Sunny, with a high near 71. Northwest wind 3 to 7 mph. No, that is not a typo. High is 71 today.... Fishing remains strong. With the stable weather we have seen more trico spinners, but still not enough to get super excited about. The main attraction is fishing foam and a dropper through the day, then if fish are rising on the creek you are on, fishing olives in the evening (or ants!!!). Creeks are clear and fish can be spooky mid day, but overall the conditions are fantastic for summertime. Saturday's high is 67 and cloudy with a chance of drizzle.....
Driftless Angler Fly Shop
Wisconsin's Premier Fly Shop and Guide Service
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August 2019
A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 73. Breezy, with a west wind 6 to 11 mph increasing to 12 to 17 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 31 mph. Great weather continues. No major changes to creeks or conditions. We did get some light rains yesterday and last night, but nothing to stain creeks significantly. This is still incredible weather for summertime! Get out there and toss a hopper or other foam bug with a dropper and you will catch fish! There are a few sparse hatches of olives, a few trico spinners in the mornings on select creeks too. Streamers are catching quite a few fish lately too.
Cloudy, with a high near 71. Calm wind becoming east 5 to 8 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 20%. It sure doesn't feel like August! Mild weather continues all week with a few days high temperature barely reaching 70 degrees. The creeks are in great shape, crystal clear and cool for mid summer (temps in the mid to high 50s to low 60s). Hopper, ants, and beetles are still the food of choice from mid morning into the evening. We are also seeing sporadic hatches of olives and craneflies on many of the creeks. If the fish are rising, a parachute (don't forget to twitch it) or a film critic will get fish to eat. If not, an ant certainly will! Foam with a dropper is still the go to rig with most fish eating the bead head, and the larger fish eating the big foam pattern. We're still waking up each morning and our jaw hits the floor when we step outside and are chilly. This is unseasonably awesome weather. Get out here and fish!
Mostly sunny, with a high near 75. Southeast wind 5 to 9 mph. It's gorgeous out. Go fish! Hopper dropper is hot. We've got quite a few sparse hatches too. Caddis, olives and craneflies are around and we have seen quite a few rising fish through the day. Creeks are clear and flowing well and temperatures are solid pretty much area wide (mid 50s to low 60s) This is absolutely fantastic weather for August. The trout are very happy and it is just pleasant to be outside.
Mostly sunny, with a high near 74. East wind 6 to 8 mph. All weekend the weather is going to be in the mid 70s with overnight lows in the low 50s! We might not see this weather again in August again. It is seriously amazing to just be outside and the trout are in great moods. Fishing is a bit slow in the morning but you will find fish rising to midges (royal stacker midge) and parachutes (purple and adams). The major fishing is mid day though (so weird to say that in August!) on hoppers and droppers. Hippie stompers, training wheels, hoppers and large beetles are working up top. Ice cream cones, purple jig PTs, zebra midges and food are working subsurface. In the evenings we have started to notice an olive hatch. It isn't super intense, but there are bugs hatching and fish rising. The hatch is on the smaller creeks and headwater streams. The key seems to be finding the grassier banks. The larger rivers and even to an extent the grazed creeks are not fishing as well as the jungle-esque waters right now.
A chance of sprinkles after 5pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 74. Calm wind becoming north around 5 mph in the afternoon. The incredible weather continues! It's just pleasant to be outside in late August with the weather like this. Add to that cold water temperatures are very good trout fishing. Why aren't you hear fishing? Creeks are clear to slightly stained and flowing well with temperatures in the mid 50s to low 60s. There are a few fish rising early to midges and parachute adams. Through the day, a foam hopper or attractor pattern with a thin bodied bug below is deadly. The evening fishing is good with the hopper/dropper but we have already seen small hatches of blue winged olives and started to see a few pods of rising fish too.
Partly sunny, with a high near 75. Northwest wind 6 to 8 mph. Creeks are clear and flowing well with cool water temperatures. The high the next few days will be in the mid 70s and the lows in the low 50s! What more could you ask for in August?!?! Sparse hatches early and late, fish a purple parachute or CDC and elk caddis to rising fish. The vast majority of fishing right now is a hopper or foam fly with a bead head dropper. Hippie stompers, user friendlies, beetles etc with a purple drink, food, or simple red copper john below is excellent right now! The weather has been more than fantastic lately, we hope you can get out and enjoy this cool summer weather and chase our happy trout!
Isolated showers and thunderstorms, mainly between 11am and noon. Partly sunny, with a high near 81. Light and variable wind becoming south around 6 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 20%. Creeks are clear to slightly stained with temps in the high 50s to low 60s. This is forecasted to be the hottest day the rest of this week. Once again, get out here and fish! We do not get mid August weather like this often and the trout are in VERY good moods. Hopper/dropper is the key right now as hatches are sparse. Seek out the creeks with lots of bankside vegetation and even some shady areas and fish later in the morning and through the day. Terrestrials are not active first thing in the morning when there is dew on the grass. Early morning, and on the more open water, tight line nymphing, competition style fishing, or nymphing deep with an indicator will catch fish. They are a bit unwilling when the sun is overhead so fish early and late. Hatches are very sparse (which is normal this time of year) so focus on simple generalist patterns like purple parachutes and royal stacker midges for the surface bite.
