Mostly sunny, with a high near 70. West wind 8 to 13 mph. Fishing has been good in the Driftless! We're still flowing clear to slightly stained and have not received much rain the past few days. The sun is the limiting factor right now, so fish early and fish late. Fish have been rising in the evening to sulphurs and craneflies as well as simple attractors such as smaller hippie stompers. Subsurface fishing is best in the high sun, fish deep and slow in the heads of pools and the deeper water as well as near lunker structures. It is not a bad idea to fish some terrestrials especially near overhanging trees and grass.
Driftless Angler Fly Shop
Wisconsin's Premier Fly Shop and Guide Service
Blog
May 2017
Partly sunny, with a high near 63. Breezy, with a west wind 7 to 12 mph increasing to 15 to 20 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 28 mph. Fishing has been solid this holiday weekend with sulphurs hatching as well as craneflies in this sunny weather. Creeks are clear and flowing well with temperatures in the high 40s to high 50s.
Increasing clouds, with a high near 74. South wind 3 to 7 mph. Go away sun! Things are much better when cloudy. We're seeing clear to stained water with temperatures in the mid 40s to high 50s area wide. Hatches are best in the evenings and include a ton of bugs; olives, hendricksons, black and tan caddis, craneflies, sulphurs, and even some yellow sallies! Fishing a dry dropper with a attractor foam pattern has been excellent mid day, and fishing leeches and scuds on the water with a stain is still getting some larger fish to eat right now. The sun is the limiting factor right now, and it looks like a cloudy weekend ahead of us!
Patchy fog before 9am. Otherwise, partly sunny, with a high near 70. North wind around 6 mph becoming southeast in the afternoon. Finally, the creeks have had a chance to drop and clear. Expect clear to slightly stained water area wide today Things are going well with a large variety of bugs hatching and fish feeding on the surface in the later afternoon and evening on sulphurs, caddis, and craneflies. During the day, we are fishing dry dropper with a hippie stomper or training wheel up top and a scud or pink belly PT below. Leeches are still great on the stained water, and on the clear water we are getting fish to eat on scuds, heavy pheasant tails, ice cream cones, and brush hogs.
Scattered showers, mainly before 10am. Cloudy, with a high near 59. Northeast wind 6 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. Things are finally starting to dry up and clear out! We're catching fish and have found some clear water, but the majority of our creeks are stained with a few still muddy. These conditions beg for leeches and wooly buggers, and they have been quite effective lately. We have seen many hatches with the cloud cover including olives, hendricksons, sulphurs, craneflies, and even some yellow sallies, but most creeks have limited surface activity due to the cloudy water. We're not forecasted for much more rain so things should start to get back on track quickly.
Scattered showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 1pm. Patchy fog before 8am. Otherwise, cloudy, with a high near 59. North wind 5 to 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. More rain last night has things high and muddy. Anywhere from 3/4 to a full inch fell last night making things muddy again. Things will drop and clear quickly but this morning will be rough. Look for fish to continue to feed on leeches and scuds as things clear out. We did have caddis, sulphurs and craneflies yesterday in the clear water, but that is doubtful today!
Isolated showers and thunderstorms after 4pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 67. Northwest wind 7 to 9 mph becoming southwest in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 20%. The sun is nice to see this morning! Creeks are clear to medium stained and running with water temps in the mid 40s to mid 50s. Fishing is still solid on san juan worms and leeches, but as things are dropping and clearing, look for your regular spring time bugs (brush hog, pheasant tail, two bit etc). Look for the return of some caddis and possibly some lighter colored mayflies hatching this afternoon. Craneflies are still THE bug on the surface. You can't go wrong fishing a cranefly right now.
Showers likely, mainly between 10am and 11am. Cloudy, with a high near 51. East wind 10 to 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. The good news is that area creeks have had a day and night to drop and clear up a bit. The bad news is it look like more rain is coming in on Saturday. Creeks are stained to muddy area wide. There are only a couple that are clear. Today is the day to be out fishing as we are looking at another bout of rain over the weekend. Fishing has been best on leeches, San Juan worms, larger scuds and pink squirrels. On the handful of clear-ish creeks hippie stompers and brush hogs were catching fish. There were even rumors of an olive hatch on some headwater creeks. It's a busy weekend in the Wisconsin Driftless so please make sure you observe stream etiquette and check in with other anglers before fishing behind them, or just drive to the next access point!
