Clouds with a high of 48. Snowmelt continues area wide making most creeks muddy and cold. It should clear up and settle down for the weekend. Shop will be open Saturday from 9-2 then 5 days a week starting March 5th!
Driftless Angler Fly Shop
Wisconsin's Premier Fly Shop and Guide Service
Blog
February 2018
NOTE: SHOP WILL BE OPEN SATURDAY FEB 24 AND SATURDAY MAR 3. WE GO TO 7 DAYS A WEEK STARTING MARCH 5TH. ALL CALLS, ONLINE ORDERS, EMAILS ETC WILL BE TAKEN CARE OF MAR 5TH. FISHING REPORTS WILL ALSO RESUME MARCH 5TH. UPDATE Sun is out and didn't take long to melt all the ice that was on the ground. We're seeing some signiicant runoff now. Creeks are.not chocolate milk, but they are high and stained. Partly sunny, with a high near 36. West wind 8 to 14 mph. Some slow melting going on right now. Creeks are clear to stained with temperatures hovering right around 40. As long as we do not get a major heat wave coming, things will be just fine. It's mostly subsurface lately as the sun has not come out early enough to get midges hatching. Tiny bead heads, leeches and scuds are the ticket right now Next week things are going to get pretty warm and we should see some significant snowmelt. There is not a ton on the ground right now, but there will be enough to muddy things up for a day or two next week.
Scattered snow showers, mainly before 10am, then a chance of snow after noon. Cloudy, with a high near 31. East wind 7 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. Total daytime snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible. Another winter storm is supposed to roll in tonight bringing potential ice and sleet. Be careful driving tonight and tomorrow! It is a weird weather mix coming up. Temperatures are good, and the creeks are in good shape, but the clouds can't decide whether to rain or snow. There is not a bunch of snow left on the ground. It is fairly easy to get around on most of the creeks right now. As long as it doesn't rain heavily (which it isn't supposed to anytime) things will be good! Fish are feeding well on tiny stuff subsurface. Midge larvae, two bit hookers, and pheasant tails. There have been sporadic hatches of midges mid day with rising fish. We have also been doing well on scuds, pink squirrels, and streamers and leeches. Creeks are flowing well and mostly clear with temperatures at right around 40 degrees.
Partly sunny, with a high near 24. Northwest wind 5 to 8 mph It's sunny and gorgeous out there today. A good day to be out fishing with the sun heating up the stream beds quickly. We had a couple days of pretty good melting where we are seeing a few bare spots here and there. Look for a midge hatch mid day on sunny days like today. Sub surface fishing has been best on scuds and heavy bead head midge larvae and other tiny nympjhs. Creeks are clear to stained with water temperatures in the high 30s to low 40s.
Rain. Patchy fog before 11am. High near 35. Breezy, with an east wind 8 to 16 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. Icy storm predicted this evening. While the weather is excellent for winter fishing, travel tonight and tomorrow could be pretty rough. Creeks are clear to slightly stained after a couple of days of slow melting. Fish have been happily eating midges both surface and subsurface lately with hatches mid day. Scuds, pink squirrels, and leeches have also been effective, especially on the cloudier days. Do not overlook streamers as this is an excellent time to chase big, aggressive trout! We still have some snow on the banks, and fishing success is still tied to water temperature. Make sure you are checking the temps throughout the day. Once it starts to drop, fishing shuts down.
Sunny, with a high near 23. Wind chill values as low as -1. West wind 7 to 14 mph. The sun is out today and water temperatures are actually good despite a bitter wind. We needed a cold day and night to lock up some of the snowmelt. It wasn't making things muddy, but it was keeping water temperatures down. Look for today mid day and tomorrow to be some pretty decent winter fishing. It's all about midges and tiny winter stones right now. Fish are eating tiny bead head subsurface and will typically rise mid day to the tiny bugs. Make sure you have a good selection of larvae, emergers, and dries. Leeches and streamers will also be effective when the sun comes off the water a bit.
Patchy fog before 9am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a high near 39. Light west wind becoming northwest 8 to 13 mph in the morning. Yesterday's fishing was quite good. Today should be just as good! The melting snow locked up last night and things are warm quickly. Midges were hatching and stoneflies were around too. The surprising thing we saw yesterday were olives! There were a few mayflies hatching with the warm weather yesterday!!! Creeks are clear and flowing well. Remember your thermometer and make sure you are fishing when the mercury is rising. Once the snowmelt hits the creeks, things shut down.
Sunny, with a high near 41. South wind 7 to 14 mph. For those of you not celebrating love day, today is going to be a great day to be fishing! Warmer and sunny all day. Today, a thermometer is essential. Make sure you are fishing rising water temperature. Once the snowmelt hits the creeks and drops the temperature, things will shut down quickly. Midges, scuds, leeches and streamers are on the menu. Look for rising fish around late morning and mid day.
