Sunny, with a high near 53. Light and variable wind becoming south 5 to 10 mph in the morning. The sun returns! Looking at low clear water and sunny skies again for the next couple of days. Fishing has been difficult especially in the mornings when water temperatures are chilly. Midges are still around and fish are rising to them later in the day. Olives are just starting to show themselves but the major hatch is not on us yet. Subsurface fishing is best on scuds, leeches, dirty birds, and other heavy bead head nymphs fished on the bottom and underneath undercut banks. Find the shade, fish rising water temperature and you will find the most willing fish.
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March 2018
Patchy fog before 10am. Otherwise, cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a high near 46. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph. Another chilly morning this morning. The rain that hit last night was not at all heavy leaving our creeks low and clear. Low clear and chilly water (temps are still in the low 40s) are making fishing difficult until the bugs show up. The good news is we finally saw our first significant olive emergence last night! It is not quite ready to be an every day event, but with some warmer and cloudier weather, we should expect to see more olives over the next week. Otherwise, midges are still hatching mid day and fish are eating pheasant tails, dirty birds, scuds, and midge larvae subsurface.
A 30 percent chance of rain, mainly after 3pm. Cloudy, with a high near 47. Southeast wind 8 to 13 mph. We're actually rooting for the rain. Creeks are quite low and clear with water temperatures hovering right around 40. Today is the first real cloud cover we have seen in days and the fish should respond. Look for midges and winter stones (and a slim chance of olives) mid day today on the surface. Subsurface fishing has been solid on tiny bead heads, scuds, and leeches. Water temperature is crucial right now, make sure you are using your thermometer and fish a rising water temperature. Mornings are pretty chilly, there is no need to get out first thing.
Increasing clouds, with a high near 45. East wind 7 to 11 mph. We could really use the clouds right now! Creeks are low and clear and fish spooky. Temperatures are in the high 30s overnight to low 40s mid day. Fishing is best as water temperatures climb and we are still seeing rising fish here and there mid day until about 3. Finding some sort of shady area or fishing underneath undercut banks and on the bottom of deeper pools is key as water is warming up. The fish are hesitant to come out in the bright sun lately. Midges are still the major food source, both subsurface and surface. We are waiting on a few more warmer days and we should start to see some mayflies. We are also catching fish on scuds, leeches, and other heavy nymphs (small 16-22, and black or brown) rolled right along the bottom.
Mostly sunny, with a high near 45. Calm wind becoming northwest around 5 mph in the afternoon. Spring fishing at its finest right now. While we still have not seen a change in insects (still midges and winter stones), fishing has been quite solid the past couple of days. Midges moving about all day with fish eating them subsurface through the day, and rising to the emerging pupae mid day. Trout are also eating scuds and pink squirrels well subsurface, and on the shadier creeks, and in deeper pools, they are taking leeches and buggers well. Creeks are low and clear with water temperatures in the low 40s.
Cloudy, with a high near 36. North wind 5 to 8 mph becoming northeast in the morning. The clouds are important today as they will put fish in a better mood to feed. Creeks are clear for the most part with a couple slightly stained. They are flowing a bit low with few exceptions. Temperatures are in the low 40s. We're still seeing fish eating midges and winter stoneflies on the surface mid day. Subsurface they are feeding on tiny bead heads, scuds, pink squirrels, and leeches.
Mostly sunny, with a high near 45. Light and variable wind becoming east 8 to 13 mph in the morning. Things are pretty darn good in the Driftless right now. We have warm temperatures that are heating up the creeks and the ground slowly and steadily. Most of our snow is gone and there isn't a ton of mud to walk through. Creeks are clear and a touch low with water temperatures hovering right around 40 degrees. Because of the lack of snow right now, fishing starts late morning and will last much longer as snowmelt does not drop water temperatures as quickly. It is still midges and a few tiny black stones hatching, but with the conditions we should see olives pop up in the next week or so unless we see a massive cool down. Subsurface fishing is best on heavy bead heads fished right on the bottom. It seems like even an inch or two off the bottom and fish will not eat. Most fish are in the pools early, then will push out into the runs to feed mid day.
Sunny, with a high near 44. North wind around 9 mph. Another gorgeous day in the Driftless. Fishing should pick up with the new weather front settling in. The sun will warm up the creeks quickly and get bugs and fish moving earlier than normal. With a bluebird sky, look for shady spots and deeper runs for trout if they are not feeding on the surface. Creeks are clear to slightly stained and flowing a bit low. Temperatures are hitting 45 mid day. Midges and winter stones are still around mid day with pods of fish rising to them. Most of the action is still subsurface on scuds, leeches, pink squirrels, and tiny dark bodied nymphs and midge larvae. The weather looks great through the weekend!
