds and leeches. Do not be afraid to throw small terrestrials as fish have already begun to pick up on ants and small beetles fished on the surface as well as sunken. We have also started to see some rodents moving around on the edges of the creeks. If the evenings stay warm, mousing is possible!
Sunny, with a high near 53. North wind 5 to 7 mph becoming calm in the afternoon. A nice warmer spring day today! Look for fish to feed subsurface early in the riffles and runs, then retreat to shade as the sun climbs in the sky. Around 2:30 or 3 start to look for olives which were hatching in decent numbers all weekend long. Creeks are flowing well and very clear with water temps in the mid 40s to 50.
A 10 percent chance of rain after 5pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 49. Southeast wind 7 to 9 mph. Great looking day to fish! We saw olives yesterday pretty much area wide. Fish were happily feeding subsurface and some looking up in the mid to late afternoon. Creeks are clear with temps in the low 40s to high 40s.
Sunny, with a high near 42. South wind 6 to 9 mph. Not much snow on the ground, only 2-3 inches total. We had a nice slow melt yesterday which should continue today and into the weekend. It should not be enough to make water temperatures tank (they are still 40-50 degrees) or to muddy up the water considerably with the exception of areas that see heavy runoff. Fishing has been solid the past couple of days with fish happily ignoring the weird weather outside of the water. They are eating mostly subsurface on heavily weighted scuds and nymphs rolled along the bottom. Larger fish are still chasing streamers and leeches too. Dry fly activity has been spotty, with fish eating midges and small stonefly dries as well as ants and beetles. Creeks are flowing well and crystal clear to slightly stained.
It's pretty messy out there! Be careful if you are driving. Mix of snow and ice again today with an inch accumulation expected. High near 33. Breezy, with a northeast wind 14 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. There was not as much snow as predicted. We only received 2-3 inches of snow total, sitting on top of 1/8 an inch of ice. Look for this to begin melting tomorrow. It should be a nice slow melt as the ground is not frozen and it will not be too warm tomorrow (high of 41). So we are not expecting muddy water, however creek temperatures could drop a bit tomorrow. Today things are clear and flowing at about 40 degrees area wide. Midges and leeches are still on the menu and olives probably will not appear again until things warm up a bit over the weekend.
Rain, snow, and freezing rain before 3pm, then rain or freezing rain between 3pm and 5pm, then rain and freezing rain, possibly mixed with snow and sleet after 5pm. Temperature falling to around 32 by 5pm. Breezy, with a northeast wind 17 to 21 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. Little or no ice accumulation expected. Total daytime snow and sleet accumulation of less than a half inch possible. What a jumble of a weather forecast for today! The bottom line is this: The creeks are in great shape for early season, but the existing will be miserable today with a falling temperature and wind. Add to that a winter storm coming tonight, and this will be a good day to stay home. Things mellow out a bit for the weekend and as usual, we will keep you posted.
Get out and fish! This is the last nice weather day until we hit the weekend. We're looking at wind and snow (5-9 inches forecasted Wednesday night!) heading our way tomorrow. Things mellow out by the weekend. Fishing has been great on scuds, midge larvae, and dirty birds as well as leeches. There are hatches daily, with a few pods of fish rising to the midges and winter stoneflies coming off. Water temperatures are in the low to mid 40s area wide which means we are close to our early olive hatches appearing again!
Partly sunny, with a high near 47. Calm wind becoming south 5 to 9 mph in the afternoon. The cool weather continues (and gets even chillier the next couple of days before the weekend). which means there is no need to get up early to fish! Fishing has been solid as creeks are running at 40 degrees to 45 degrees with clear to stained water area wide. Fish are eating mostly subsurface on tiny bead heads, scuds, dirty birds, and leech patterns. In the afternoons we are seeing some hatches of midges and winter stoneflies which have sporadic pods of fish rising. The dry fly bite is not predictable however.
Scattered rain and snow showers between 2pm and 4pm, then scattered rain showers after 4pm. Cloudy, with a high near 42. North wind 3 to 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Finally the wind has calmed down! Despite the winds, fishing has been good recently. Creeks are clear and flowing well with temperatures hovering right around 40 degrees. The weekend is looking good weather wise, it will not be warm and evenings are getting below freezing again which means an early start is not at all necessary. Fishing will start as water temperatures rise (remember your thermometer!) around 10 a.m. and continue until temperatures start to drop in the evening. Fish are eating scuds and leeches subsurface as well as heavy bead head nymphs. Hatches are sparse and consist of midges and winter stoneflies with a trickle of olives popping off on the warmer creeks. Rising fish will appear in the late morning and early afternoon.
