fly fishing trout (dane county, wi)

This was the first day of vacation for me so I was out fishing while everyone I knew was hard at work. Since I had some extra time I decided to drive out a little further then I normally would. It was a 2 hours ride, but I told myself it would all be worth it if I could just catch some trout. I’ve had that itch to do some fly-fishing since the last time we were fishing the spring steelie run. A month without a fly rod in a guys hand will do funny things to him.

looks nice doesn't it?

I rolled into the city around 8:00am. I took the next 30 minutes to drive all the way up and down the highway checking out the easements and access points. Access is easy here, with all types of water available. The stream starts as a slow trickle and really widens as you get further downstream. The rolling hills and bright green trees made a perfect backdrop for some great trout fishing.

By 8:30am I was out walking the banks. I worked the first series of pools I came to for a good hour before giving up on it. I continued upriver and took a look around. Didn’t find a lot of water that I would call great but did find the entrance to one of the feeder creeks…. Maybe for another day. Got back in the car and drove to the next easement.

a deep pool

My second stop was just one road up river. From the second I pulled in I just knew that this was some better water. The runs and pools were just a little deeper. I made my way downstream. When I would come to a good looking pool I would walk clear around it out away from the stream. This was so I didn’t spook any fish and it allowed me to fish in front of me. The second pool I stopped was a nice fast run bottoming out in a deep pool that had a couple large boulders in it. Looked perfect. My second drift that made it perfectly in between those boulders was rewarded with a strike. One minute later I was netting a beautiful rainbow. Worked this pool for another 35 minutes and moved on.

a small rainbow trout

decent brown trout

The next pool I stopped and fished turned out to be the best spot of the day (go figure, it was the farthest walk from the road). It was the end of the line, right before the border of private land. It was the deepest pool I had seen yet, and I swear it would have been a foot over my head if I were standing in the water. Fast water was just rushing into the head of the pool. I spent close to two hours fishing here, getting to know every drop, turn, crease, and bend. I went 8/12 on hook ups. The only reason I lost those other four was from trying to fight the fish by hand instead of getting the line back on the reel.

one of the better brown trout

The only reason I left this pool was because I was running out of time. I wanted to see some more of the creek but family calls. Up the road I went to my last stop of the day. I had just enough time to pick off a few more trout.. and that’s what I did. In total I caught 11 fish, and released all 11. It was time to go and I had to get back on the road for another 2 hour drive. I spent as much time driving as I did fishing today. Was it worth it…..?