Left the house at 9am and drove for 27 minutes. It doesn’t happen often but the weather forecast changed from 30 degrees with a 50% chance of snow with NO SUN the night before to 27 degrees and mostly sunny when I checked this morning. Sweet. Took off with hot coffee and nymph boxes ready, no real plan per-se just decided to let the road take me where I needed to go. The first turn in town nailed the destination down, snowshoes were needed. Just over a half an hour later I was pulling up to a minimum maintenance road that had seen a bit of traffic but only by deer, a few other animals and cross-country skiers. I hiked in just over a half mile to find myself staring at steaming water. I’ve fished this spot before but only in the summer when the forest is thick and grows taller than man, seeing it now bare and frozen gave it new dimension.

I took my time upon first approach, rigged my rod out of sight of the stream, approached slowly and on my knees to the waters edge. My options were limited as I had chosen not to wade today so I had my side of the bank and it happened to contain the least desirable casting locations, I tried a few options but nothing felt right. I could have sat around trying to figure out that hole but the sun was shining and I felt like moving around. I hiked for another half mile before settling on a spot I’ve fished a few times before. Deeper nymphing this time with spooky trout, spookier than the last time I was here for sure but that might be attributed to the fact that last time I was here the water was ever so slightly stained, later in the afternoon as just a bit of the melt begins some spots “tea” up a bit. This morning as I approached cautiously I kicked four decent sized trout down to the depths, clearer water than last time. Read the rest of this entry »

Notes and Thoughts:

• Cloudy Skies: I saw the sun for about three seconds, could have used a bit more.
• Decent Air Temp: I’m used to it now, just keep picking the ice from your guides.
• Fished just a few deep holes for several hours, landed close to 20 browns, a numbers day for me.
• A #8 KML, #16 O.H.S. Scud, #14-16 Pink Squirrel and #20 Hot Wire Midge all landed trout.
• 99.8% Roll Casting, the .2% was for a snag that resulted in an unintentional back cast.
• Keep Chucking Streamers: After nymphing up several fish I swapped to my KML pattern, dead drifted very deep, very slowly under an indicator and took several browns.

This is an attempt to explain how I worked my rig today. This hole was an easy 7ft deep and the trout were holding deep. My casting position required me to pay attention to my line to ensure that my flies were able to sink to the desired depth given the short distance, once there I allowed the current to pull my flies up and in front of the trout. I fished with 2 split shot above a two fly rig and the double mend pictured below was the only way I could get my flies to the fish, I lost so many takes as a result but I took a fair amount of them as well.

Read the rest of this entry »

Onsite arrival: 11:45am. I geared up and decided to take a quick peek at the situation prior to my compadre arriving at 12:30pm. I dawned a pair of new waders and boots today for the first time, my first set of breath-ables, about time… Snowshoes were a noticeable help immediately, it was very apparent we would be trailblazing after a hundred yards or so. Thanks to Sershen for lending out a pair so I could lend out mine. I was greeted by three large steers watching my every movement, I avoided them for the most part but managed to get a few good poses from the group. I rigged a single #16 Pink Patrick and let loose on the first hole I found fishy enough, several passes later I had just a twig from the bottom to show for my efforts. I chose not to dwell long and instead hiked back to the truck to meet Wendy B. Read the rest of this entry »

For the winter season that is. A tip was passed on to me that some great gear could be purchased ridiculously cheap if one was punctual and willing to drive half an hour. The stop in La Crosse to pick up these snow stomping treads worked well with our migration south of the border to catch a few trout. I won’t say exactly how cheap these were but I will say I sprung for a smaller pair for the female of the house, a good winter activity together with the dog. Depending on the conditions these can drastically change a longer hike especially if your trying to get to your favorite winter hole with a bit of daylight to spare. I plan to bust these bad boys out for more than getting stream side in four feet of the white stuff though, it will be fun just to be outside with the dog and the girl.  Warranty against defects, light weight, rugged and meant for the winters around here these kick snowshoe a**. Read the rest of this entry »

This was my day. Peace.

Hit up a new stretch of water south of me on the advice that I might find a winter brookie hold up there. Pulled up to a very small trout stream and despite below freezing air temps and wind too boot we hit the water. Along for the fun: the dog, the little blonde, and another family of trouble makers. Two rods, two dogs, two women, and two men hit one stream and had a great afternoon in the sun. 

