This "spring" could not be more different than last year's!  The 70's and 80's of last March and April have yet to materialize, and truth be told, the snow stuck around until a week or two ago.  It has been wet and cold to say the least, but for those of us that have ventured out to fish the spring creeks of the "Driftless"it has been well worth the effort as the surroundings slowly come to life this spring.





Since mid April or so, BWO's and a few black caddis have been hatching, and I can suggest that the hatches are getting stronger and lasting longer as the temps poke up into the mid to high 40's.  I witnesses a BWO hatch this past Monday the 22nd that lasted 3 hours, and produced rising fish in great numbers. 

All of us from the shop that have been up there in the last two weeks can tell you that streamer fishing has been INCREDIBLE!  When the water is a bit off color - black and/or olive streamers really produce!





Jon has been been a proponent of carrying two rigged rods at all times up there, and I could not agree more.  You really should consider trying this the next time you are up there.  The theory is simple - having two different rigs ready at all times allows you to change up presentations almost instantly and ultimately allows you to catch a lot more fish. 

How many times have you rigged up your one rod to go nymphing for example, and then noticed fish rising three minutes later? You have just invested 10 minutes rigging up right?  I mean putting on a strike indicator, followed by a size 16 Pink Squirrel tied on to the end of your 5X leader  trailed by 16" of 6X Fluoro and finished off with a size 20 Pheasant Tail Nymph is quite a set up - and now the fish are rising?  I would venture a guess that like me, most would lob what they have already set up, and see what happens.  Having a second rod already rigged with a dry fly makes it a no brainer!

I was on a creek Monday and having fairly good luck with streamers.  The water was high and off color, and I was fishing new water.  Streamer fishing is a great way to cover new territory quickly and I was quickly figuring out what was going on.  A few times I wished that I had only one rod rigged because it was a pain to backtrack every 100' or so and pick up my second rigged rod which I kept leaving on the bank.  I had just landed two really nice fish from an obvious pool and was about to move to the next one I spotted 75' further down when I realized that I had a nymph set up lying a few feet behind me.  In the next 20 minutes, I landed over a dozen more browns from the pool that I had just nearly abandoned.  I know for a fact that it would have been a 2 fish pool- because who wants to re-rig when streamers are working and another spot is only yards away....the second rod allowed me to make the simple switch.
  
Remember - the Early Catch and Release season for inland trout in Wisconsin ends at
 sundown this Sunday, April 28th and then re-opens at 5am on Saturday May 4th.

Complete Fishing Regulations for Wisconsin are found here:  Wisconsin Fishing Regulations


We hope that you get out there soon and that you remember to share your stories and pictures with your friends at ChiFly!

Let the fun begin.....

Andy

Bigger brighter nymphs in off color water

The first signs of spring