Sunny, with a high near 79. Calm wind becoming southwest around 5 mph in the afternoon. Creeks are clear to very slightly stained with water temperatures in the high 50s to low 60s. The summer continues to give us incredible fishing with fish feeding well on terrestrials and bead head droppers. Hatches are sparse, but there were fish rising yesterday to craneflies, egg laying caddis and midges. Fishing was best on small heavy droppers fished in the riffles and runs. The larger fish are actually the ones slurping the terrestrial so do not forget to use a larger foam pattern in your rig right now! While the percentage is low, the big fly is a tempting target to larger Driftless trout. Fishing is still best early and late when the sun is off the water. If you can find some tree lined creeks then fishing is good all day! This has been one of the best summers in the past decade! The weather this week looks good again with only one day over 80 and mid week temps in the mid to low 70s.
A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms between 9am and 4pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 78. West wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. Brief Sunday rain report. It did rain last night in our area, locally heavy rains of up to an inch in the 'new normal' quick storm. Overall though creeks remain clear and fishable to stained. The larger amounts of rain were well south of Vernon County. Guide trips all went out this morning, and scouting around the area first thing this morning we found quite a bit of fishable water. Hopper dropper on the clear water. Leeches and San Juan worms on the stained stuff!
Mostly sunny, with a high near 80. Calm wind becoming south around 6 mph in the afternoon. Creeks are clear and just a bit low with water temperatures in the high 50s to low 60s. Excellent conditions for the middle of August! The terrestrial fishing is still extremely strong with fish eating beetles, ants, and hoppers quite well. Fishing a hopper/dropper or a hippie/dropper right now is a ton of fun. Fish are eating the larger terrestrial well and the shy fish are still eating subsurface. Purple hoppers, hen sitting on egg hoppers, and hippie stompers have been the most effective with Japanese beetles and Ungamunga beetles a close second for the foam/dropper rigs. Subsurface fishing has been best on purple zebra nymphs, purple drink, frenchies, and food. We can't say enough how good the water temps and flows are for this time of year! Get out there and enjoy some mild summer weather and trout fishing!
Patchy fog before 9am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with a high near 80. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph in the afternoon. This is about as warm as it has been the past week! The unseasonably mild weather has fish in a great mood. While we have had some rainfall, most creeks are flowing clear and the rain has helped keep water temperatures cooler than normal for this time of year. Terrestrials have been HOT. Like trout cruising out from under cover and across the creek to eat your hopper hot. Hatches are sparse and the trico spinner fall has been mediocre (partly due to it being too cold), but ants, beetles, crickets and hoppers are making up for the lack of aquatic insect surface activity. While you can catch fish all day, your best fishing is still early and late avoiding the mid day sun.
Showers, mainly before 10am. High near 70. North wind 5 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. There was rain last night, anywhere from and inch to half an inch area wide. It was heavier north of the shop. It should not be enough to blow anything out or ruin fishing by any stretch of the imagination. Today is more than pleasant weather wise! We're forecasted for continuing temperatures in the 70s and cool overnight lows the rest of the week. While there are no major hatches going on (the tricos are sporadic and ok, but don't bet on the spinner fall being consistent) fish are looking up to terrestrials all day and simple purple parachutes in the evening. Subsurface fishing has been great lately too with fish eating mostly smaller, thin bodied nymphs as well as scuds and pink squirrels on days like today with some cloud cover.
Scattered showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 8am. Patchy fog before 9am. Otherwise, partly sunny, with a high near 78. Calm wind becoming northwest around 6 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. The long weather report means it might drizzle with the slim chance of some localized heavier rain. So far it is nothing to be scared of. Overall creeks are clear to stained with excellent water temperatures for the summertime. Some scattered rains last night have a couple of creeks flowing stained this morning, but not anywhere near unfishable. Tricos have been showing up much later in the day due to cooler temperatures. We're seeing the spinner fall around 9 instead of 5 or 6 on the creeks that have tricos. The best fishing on the surface right now is on terrestrials. Fishing a hippie or a training wheel with a bead head tied below will consistently catch fish. Many days you can even take off the dropper and fish the foam pattern exclusively! Subsurface fishing has been best on smaller and thinner patterns like zebra midges and pink belly pheasant tails. Streamers and mice are doing a good job of picking up some larger fish at night right now too.