Saw quite a few fish but I caught none. I have plans to return hopefully sooner than later. Water temps higher than usual peeked my interest. At one point the water flows from a drainage pipe just below the road, this is spring water for sure. On the other side of the road a small pond no more than 4 feet across but no ice, spring water. 

Catching fish was difficult today, perfectly clear water and difficult casting conditions made it a challenge. After scouting the stream I am more confident that I can return and catch a fish. This place was brilliant in the cold sun, I was excited to be in this place. A Good Day. 

I spent the last week watching the weather get cold and then colder. I saw the weekend weather change from 30-35 and some sun to what I got today which was 20-23 degrees with snow, wind and cloud cover and still it was winter fly fishing just the same. I ran the dog and called Sershen to see if he was going out and he was. We left to travel south of I-90 just after 11am.

The recent cold weather left us few options for open water but we found it just the same. The challenge of this place was the steep banks rising from the water leaving no access to the water to land a fish. The banks also kept us up and away from the rising trout, that’s right, rising trout! We saw them right away, excited we rigged up and got in place. I was trying some different gear today opting for water-resistant snow pants and boots vs. waders. I found I was warm and lighter able to move faster and easier, if I don’t plan on touching the water this is the way I’m going from now on. I also tested my new reel and line which made casting much more enjoyable, I really like this reel.

The steep banks with trees behind made casting semi-difficult, short casts less than 20ft but the trout were actively feeding, moving in and out of feeding lanes. We started with dry midge adults and didn’t get very far and after putting the fish down we moved on finding two more areas with several fish holding. After an hour of trying different holes we walked back through the snow to the rising fish from before. Sure enough they were still feeding, I rigged up one of the PT’s I’ve been working on with a Black Midge Larvae trailer. I opted for no split shot and this decision would soon pay off. The steeper banks would have made the split shot smack the water and with the limited area the fly had to hit the water close to the fish. I watched carefully as a trout turned and made what I would describe a “gumming” motion opening its mouth, I tightened my line and set the hook. I was right and it began! A few moments later Heath helped me net the fish, the steep banks made landing the trout difficult without getting wet or spooking the fish.

I took a few quick pictures and with that, released the beat up fish to the stream. Not sure what hit this trout but if it was another fish it would have been rather big. I felt great, caught on my #22 Midge Larvae it felt like my work had payed off. I would have been satisfied with the first but after a few minutes allowing the trout to relax I had an opportunity to take one of the two largest fish in the area. This was my first real instance where I chose the individual fish, accounted for position and depth, and made my presentation. I set the hook and the much larger trout struggled for freedom and sure enough I had number two in the net and the smile just got bigger. This was a nicer fish and so as not to risk hurting it I released it before I could even get a good photo, Heath will have some up soon.

We rounded out our time on the water with my getting another on my line but loosing it before it could make it to the net and I managed to snag one near the vent. I was unimpressed with this and so today I caught two rainbow trout. Pleased we left to find more water, after viewing a very frozen alternate stream we headed home. A very good day on the water.

Winter fishing, finally I got an opportunity to be on the water and make a cast. The weather wasn’t ideal but it was very manageable topping out around 26 at the most. Snowed for a bit but nothing heavy and the wind was tolerable. I went out with Heath and Shell exploring someplace totally new but very cool. I will be coming back here for sure. We spent most the day hiking to ideal spots putting in at 10-10:30am and pulling out around 3:30pm. I caught nothing today but I learned a few things. I saw today as more of an opportunity and an excuse to test my gear and my resolve to see how far I could go comfortably. It was alittle cold at first but almost a mile through snow later I was warm. I tied on a Scud and a Pink Patrick dropper and cast a few times, guides froze over quickly. I had a great time and Heath and Shell made for good company. The warm hotdog lunch was a nice break. This being my first time winter trout fishing I felt very accomplished despite the lack of fish, I stayed safe, warm and traveled far, I made a few decent casts and only had one major hang up.  Little for excitement and action but alot for the fly angler missing the sound of rushing water. Beautiful, crystal clear rushing trout water. 

Slide Show

 

  Sershen Bros. posted Images as well, view them here.