Mostly sunny, with a high near 78. Breezy, with a south wind 9 to 14 mph increasing to 16 to 21 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 38 mph. It's caddis time in the Driftless! Creeks are low and clear with temperatures in the high 40s to high 50s area wide. Caddis have started to show up in pretty good numbers over the weekend. Mostly black caddis, but a few tans are already appearing too. This hatch is in addition to the olives which are still around and have been hatching even in some sunnier weather. Subsurface action has been best on frenchies, brush hogs, pink squirrels and other heavy tungsten bead head flies. Do not overlook emergers and pupae too, especially on windy days like today, fishing just under the surface during a hatch can make a huge difference!
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April 2018
Sunny, with a high near 54. North wind 7 to 11 mph. Fishing is quite good right now! Creeks are clear and a bit low with water temperatures in the high 40s to high 50s. We are still seeing olives and caddis (both black and tan) as well as beginning to see some early craneflies. This is a very busy weekend. DO NOT CUT OTHER ANGLERS OFF!!!!! If you see a car at an access point and can not check in with the angler to see where they are headed move to the next access point. There is plenty of water and there are plenty of fish that you do not need to crowd. Fish nice out there.
Partly sunny, with a high near 60. Breezy, with a northwest wind 5 to 10 mph becoming west 12 to 17 mph in the afternoon. Fishing has been quite good in the Driftless lately. We are still catching fish on olives on the surface, especially on the more shaded areas, and the black caddis are starting to show up in greater numbers. We have also started seeing tan caddis and a few craneflies. It is approaching bug soup! Creeks are clear and flowing with water temperatures in the high 40s to high 50s There are quite a few anglers in town this weekend so remember your stream etiquette! It is never ok to hop above another angler (high holing). If there is a car at an access point and you can not check in with the angler already there, please find new water. There is enough fishable water in the area to go around. Again, it is not ok to hop in the stream directly above another angler, or in between anglers!!!
A 20 percent chance of showers after 4pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 65. Light west wind increasing to 5 to 10 mph in the morning. Fishing remains solid. Creeks are clear and flowing well. We have seen olives, black caddis, tan caddis, and even some craneflies hatching the past couple of days. Water temperatures are in the mid to high 40s.
Sunny, with a high near 59. Light and variable wind becoming north 5 to 7 mph in the morning. You really could not ask for more pleasant weather to be outside in! Creeks are clear to slightly stained and flowing a bit low. The olive hatch has been a ton of fun in shady areas, and we are seeing black caddis show up in the sunny meadows. Look for the intensity of the caddis hatch to ramp up over the next few sunny days. Subsurface fishing has been solid on heavily weighted nymphs and scuds with a thicker profile (dirty bird jigs, prince nymphs, pink squirrels etc). On the surface olive patterns that float low in the water are key. Caddis wise, the Coulee Caddis in black has been the ticket.
Mostly sunny, with a high near 67. Light north wind increasing to 6 to 11 mph in the morning. Conditions are incredible right now. Very pleasant weather, clear to stained water, and hatches have returned! Yesterday we saw olives and midges with rising fish here and there most of the day. A few caddis were also spotted. Subsurface fishing was great on frenchies, and rainbow perdigons as well as other heavy bead heads throughout the day. There are a few creeks that are murky, but the vast majority are clear to stained with water temperatures in the mid to high 40s.
Sunny, with a high near 64. Calm wind becoming east around 6 mph in the afternoon. The snowmelt is pretty much done with the valleys free of most snow. The runoff yesterday dropped water temperature but did not significantly muddy things up. Look for olives and midges as well as possible caddis today with the sunny weather. Creeks are in good shape with clear to stained water. Temperatures are 40-48 area wide.
Cloudy, with a high near 56. South wind 3 to 5 mph. Things are going quite well despite the snow we had a couple days ago. Water temperatures are diving quickly due to the snowmelt, but we have not had any major runoff as of today. Hatches are going on, but with the cooler water temperature there are not a ton of rising fish. Fish deep and fish slowly, and fish before the snowmelt starts to drop temperatures (use your thermometer!)
Sunny, with a high near 52. Light and variable wind. Keep on melting snow! We did have some snowmelt turn creeks muddy yesterday, so expect clear to stained conditions area wide with creeks clouding up again this afternoon as we still have a bit of snow on the ground. Fishing is still good while water temperatures are rising (we had a couple creeks measure in the high 40s yesterday!), and will slow down considerably when the snowmelt hits the water (use your thermometer). Leeches and scuds were good yesterday, with a few fish eating frenchies and a handful of risers. There is still snow on the banks, but we are already seeing bare spots in the open areas that receive sun. As long as the snow melts slowly we should not see things muddy up to unfishable levels.
