Cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a high near 40. Breezy, with a southwest wind 10 to 15 mph becoming west 18 to 23 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 39 mph. Yikes, the wind today!!! Creeks are clear and a bit low, and that has been the main hurdle to catching fish. They were super spooky for opener. The wind today will ripple the water a bit giving you a little edge, but prepare for spooky fish. If you focus on the broken water just below the riffles you will up your chances too. Small, thin bodied tungsten bead flies are key. As it warms up a bit, switching to a leech pattern twitched near the banks will work quite well too.
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2020
Mostly cloudy, with a high near 29. North wind 7 to 9 mph becoming west in the afternoon. Happy opening day! Catch and release opens today in Wisconsin and the creeks are in great shape. The weather is not quite as good as they were forecasting, even yesterday. Today will be chilly, but definitely fishable. Focus on the middle part of the day when water temperatures are climbing. Tomorrow will be much more pleasant temperature wise, but a stinking wind is coming in with crazy strong gusts. A good leech and streamer day tomorrow. Creeks are clear and flowing well. Temperatures are in the high 30s to 40. Nymphing is key right now. Get your small, thin and dark bodied flies right on the bottom as fish do not like to move much in the winter. Dead drifting leeches and streamers with an occasional twitch is also very effective in cold water. If you are lucky, you will find some fish rising to midges mid day. This hatch is stronger on sunny days when the stream bed is able to warm up a bit, but do not be surprised to see fish sipping on the surface mid day.
A 20 percent chance of snow after 4pm. Cloudy, with a high near 35. West wind 3 to 5 mph. It just keeps stacking up in our favor! Another gorgeous, if not unseasonably warm, day heading into opening weekend. Creeks are clear and a touch low (normal flows for winter) with temperatures in the high 30s to 40. There is not a lot of snow on the banks which makes it easier to get around, as well as keeps runoff from dropping temperatures too quickly in the afternoon. Look to fish tungsten nymphs deep for the early part of the day. Fish will hold just below the runs at the lip of the pool until things warm up a bit. Mid day, they will swim up into the runs and riffles and feed on midges. There will be some dry fly activity, or you can continue nymphing the shallower water. Winter is the time to chase larger fish. Cast a streamer or leech, then let it dead drift with a few twitches and hold on!
Increasing clouds, with a high near 40. Southwest wind around 9 mph. Wow are things looking excellent for the opener of catch and release this Saturday!! Creeks are clear and a touch low with decent temperatures (high 30s to low 40s) and unseasonably warm weather. The best fishing will be between 9 and 3. Fish are rising sporadically for midges and even some winter stones and olives on the warmest creeks mid day. The hatch is not huge but you should see some rising fish if the sun is out. Otherwise, focus your efforts deep with competition style nymphs and scuds or leeches twitched slowly through the holes and runs. The creeks are clear, so make sure you move with some stealth!