Scattered showers, mainly after 2pm. Increasing clouds, with a high near 45. Breezy, with a west wind around 18 mph, with gusts as high as 31 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. Despite the wind (which was terrible yesterday!) the creeks are in good shape with the majority clear to slightly stained. Things have cooled down a little bit, so the surface activity has gone back to a few stoneflies and midges in the afternoons. If water temperatures rise above 45 again, we will see the olive hatches we had last weekend. Fishing has been great subsurface on heavy bead head nymphs, scuds, and leeches. On cloudier water San Juan worms and dirty birds have been excellent.
UPDATE: 11:15 From reports in the field, the Timber Coulee system is more than fishable, and lots of clear to stained water area wide. The larger creeks are still showing some milky/murky water. Rain. High near 45. Windy, with a west wind 24 to 34 mph, with gusts as high as 55 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible. Drizzly and very windy. The rains yesterday fell pretty heavily, things are murky as of now, but are already clearing. Overall expect stained to murky water with all creeks rapidly clearing today. However, the wind is howling right now and it will be difficult at best to make a good cast. Under conditions like these, fishing a leech or streamer with a San Juan worm or other "meat" fly behind it can work well as you do not need an accurate cast or perfect drift.
Periods of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 10am. High near 57. Southeast wind 10 to 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New rainfall amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible. A bit of rain will not hurt right now. It isn't going to rain too heavily if it is supposed to only accumulate half an inch or so. Watch for fish to put on the feed bag before the rains. Water temps are 40-50 and running clear. This rain should not be enough to muddy things up to an unfishable level, but we will keep you posted.
Areas of fog before 10am. Otherwise, cloudy, with a high near 57. Light and variable wind. A great weekend of fishing. The sun has warmed up the waters well with temperatures in the 40s to even 50 degrees in some cases! This has caused quite a few bugs to become active. Midges and winter stoneflies are the major bugs right now, but on the warmer creeks (45-50) we have seen even a few olives! Creeks are clear and flowing well. The snow has disappeared and bankside vegetation is nowhere to be found! Fish are eating scuds and midge larvae very well, especially on overcast days. Otherwise fishing leeches and larger nymphs such as a dirty bird or brush hog is catching fish.
Mostly sunny, with a high near 62. Light and variable wind becoming south 5 to 7 mph in the morning. Fishing solid! We have seen quite a few bugs hatching including midges, stoneflies, and even a random caddis! A few anglers were catching rising fish on beetles. Water temps are in the mid 40s to 50 and creeks are running clear. The sun is making fish spooky, so make sure to approach with a bit of stealth.
Sunny, with a high near 59. Light southeast wind becoming south 8 to 13 mph in the morning. Incredible weather today and through the weekend. Creeks are clear and flowing well, with temperatures in the high 30s to high 40s. The sun warming the stream bed has flies hatching in the afternoon/evening. Midges and stoneflies will be around today and tomorrow. Sunday will be drizzly and should have some very active subsurface fishing. Fish have responded well to heavily weighted nymphs and scuds as well as leeches all day long. Tiny dark flies are excellent right now as they represent both midges and stones! They will move out of the holes and runs and into the riffles as the water temperature increases and start to feed on midge emergers. When the sun is out, make sure to be as stealthy as possible as fish can be spooky!
Cloudy through mid morning, then gradual clearing, with a high near 51. Calm wind becoming northwest 5 to 7 mph in the morning. Looks like an excellent afternoon for fishing. Creeks are clear to slightly stained with temperatures around 40 degrees area wide. The clouds yesterday held surface fishing back a bit, the sun today should get some sporadic hatches of midges and winter stones and some fish rising. Otherwise subsurface fishing has been great, as long as the fly is sinking deep. Make sure to fish tungsten bead flies or add a little weight to your rig to get your fly down! The sun actually helps things out quite a bit in the early season. It needs to warm the stream bed to get things going right now. Just make sure you approach stealthily as high sun and clear water will get things going, but it also makes fish a bit spookier!