Sunny, with a high near 43. Northwest wind 6 to 8 mph. That's more like it! We got about a foot of snow overall yesterday, but it looks like that will be the last of it (finally!!!!) What we do have is melting already. Today's sun and temperature should get rid of the majority of the snow. Make sure you use your thermometer as once water temperatures drop, things will shut off. We're in the best case scenario heading into the weekend. Good sunny days to thaw the remaining snow, then cold temperatures at night slowing down any catastrophic runoff. Expect stained water for the weekend. We're still seeing olives and midges daily and with the sunny and warmer weather we should see the return of our caddis hatches too.
Snow, mainly after 10am. The snow could be heavy at times. Some thunder is also possible. High near 33. Northeast wind around 11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. Total daytime snow accumulation of 2 to 4 inches possible. Another snow day today! The good news is that the creeks have rebounded from the weird weekend storm and most are in fishable shape (clear to stained). There are a few that are still muddy, especially those with flood control dams on them. Yesterday we saw fish feeding on olives and trout were also happily eating midge larvae and scuds sub surface. While the snow will be a pain in the butt today, it should not have any lasting effect on the creeks outside of the melting dropping water temperatures. Make sure you have a thermometer with you over the next couple of days as once the snow enters the creeks and the temperature dips, fishing grinds to a halt.
Partly sunny, with a high near 38. Northwest wind 7 to 10 mph. Gorgeous day today with the sun shining early. This will help to warm the creeks up and get some of the snow melting quickly. Make sure you use your thermometer as once the snowmelt hits the creeks and the temperatures stop climbing, fishing will shut down. Unfortunately we are forecasted to get another round of snow tomorrow (Wednesday)... We will keep you posted on conditions. Right now the creeks are clear to stained with water temperatures in the low 40s. We just have to re-wind a little back into winter fishing. The best fishing is from about 9 to 3 (again use your thermometer and fish the climbing and stable water temperatures). Subsurface is key and there is a slim chance we will see some olives or maybe a black caddis or too if it warms up quickly enough.
A chance of snow before 2pm, then flurries likely with a slight chance of snow between 2pm and 3pm, then flurries likely after 3pm. Cloudy, with a high near 33. Breezy, with a northwest wind around 16 mph, with gusts as high as 26 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. Total daytime snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible. Wow are we glad the weekend is over! The rest of the week looks ok with a small storm coming Wednesday. We have about 4-5 inches of snow on the ground which will slowly melt over the next couple of days. The creeks are fishable, but you have to watch water temperatures. If nothing crazy happens things should be back on track by later in the week.
Snow. Patchy blowing snow between 1pm and 3pm. High near 28. Blustery, with a northeast wind 13 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 29 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. Total daytime snow accumulation of 2 to 4 inches possible. This weather will end soon! Monday brings sunnier skies and temperatures will climb over this week. The fishing will bounce back quickly too. We were still seeing olives hatch even in muddy water. We were also seeing caddis before the weekend storm! Creeks are still murky after the heavy rains on Friday and Saturday, but should clear up quickly. We are looking at a few inches of snow on the ground so keep an eye on snowmelt (we will, of course, keep you updated) in the middle of the week.
Sleet, possibly mixed with freezing rain before 5pm, then sleet, possibly mixed with snow and freezing rain. High near 32. Windy, with an east wind 24 to 26 mph, with gusts as high as 46 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. Total daytime ice accumulation of 0.1 to 0.2 of an inch possible. Total daytime snow and sleet accumulation of less than a half inch possible. Awful weather on top of heavy rains yesterday. Creeks are blown out, not a weekend to come fish.
Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm, then rain and possibly a thunderstorm after 10am. High near 41. Breezy, with an east wind 14 to 18 mph, with gusts as high as 36 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. We've already had thunder sleet this morning! Crazy weather that has turned for the worse. Today will be ok fishing, but the wind will make things difficult. This weekend looks like a bust weather wise. Heavy winds, ice, rain and snow. It will be good weekend to stay home. Things warm up again next week and we will see the re-emergence of the black caddis with the sunny weather.