Showers likely, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm after 1pm. Patchy dense fog before 10am. High near 75. East wind 3 to 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. Very humid out this morning which will go away once it rains. The rain forecast is not scary at all, it is just calling for some summer showers. If that changes, we will let you know. Creeks are clear and flowing well for summer with water temperatures much cooler than normal for summertime. This translates to really good fishing!!! Tricos are around in the mornings, but the spinner falls have been just OK with nothing too heavy to get excited about. The foam hatch, on the other hand, is great! Yesterday we never changed from foam hoppers and training wheels. Hoppers, ants, beetles and simple attractor patterns fished near the banks and below riffles have gotten fish to eat all day long. Subsurface fishing is also quite good with smaller, thinner profile bugs being the best (think perdigon and frenchie instead of hare's ear and prince). Either fishing them below a foam/hopper pattern or tight line nymphing them deep in the pools is effective. Early and late, fish are chasing streamers and leeches as well as mice too! Trout have been in a very good mood lately.
Scattered showers, mainly after 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 73. Calm wind becoming southeast around 6 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. A bit of cloud cover and drizzle this evening could really get trout moving. As it is, the summer has been wonderful. Cooler than average water temperatures and pleasant days out on the creeks. Tricos are showing up in spinner falls in the mornings, then fishing a hippie stomper or large beetle with a bead head below through the day. Nothing too noteworthy fly wise, but solid fishing all day long right now! At night, some bigger fish have been eating mice and larger leeches too.
Sunny, with a high near 76. Northwest wind 3 to 7 mph. Can't complain about the weather so far this August. Temperatures are cooler than average, the creeks are clear and flowing well thanks to a rainy spring keeping the water levels up, and the fish are eating tricos in the mornings and terrestrials all day long on the surface! Dry dropper is the way to go after fish stop feeding on tricos at dawn. Fishing a training wheel or hippie stomper with a bead head tied below will work all day long! We're even forecasted for some clouds and drizzle tomorrow. With the sun being the limiting factor right now, a break from sunny summer days usually means better fishing. Shop will be open from 9-5 tomorrow (Saturday).
Sunny, with a high near 75. Northwest wind 8 to 11 mph. Creeks are clear to slightly stained. Weather is gorgeous, trico spinner falls are happening on most mornings, and the terrestrial bite has been excellent lately. With these cooler temperatures, fish are very happy for August! It's time to take a sick day or two.....
Sunny, with a high near 81. Northwest wind 6 to 8 mph. Scattered storms the past couple of days have some larger creeks stained up. Expect clear to slightly stained water area wide. Fishing is in its summer rhythm. Tricos in the morning, then terrestrials (with nymph droppers) all day long. When the sun is off the water, fishing is better! Very pleasant few days ahead with highs in the high 70s to 80! This has been an EXCELLENT weather summer for trout fishing.
Increasing clouds, with a high near 83. Southwest wind 5 to 9 mph. Summer Driftless fishing! Weather is still incredibly pleasant for mid summer. We're seeing tricos in the mornings and fishing hoppers and droppers through the day. Fishing is still best when the sun is off the water so fish early, fish late, and avoid the mid day sun. If you're out mid day, toss your terrestrials right on the bank and underneath overhanging vegetation, or fish nymphs in the deep pools. Creeks are low and clear with water temperatures in the low 60s. Only a couple creeks are hitting 65 degrees (the larger ones). It is still a good idea to use your thermometer as anything over 65 degrees will be slow fishing and much warmer than that can be harmful to hook trout in.
A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 3pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 83. Light north wind. This has been a huge block of stable weather, and the trout are loving it! Creeks are clear with only a couple still stained. Water temperatures are right around 60 with the exception of one or two of the larger creeks. In other words, near perfect summer conditions! Tricos in the mornings, terrestrials on the surface all day long. Fishing a hopper or attractor foam pattern with a dropper through the day can be deadly. Rolling a nymph along the bottom (whether it be tight line nymphing or indicator nymphing of the deeper pools) can also produce some excellent fishing during the summer. Mousing reports have been generally positive but lately numbers have not been great. The good news is it seems the best mousing is at dusk and slowing down late at night.
A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 3pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 83. Light north wind. This has been a huge block of stable weather, and the trout are loving it! Creeks are clear with only a couple still stained. Water temperatures are right around 60 with the exception of one or two of the larger creeks. In other words, near perfect summer conditions! Tricos in the mornings, terrestrials on the surface all day long. Fishing a hopper or attractor foam pattern with a dropper through the day can be deadly. Rolling a nymph along the bottom (whether it be tight line nymphing or indicator nymphing of the deeper pools) can also produce some excellent fishing during the summer. Mousing reports have been generally positive but lately numbers have not been great. The good news is it seems the best mousing is at dusk and slowing down late at night.
NOTE: Shop hours have been changed while we are on our hosted trip to Fernie B.C. Shop will be open 9-2 Monday-Sat and 9-Noon on Sunday. Fish early, stock up mid day, then fish again later in the day! Sunny, with a high near 81. Calm wind. Tricos in the morning, switching to ants and beetles in the later morning. Hopper (or hippie stomper, or training wheel!) with a dropper through the mid day, then back to ants and beetles in the evening. Stable summer conditions with excellent water temperature and clarity. Thanks to a very rainy spring, the creeks are flowing well and mostly clear with temperatures in the low 60s. The key is timing right now. Fish early, fish late, and find shade. Undercut banks and deep pools provide a break from the sun for fish mid day.