Cloudy, with a high near 49. West wind 7 to 10 mph. A pretty normal day today. Creeks are clear and a bit low with water temperatures in the low to mid 40s. There is little to no snow on the ground anymore so fear of any snowmelt dropping water temperatures is gone. Winter stonelifes and midges have been hatching the past few days with fish feeding on them sporadically in the afternoon. Subsurface fishing has been excellent lately on midge larvae, scuds and heavy bead heads fished along the bottom, and leeches or smaller streamers. Water temperatures are at the point that fish will feed well throughout most of the day with the major activity in the early afternoon.
Rain likely, mainly before 11am. Cloudy, with a high near 65. Breezy, with a south wind 13 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch. Weather change today, but it should not mess the fishing up too much. Things were great yesterday with midges hatching almost all day and fish gorging on larvae and pupae and even some rising fish in the afternoon! Creeks are still clear as the light rain was not enough to muddy up the water, nor was the snowmelt heavy. There is little to no snow left on the banks, and walking around is quite easy. Look for fish to continue to eat their early season menu of midges, scuds, leeches, and other heavy bead head nymphs fished on the bottom. With warmer water temperatures (average 40 right now) fish will move out of deeper holes and into the riffles and runs, especially mid day, to feed.
A 30 percent chance of rain, mainly after 5pm. Increasing clouds, with a high near 61. South wind 8 to 10 mph. Fantastic weather for the Driftless! Fishing has been quite fun with fish eating leeches, midge larvae, and heavy tungsten bead head nymphs. Water temperatures are 40 and above which means fish are still predominately in the deeper holes but have started to move out into the riffles and runs. There have been rising fish eating winter stoneflies and midges sporadically. Look for hatches mid day and into the afternoon.
Mostly cloudy, with a high near 38. North wind 5 to 13 mph. Creeks are clear to slightly stained with temperatures in the high 30s to mid 40s. Warm and cloudy weather today means good fishing but probably limited dry fly action. Look for the fish to eat subsurface on midge larvae, scuds, and leeches. Tomorrow will be warm and sunny early, then start to cloud up. Another excellent early season day weather wise! When the sun shines on the water, we see more hatch activity.
Rain and snow likely, mainly after 5pm. Cloudy, with a high near 36. South wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Little to no snow/rain is expected to fall. The warming trend continues! The slow warming is really getting the fish going eating mostly subsurface, but Saturday and Sunday's sunny weather should get more midges hatching. These are excellent conditions in the Driftless. A slow melt that percolates into the ground and doesn't have too much of an affect on water temperatures. Creeks are clear and flowing well with water temperatures in 39-45 area wide. Midge larvae, heavy czech style nymphs, scuds, leeches, and pink squirrels subsurface. Smokejumper midges and unweighted pheasant tail nymphs fished in the film for rising fish.
Scattered flurries before 10am. Cloudy, with a high near 34. East wind around 6 mph becoming north in the afternoon. The Driftless is warming up quickly! With these temperatures, fishing will really pick up. There is little snow left on the ground, and we are getting a nice, slow melt and lots of it absorbed into the ground. Creeks are flowing well and are clear to slightly stained with temperatures in the high 30s and low 40s. Hatches of winter stones and midges are sparse still, but with steady warmer temperatures they should pick up in the next few days. Subsurface fishing has been very solid on midge larvae, heavy nymphs, scuds, and leeches. Try tossing a streamer right now for bigger fish!
Increasing clouds, with a high near 28. Wind chill values as low as -2. Southwest wind 5 to 7 mph becoming southeast in the afternoon. A chilly winter day, but the forecast for the weekend gets into the 40s thankfully! Fishing is still solid as water temperatures have not plunged to shut fishing down, however it is downright uncomfortable out there today. Fishing is best mid day when water temperatures have increased a bit. Trout are eating leeches, scuds, midges, and other heavy nymphs fished along the bottom.
Snow, mainly before 10am. High near 26. Northeast wind 9 to 13 mph becoming northwest in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 100%. Total daytime snow accumulation of less than one inch possible. Snow last night dropped about an inch or two area wide. Nothing to make life difficult for anglers, and it is much needed water in the system! Fishing has been really good after the warm weekend, but with chilly nights ahead it will start to slow down and the good fishing will be compressed into the 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. time slot again. Trout have been eating midge larvae, leeches, scuds, and copper johns subsurface. The hatch activity has been limited with sporadically rising fish that are eating midge mergers. Creeks are flowing well and clear to slightly stained.
