I was just looking at google map’s satellite images and startled myself when I zoomed into a street view…. There are greener days ahead when my wet wading gear will live in the back of my car….. This first image is a well known stream with several miles of good water and easy access from my work. Some good fish in there. Browns down low. Brookies up high.
Category: driftless area
Seasons in the Driftless
The Driftless Area is in the North. Sometimes I forget that. But just because Iowa is south of Minnesota and the Minnesota and Wisconsin sections are not in the Iron Range doesn’t mean it doesn’t get cold here. And because we are up north, we get all four seasons without hesitation.
Spring is wet with stained streams and low streamside growth yielding good conditions for hungry trout and rusty anglers.
But it doesn’t take too long for the brush to kick up; by early summer, you can easily wet-wade. And in your approach to the stream, you trudge through dew-covered grasses that drenches your legs. The nettles aren’t too high yet, but give it a couple weeks. In the height of summer, the untended valleys are showing you what they are made of. Like elephants in the grass, you are blindly pushing your way from oxbow to oxbow trying to find a wade-able or cast-able section.
When August/September comes and things begin to dry out, the grasses begin to give way and hoppers kick up into streams. Dare I say, is there anything much better than the 8p, low light, magic hour on a trout stream in August when it is just dark enough for fish to get courageous and terrestrials are tumbling into the water?
As fall rolls in, the banks get more manageable. The grasses are falling down and casting is getting easier again. The browns are getting hungry and the weather is cool and refreshing.
As for winter? It is a true winter in the Driftless. Your guides are freezing. Your hands are cracking. Water is gin-clear. Fish are hungry but spook easily. Though you have less stream pressure and easier casting, winter truly tests the stealthy angler. And you never know when the wind will die down and a brief hatch will emerge.
Each season has its challenges, and each has its joys. And therein lies the beauty. Each season is unique. Fishing is fun because of the challenges. Living in the Driftless is a lucky thing. You don’t have to fly a plane to find a new experience. You just have to walk a little further downstream or wait until the next season arrives.
A tourist in my own backyard: a day with Rich Osthoff
Since moving back to the driftless, I wanted to spend a day on the water with a guide. I wanted formal instruction and to come ready to learn. I have many weaknesses and fly fishing. The things we are most uncomfortable with are often the things we do the least. It is a vicious cycle. Avoidance perpetuates the weakness. My weakness if wet flies and nymphs.
A driftless area guide, author and fly tier is Rich Osthoff. If you watch his youtube videos, you’ll see good size fish caught on primarily nymphming techniques. This was the guy I needed to learn from. I scheduled an entire day with him. I saved on cost by doing a
“50/50” deal where he fished some of the day to. This worked out great because I was able to learn by watching in addition to doing. And lets face it. It is hard to fish for 10 hours straight.
At our first stop we ran into a friendly beekeeper. Nice guy who knew the area well. We were in for a hot day. 95 degrees, all sun, and big winds. Perfect for fishing 😉
The turtles were very active in early June and this day was no exception. Walked by this big snapper burring some eggs. Keep digging ma’am.
Rich showed me how he would approach his our first pool. We essentially used small nymphs (size 16-18) all day. It proved to be a wise decision.
After a couple missed fish from our first pool, we moved on.
We spent a lot of time reading water. Looking at structure and seams. Discussing casting techniques and tenkara. He fishes a “no line” technique a lot which would be similar to that with tenkara or czech nymphing. Again, this was great because when I tenkara, I almost always use dry flies, again because I’m uncomfortable with sub surface stuff.
It was early on at a long slow run when Rich gently lifted his size 16 zebra midge up before recasting that he hooked into a healthy driftless fish.
It was the biggest fish I’d seen caught all year in person. We ended up seeing several more of these hefty 20″ fish.
The day got hot but so did the fishing. I caught easily 40 fish during the day and vastly improved my subsurface game. I had one 15″ fish but the bigger ones were more shy in the bright sun.
At our last stop, when all was said and done, I washed off in the freezing waters pouring out of this spring. It amazes me to see how such clean cold water can flow freely in this place. Perfect way to cool off after a hot and sweaty day.
The drive home was relaxing. I pulled off once to quick fish another spot and watched some big fish rise to unseen insects.
If you every find yourself in the Driftless Area and are looking for a guide, Rich definitely knows his stuff, and I’m happy to recommend him (I’m receiving nothing for this endorsement and do it out of my own free will). And of course, you are always welcome to call me. I’m slowly cataloging the area for more and more spots to fish. So much water.
Early Adventures in Fly Fishing for Musky
One last outing this season. For real this time.
On the Stream, Work Attire and All
I had a long break this afternoon so I took an hour to explore the closest stream to the office. 15 minutes from my door I have fishable water. That is pretty darn awesome.
8/9/16: Hopper Coulee Creek
The Beginning of My Driftless Wisconsin Exploration
I think the same held true when I went out fishing for a couple hours on Tuesday morning. I had a little bit of time to spare forgetting my son to his doctors appointment, so I found a stream on the map that was designated as class one waters meaning that it is capable of sustaining populations of naturally reproducing trout without the need for stocking, and I headed out the door. Much to my chagrin I found myself cornered into a valley where a bridge was out walking my way towards the stream about another 15 miles down the road.
Quick Trip to Lacrosse, Wisconsin
New Sections of a Familiar Stream
My brother and I shot out to a stream we had both fished before individually but never together. Neither of us had fished the section we explored that day. The wind kept any meaningful hatches from setting off, but we brought a few fish to hand and enjoyed scoping out new water. We are thinking this will be a phenomenal stream a little later in the year.