Sunny, with a high near 46. South wind 5 to 15 mph becoming northwest in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 25 mph. Gorgeous weather today (except for the wind...) Nothing major has changed with midges and scuds being the food of choice. With the warming, sunny weather we are watching for olives to show up in greater numbers. It is still a bit early yet but if things warm up quickly, then we will be in good shape! Creeks are a bit low and running clear with water temperatures in the high 30s to mid 40s.
Mostly sunny, with a high near 33. North wind 7 to 15 mph. Looks like spring is here for the next week or so! Most of the snow is gone with only a bit hanging around in the shaded areas. Creeks are flowing clear with water temperatures in the low 40s. With the snow gone, we are less worried about water temperatures cooling down throughout the day. Fishing can be good longer throughout the day instead of just mid day now! Midges are still hatching mid day, and we have started to see one or two mayflies (olives). The olives have not started hatching yet, but they are showing up here and there. Subsurface action has been great. Scuds and pink squirrels are great right now, and the tiny bead heads we have been using all winter long are still very effective as long as they are fished right along the bottom. Olive leeches are starting to pick up fish alongside the black ones, and grey colored streamers are getting fish to eat now too. It looks like a great weather week ahead of us! Shop is open 7 days a week and we have a bunch of new flies and gear coming in daily!
Partly sunny, with a high near 37. Calm wind becoming southeast 5 to 7 mph in the afternoon. Gorgeous trout fishing day in the Driftless. Watch your thermometer as with some melting snow in the afternoon water temperatures will drop and slow things down considerably. Fishing has been solid on scuds, leeches, pink squirrels, brush hogs, and midge larvae. There have been a few hatches mid day (midgtes) that are getting fish to rise. Creeks are a bit low and clear. If the snowmelt is heavy it will stain the water up a bit, but it doesn't look to be too hot to muddy things up significantly.
Mostly sunny, with a high near 35. Light and variable wind. A gorgeous weekend ahead of us! The only limiting factor will be the snow melting later on in the day, while we do not have much of it make sure to keep checking water temperatures. The sun will warm up the creeks quickly and get fish moving. Once enough snow gets into the system it will drop the water temperature and shut things down immediately. Midges are still hatching mid day, and on warmer days we have a slim chance of seeing some early olives. Subsurface fishing has been excellent on small leeches, scuds, pink squirrels, and tungsten bead head nymphs fished right on the bottom. With the warmer winter temperatures fish should start moving out of the deeper pools and holes and into the runs mid day to feed.
Mostly sunny, with a high near 29. Northwest wind 7 to 10 mph. Another sunny winter day in the Driftless. It will not be warm enough for any melting, but if the sun stays out all day, look for midges to hatch mid day. Creeks are flowing clear to slightly stained with temperatures in the high 30s to low 40s. The sun is key when it is this cold out as it will warm the stream bed and get things moving water temperature wise. Midges and other tiny dries are effective when you see rising fish. Subsurface fishing is best on tiny, heavy bead heads as well as scuds and squirrels. Don't neglect streamers and leeches fished slowly (twitch them, don't strip them) as some bigger fish are caught this time of year!
Partly sunny, with a high near 27. Light and variable wind becoming northwest 6 to 11 mph in the morning. Absolutely gorgeous day in the Driftless today. Despite the colder weather, we are already getting a trickle of snowmelt. Creeks are clear to stained with temperatures right around 40 degrees mid day. With the snow back on the ground (it should melt by this weekend) we will be concentrating on fishing rising water temperatures from about 10-2. Make sure and use your thermometer! Midges and a few winter stones are getting fish to eat on the surface. Scuds, pink squirrels, and heavy midge larvae and nymphs are working subsurface. The creeks with stain have been really fun lately fishing streamers and leeches on too! It looks like we will get a slow melt heading into the weekend. The weekend will give us 40 degree days!
A 50 percent chance of snow. Cloudy, with a high near 33. Light and variable wind becoming north 9 to 14 mph in the morning. Total daytime snow accumulation of less than one inch possible. We received 2-3 inches of snow last night. The weather the next couple of days will not be horrible,. but watch for snowmelt dropping water temperatures in the warmer part of the day. Fishing has been good, despite the weird weather fluctuations. Look for midge hatches on the sunny days, and subsurface fishing on the cloudy days. TIny bead head nymphs and midge larvae and scuds are still working best, with leeches and streamers getting some larger fish when slowly twitched in the deeper pools.
Windy, colder. A slight chance of rain and snow early in the morning, then snow...possibly mixed with rain in the afternoon. New snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches. Near steady temperature in the mid 30s. East winds 20 to 30 mph with gusts to around 45 mph. Chance of precipitation 100 percent. Shop is open 7 days a week now! The major melting is done and over with creeks flowing clear to stained. Temperatures are in the low 40s. We are predicted to get another dumping of snow the next couple of days which should not do much damage to the fishing. Fish have been happily eating scuds and leeches subsurface the past couple of days, and on the sunny days we are still seeing midges hatching and some fishing rising. Temperatures are not quite warm enough to see early olives in any numbers but we have noticed a few here and there on the really warm days.