Widespread fog, mainly before 9am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a high near 54. Northwest wind 5 to 8 mph becoming north in the afternoon. Creeks are in good shape, but still low and clear. Yesterday was a breakthrough day with olives, black caddis, and even some craneflies showing up. Guide trips were fishing dries pretty much all day! Unfortunately we are getting a turn in the weather. We are forecasted for rain tonight and through Saturday. Most of our snow is gone and this rain (unless it falls heavily) should not do major damage to the fishing conditions. It is a gamble, but through the weekend if the rain falls normally to gently we could be rewarded with some higher and cloudy water which we have not had in quite a while! Again it is a bit of an unknown at this point. We will keep you posted. Today should be a repeat of yesterday's hatching, just later in the day as we have lost the sunny skies. Fish caddis larvae and olive nymphs deep in the morning as well as leeches and scuds. Once the bugs start to hatch look for olives to be the main hatch with a few scattered caddis.
A 30 percent chance of rain, mainly after 5pm. Increasing clouds, with a high near 51. Northwest wind 5 to 9 mph becoming east in the afternoon. Warmer day today, it actually feels like spring outside! This warmer weather alongside some rain will melt the remaining snow. If it muddies up the creeks, we will let you know but we are optimistic that it won't do too much to screw fishing up other than temporarily. As of now, creeks are low and clear with water temperatures in the low 40s. Olives are the main attraction with hatches each afternoon and evening. During the early part of the day, bouncing a heavy tungsten pattern along the bottom or twitching a leech slowly through the pockets and pools has been very effective.
Cloudy, with a high near 42. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph. The cold weather is finally starting to break up a bit! We have a window of a couple really nice spring days ahead of us. Fishing has been solid despite the cold weather. There is no reason to get up early. Fishing subsurface is best in the mid morning hours until mid day. Using a chunkier fly early, then switching to a thin bodied bug is recommended. Just make sure your nymphs are HEAVY early. Fish are not moving far to eat subsurface until things warm up a bit. After mid day, look for rising fish feeding on olives. Make sure you look at the rise forms. If they are just pushing water, try an emerger. If their noses are coming out of the water, tie on a dry.
A 20 percent chance of snow before noon. Cloudy, with a high near 38. Calm wind becoming northwest 5 to 7 mph in the afternoon. Despite some cold and crappy weather for April, the fishing has remained solid. This weekend we had olive hatches every afternoon and fishing stretched into the evening. There is little snow on the ground, and we are going to get some warmer weather mid week which means everything should be melted again soon. Creeks are still low and flowing clear. Water temperatures are 40-45. Fishing has been best subsurface on heavily weighted nymphs (thick profile in the morning, then thin profile mid day) fished deep as well as scuds and leeches. Fish are starting to rise after lunchtime to olives. Look closely as there are some pods of fish eating emergers and some eating dries.
Partly sunny, with a high near 27. Blustery, with a northwest wind 18 to 22 mph, with gusts as high as 33 mph. Hats and gloves today! Despite the chilly weather, fish have still been eating mid day. Just rewind your thinking to late winter conditions and you will do fine as long as the sun is warming things up. Larger, heavy bead heads with a bushy profile in the morning, thin bodied heavy bead heads mid day, then a slim chance of olives hatching in the afternoon. Creeks are low and clear to slightly stained with temperatures in the low 40s.
Mostly sunny, with a high near 39. Calm wind becoming southwest 5 to 7 mph in the morning. Make sure you have your thermometer out there with you today. The snow on the ground will begin to melt and cool water temperatures down in the afternoon. The morning is bright and sunny and the creeks will start fishing fairly early today thanks to the sun. Look for fish to feed in the deep pools and runs in the morning, then push into the tailouts and riffles mid day as the insect activity increases. Fishing will shut down when the snowmelt hits the water. Use czech style nymphs and heavy scuds early, then switch over to smaller profile, but still heavy, nymphs around lunch time. There is still a chance to see some olives and midges hatching mid day too. Creeks are low and clear with temperatures in the high 30s to low 40s.
Mostly sunny, with a high near 28. Northwest wind 10 to 13 mph. Quite a bit of snow fell last night. We're looking at ankle deep snow area wide. It has already begun to melt in the sunny areas though meaning it should not stick around for too long. With the cooler weather things have swung back to late winter/early spring fishing. Expect most of your fish to eat subsurface until late afternoon when we should see a few fish rising to midges and olives. Creeks are still a bit low and flowing clear with water temperatures in the low 40s. We just stocked quite a few new tungsten jig head patterns in the shop, swing in and check them out, they are perfect for these conditions!!
Snow, mainly after 11am. The snow could be heavy at times. High near 34. Breezy, with an east wind 14 to 16 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. Total daytime snow accumulation of 3 to 5 inches possible. Might be a good day to not be out fishing... Windy and snowy. We are all sick of snow, but the added moisture to the springs is a very good thing as we are still dealing with some lower than normal water temperatures.