EDIT: Had a few anglers reporting in this morning already having caught fish! Mostly subsurface on scuds and brush hogs but there are a few clear creeks out there too! A 30 percent chance of showers, mainly before 10am. Cloudy, with a temperature falling to around 51 by 2pm. West wind 9 to 15 mph becoming north in the afternoon. More rain last night has things up and muddy again this morning. There are a few clear creeks, and more will free up this afternoon but things are muddy now. Leeches, San Juan Worms, Scuds are on the menu for murky water. As things clear out, look for terrestrials and craneflies to be effective on the surface, and more gray bead heads effective subsurface.
EDIT 1:00 PM. Looks like the first big storm pushed north of us a ways (La Crosse looks to have been hit). That is great news. Unfortunately there are still storms behind the first. We will keep you updated. Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after noon. Cloudy, with a high near 76. Breezy, with a south wind 11 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 26 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. Things had cleared to a fishable level on small smaller creeks yesterday and we're sitting on the edge today. If the storms miss us we will continue to have good fishing on the dropping and clearing creeks. If the storms hit, expect murky to muddy waters throughout the area. The major rains hit north and west of us, but we still received about 3/4 of an inch of rain yesterday and into last night. The silver lining is that we needed this rain as creeks were pretty low for this time of year. Leeches, san juan worms and large scuds on the murky waters, smaller scuds on the clear creeks.
Partly sunny, with a high near 83. Breezy, with a northwest wind 13 to 20 mph becoming south in the morning. Winds could gust as high as 28 mph. Lots of heavy rain last night (2+ inches area wide) mean we have muddy water today. We will keep you updated as we are due for more storms all week.
A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 78. Southeast wind 9 to 14 mph. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. Some much needed cloud cover and rain coming the next few days. The sun has been brutal on the fishing the past couple of days, and the creeks are a bit low so a bit of rain will get things hopping again. Mornings have been best fishing midges. Both surface and subsurface as we are getting a morning rise. Mid day has been rough, but fishing a deep scud or an ant right next to an undercut bank has gotten fish to eat. Evenings have been best when the sun is off the water as caddis and craneflies come out to play. With the storm clouds rolling in, look for fishing to get better immediately when the sun is hidden. We should see some mayflies hatching along with the craneflies. Subsurface fishing has been best on heavy scuds, brush hogs, ice cream cones, and tungsten pheasant tail nymphs.
Mostly sunny, with a high near 76. Northwest wind around 10 mph. Downright balmy out there this weekend. Caddis and cranes are hatching, and the terrestrial fishing (ants and beetles specifically) has been ganging steam. Subsurface fishing has been incredible on scuds and tiny pheasant tails the past couple of days. Creeks are low and clear with temperatures starting in the mid 40s and hitting 60 degrees in some cases. The mid day sun has not been friendly. It is a good idea to take a break mid day as fishing has been best mornings and even better in the evenings!
Sunny, with a high near 68. North wind 5 to 9 mph. Despite the high sun, fishing has been pretty dang good the past couple of days! Caddis are re-appearing and the cranefly bite is great. Creeks are low and clear with water temps in the high 40s to high 50s area wide. The mid day sun is becoming a limiting factor making fishing difficult when it is directly overhead. Fishing early and late is highly recommended. Caddis and craneflies on the surface, scuds brush hogs and tungsten bead pheasant tails subsurface. Do not forget about streamers and leeches at dawn and dusk as well as mice in the dark!
Showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 4pm. High near 65. South wind around 6 mph becoming northeast in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 80%. The clouds have been excellent for the fishing! We've seen olives and craneflies hatching as well as a few larger mayflies throughout the day. Expect the fishing to stay solid as long as the clouds stay in the area. Subsurface fishing has been best on brush hogs, cranefly larvae, and red copper johns. Creeks are low and clear with temperatures in the mid 40s to high 50s.
Mostly cloudy, with a high near 60. Calm wind becoming east around 5 mph. A good weather change for fishing! After days of brutal sunshine that was slowing the fishing down a bit, we are getting some much needed cloud cover. While caddis and craneflies will still hatch today, it will be in much smaller numbers. However, this is mayfly weather so keep an eye out for olives and possible some larger mayflies hatching throughout the afternoon. Creeks are low and clear with water temperatures in the mid 40s to high 50s.
