Schedule and circumstance have kept me from fishing much lately, but last week I finally got out on Wisconsin water. It’s what you might call “shoulder season” here right now, we are perched on the shoulders of two seasons. Winter is letting go in the Midwest, although this year it never seemed serious about taking hold in the first place. Trees are budding, grass is greening, migratory birds are in full pilgrimage – and the trout are generally happy to take a fly. That is, if you can get close to them under these conditions.
Any day nice enough to get out and fish is generally going to be sunny and windy. Getting into position without spooking the fish can be tough in the bright sun and low, clear water. Keeping your line and fly under control when the winds are gusting up and over 20mph is sometimes impossible. I find myself fishing a weighted nymph very actively in weather like this. If it’s going to move anyway, it might as well be part of the strategy from the start.
The first and largest fish of the day came out of the pool behind me (pictures above). I was dropping casts into the head of the plunge on the far side of the current, drifting the pool deep as “dead” as I could manage in the wind, and then finishing it off by swinging back across the current towards myself. I’ll often add a tiny jigging action to the fly on these drifts. This is one of my bread and butter tactics with a weighted nymph, and it drew an aggressive take! Not only does it provoke strikes, it’s a great way to detect subtle takes happening in places you can’t see. Sometimes the only reason I know have I fish on is that I felt resistance on these “jig tests”.
I netted half of the dozen fish I caught out of this single run. This section has great structure on the bottom and excellent flow; It’s about 50 feet long, and no more than 2 feet at its deepest. Being about 50 yards downstream of a small feeder creek, it enjoys consistent water temperatures. Perhaps the biggest advantage to the angler here is that the surface of the water is almost uniformly disrupted, so you can approach it without spooking the whole run.
A lone wild brook trout capped off an otherwise entirely brown trout day. It also came in tied for smallest. The majority of the fish caught were in the “Typical Driftless Brown” size of about 9-12 inches. Last year’s populations were healthy sized and I’m thinking the mild winter will encourage that trend further. While low water and high temps will continue to present problems, trout in Wisconsin streams are thriving. I expect it to be solid season of fishing in the Driftless!
Winter is typically resting season for me, and in spring, I find my tenkara muscles needs some waking up. It’s a time for stretching my body and mind back into shape. This is as inconsistent a process as Midwestern weather and seems to take a little longer every year, but day’s like this ensure I’ll be wide awake and ready to run when shoulder season ends.
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