Mostly sunny, with a high near 29. South wind 11 to 15 mph. What a good winter week we have ahead of us. Good temperatures all week with re-freezing at night. Look for midges to hatch mid day and fish to eat scuds, leeches, small copper johns, and other heavy bead heads through the day. Creeks are flowing well and clear with water temperatures in the high 30s to mid 40s area wide. There is some snow, and if things melt and get cloudy it is streamer time!
Sunny, with a high near 17. Wind chill values as low as -14. North wind 3 to 7 mph. Cold today, but the week rebounds nicely mid week. The sunny weather means fish are feeding and midges are hatching, however it is just too cold to be out fishing with the wind chill! Wait for tomrrow, or even better Wednesday when the temperatures will reach 30-40 degrees.
Mostly sunny, with a high near 17. Wind chill values as low as -2. North wind 6 to 9 mph. A bit of snow last night blanketed the area. Creeks are in decent shape for the winter time. Wider, more open meadow sections are free of ice, while shaded spots and narrower creeks still have a bit. Fishing has been surprisingly solid for a few hours mid day lately. We have even found pods of rising fish in the middle of the day as long as the sun is shining. Otherwise, fishing a scud or leech will get fish to eat.
A 30 percent chance of snow, mainly after 5pm. Increasing clouds, with a high near 19. Wind chill values as low as -1. West wind 3 to 7 mph. Despite the chilly weather, the fishing has been solid. There were even fish rising to midges yesterday! We're supposed to get a few inches of snow tonight, so be careful if you are driving this evening. Fish are feeding mid day on midges, scuds, and small bead heads fished deep. If the water temperature rises enough, the fish are pushing up into the runs and feeding on midges (even on the surface!). If it stays cloudy and chilly, they stay in the deeper pools and will move for a slowly twitched leech or streamer. Slow your presentation down, and use your thermometer to make sure you are fishing rising water temperature and you can catch a few fish even on cold days!
Increasing clouds, with a high near 11. Wind chill values as low as -1. Calm wind becoming southwest around 5 mph. Cold again today, and we got another inch or so of much needed snow. Despite this awfully frigid weather, there have been some (crazy) people out fishing and doing ok for a couple hours on streamers. If you do go out and fish, please make sure to keep fish in the water! Freezing weather can damage their gills and eyes. Waiting for some warmer weather is a good idea both for fish and for anglers.
Snow, mainly between 1pm and 5pm. High near 13. Wind chill values as low as -14. Southwest wind 8 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. Total daytime snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible. Winter! Cold and snowy again, unpleasant to be outside and fishing. We're supposed to get more snow this week, and while we were celebrating clear bank sides, the snow is necessary to fill up the springs for next year. (Can you tell we are trying to be optimistic during another cold snap?!)
Snow likely, mainly after 2pm. Cloudy, with a high near 31. South wind 6 to 10 mph becoming west in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 70%. Total daytime snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches possible. Not horrible out there today. It would be a good day to get out there and cure cabin fever. Look for fishing to be best subsurface on leeches, streamers, and scuds fished slowly and deeply. Without the sun hitting the water there should be limited dry fly action today.
A 20 percent chance of snow after 5pm. Increasing clouds, with a high near 15. Wind chill values as low as -17. West wind 6 to 8 mph becoming southwest in the afternoon. Still bitterly cold in the Driftless. Tomorrow will give us a high of 26 degrees, which while not awful, is also not ideal. Dress warmly! Fishing has been pretty good for the winter on days that it hasn't been too blasted cold to tolerate being outside. On the sunnier days we have seen surface activity mid day as fish feed on winter stoneflies and small black midges. On the cloudier days the water temperature takes a bit longer to warm up so the best fishing is subsurface on leeches, streamers, and larger nymphs fished deep or swung through the deep pools. This weekend is the ski jump tournament in Westby which means county P at the headwaters of the Timber Coulee will be closed tonight through Saturday night.
Scattered flurries before 11am. Mostly sunny, with a high near 6. Wind chill values as low as -17. Blustery, with a northwest wind 14 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 32 mph. It's just cold. Yesterday was quite nice, and by Saturday this brutal cold weather will give way to...... cold weather. Not horrid for the weekend, but perhaps not worth a long drive unless you need to get out of the house. On sunny days flies and fish are much more active, look for feeding fish mid day on midges and winter stones. On cloudy and colder days swinging leeches, streamers, and even soft hackles works well as long as you fish them slowly and deep. Creeks are in great shape with temperatures in the high 30s to low 40s.