Mostly sunny, with a high near 61. Southeast wind 8 to 10 mph. It's cold again this morning! No rush to get out early today. The sun will warm things up quickly bringing out the craneflies and caddis again. Just be careful mid day as the sun will slow things down a bit. Fishing will pick up in the later afternoon and into evening. Caddis and craneflies are on the menu on the surface and are hatching throughout the day with locally heavy emergences. We are also doing well fishing ants and beetles! Subsurface fishing is a mix of thicker bodied patterns in tan and grey, as well as midge larvae/pupae. If the larger pattern is not catching fish, switch to something tiny. As long as it is near the bottom, fish will eat it.
Sunny, with a high near 62. North wind 7 to 13 mph. It's opening day and it's already a zoo out there. Please be respectful of other anglers and especially of property owner's rights today! Fishing is best when the sun is off the water.
Sunny, with a high near 67. Light and variable wind becoming north 5 to 10 mph in the morning. Fishing has been good lately! We are still seeing some caddis and craneflies hatching throughout the day. The best fishing seems concentrated in the morning and early afternoon with a tailing off later in the day on most creeks. Creeks are low and clear to slightly stained with water temperatures in the high 40s to high 50s area wide. Surface fishing has been good on caddis dries and emergers as well as on cranefly dries. Swinging an orange soft hackle or coulee cranefly pattern can be deadly this time of year. We have also seen an increase of fish willing to eat terrestrials both big and small! Subsurface fishing has been best on brush hogs, tan scuds, and other thicker bodied patterns especially in tan or gray as they represent caddis and cranefly larvae.
A 20 percent chance of showers after 1pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 65. Light northeast wind becoming north 6 to 11 mph in the morning. Caddis were strong yesterday! Creeks are clear to slightly stained running in the high 40s to high 50s. Fish are moving into the runs and riffles early in the day with the bright sun and starting to feed on caddis and craneflies both subsurface and surface. Scuds, pink squirrels and leeches are effective subsurface too.
A 20 percent chance of showers after 1pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 65. Light northeast wind becoming north 6 to 11 mph in the morning. Caddis were strong yesterday! Creeks are clear to slightly stained running in the high 40s to high 50s. Fish are moving into the runs and riffles early in the day with the bright sun and starting to feed on caddis and craneflies both subsurface and surface. Scuds, pink squirrels and leeches are effective subsurface too especially in the mornings and after the hatches slow down a bit.
Increasing clouds, with a high near 62. Calm wind becoming south 5 to 7 mph in the morning. Weather is finally shaping up for fishing! Bright sun this morning will get the caddis and craneflies moving. Even yesterday the flies were popping off in the afternoon giving us some solid dry fly fishing! With the increase in water temperature and light winds, the next few days should be fun. Subsurface fishing is great on scuds and caddis pupae, pretty much any pattern with a thicker profile that mimics a caddis or cranefly will do right now. Creeks are clear to mildly stained with temperatures in the mid 40s to mid 50s.
A 20 percent chance of showers before 10am. Cloudy, with a high near 50. Breezy, with a northwest wind 14 to 16 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Rains have all but shut off finally and our creeks are running clear to muddy area wide. They are dropping and clearing quickly and we have a limited amount of fishable water that will increase by the end of the day and into tomorrow. It has been very cold overnight, with no need to get out their early as things are not picking up on the creeks until mid morning. Enjoy that extra cup of coffee! With the sunny weather coming, we should see the caddis hatch re appear. As for now dry fly action has been limited but you can still find rising fish eating a handful of mayflies and midges. Subsurface fishing has been best on scuds and leeches as well as San Juan worms in the murky water, while in the clear water we are still fishing scuds, brush hogs, and prince nymphs.
Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. High near 48. Southeast wind 8 to 13 mph becoming west in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. We did not get a significant amount of rain. An inch or inch and a half tops. Creeks will be clear to murky this morning and if we do not get any heavy rain, they will clear up fairly quickly. The rains are cold and have dropped the water temperature down quite a bit so don't expect high quality fishing early in the morning. We're still in hatch limbo where the water is too cool and weather too cloudy for caddis, and olives are sputtering out at this point. We're still catching fish on simple parachute patterns when we see them rise, but the wolf packs of rising fish are few and far between lately. Subsurface fishing is a different story. Leeches, scuds, San Juan worms are great on the cloudy water as long as they are fished slow and low. On the clearer creeks scuds, caddis pupae, brush hogs and psycho princes have been really solid, again fished deep and slow.
