fly fishing trout (dane county, wi)

This was the second and final trip on my vacation and I was going to make the best of the time I had. I had already done the recon and found some great stretches of water I knew held fish just four days ago. The problem I faced was a major storm front had pushed through the area since the last time I was here. It had rained heavy in the area just 24 hours prior to me arriving. It was just enough to muddy the water and raise the height of the stream by almost a foot. To make matters worse, the wind was blowing strong today and some of those spots I had fished were really exposed to the wind….

a bridge over the creek

My two hour one way drive flew by with day dreams of spotted trout. I finally arrived and started my morning with a decent hike. This was the spot where I had done the best on my previous trip. Upon arrival I began to notice just how different the conditions really were. The stained water and the gale force winds quickly sent me packing. This was after a series of frustrating tangles and botched drifts over the deep muddy pool. This spot was unfishable and I decided to make my way upstream in search of some clear water and some shelter from the wind.

a nice pool

Two access points up river the water was much cleaner. I quickly claimed a nice turn adjacent to the road and started to fish the tail out where it dropped into a deeper pool. About a dozen drifts later and I was setting the hook on a substantial brown. I played the fish up and down though the current before putting the net to her. This happened to be the nicest of all the fish caught and I quickly snapped a photo and released her. I continued to work the bend and was able to pick off a few more dink trout. The longer I stayed, the more infrequent the bites became. I made my way by foot upriver passing almost a half mile of slack skinny water. Time to move on…..

my best brown this year!!

A short drive and a nice hike through a more heavily wooded area brought me to the last spot I fished today. As soon as I saw it I knew it held promise. This turn was so sharp and deep, there had to be fish there. I crept into position wading out to the point and started to cast upstream. I was casting into the shallow riffles upstream and letting the fly swing all the way around the deeper bend in a “u” shape. On my second cast the indicator disappeared and I set the hook. Fish on!! This time I managed a small rainbow!!!

the rare rainbow trout here

another brown

Cast after cast I hooked up with fish after fish. Some were landed and some were lost. I broke off on a fish that must have had the shoulders of a linebacker. Gotta remember to check my line. I must have caught almost 10 fish from this last pool. Overall the day was a huge success, I made the adjustments based upon the conditions that unfolded. I was now ready to go back to work…..

a small brown