Blog

Since the question has come up quite a bit lately here is our always scientific theory on early season snowmelt and how it affects fish. We will be the first to tell you that fishing generally is the best between 11 and 3 (hopefully that is an obvious blanket statement).   The...

Typical opening weekend for me.  Was in the shop Saturday to bid farewell and good luck to anglers heading out on the first day of C&R.  The guides and I had been scouting the area for the past week and with stable weather I was sure people would get multiple shots at fish....

Cold weather can be a bit tough fishing.  Here are a few tips to help you find productive water. Fish East/West flowing streams as they get the most sun throughout the day and will warm quicker. Bring a thermometer!  40 degrees is the magic number for super active winter...

The shop is a mess with boxes and new stuff piled all over, but after today it will look great.  Today is our official opening day as it is every year.   In March we are open from 9-5 Monday through Saturday.  The season does not start until March 6th, but right now is time to...

Snowshoeing today made us think that spring may just be coming.  Songbirds, melting snow, eagles over the creek.  But our favorite thing we spotted today was a hatch of midges and winter stoneflies.  Fish were rising in the riffles as early as 11:00 this morning. , 

We can not stress enough the importance of pre-season scouting.  Even if you live far away from the Driftless, it is a great excuse to head out for a weekend and get out of town.  Do some homework before hand, check satellite images, maps, DNR websites etc and narrow it down to about 4...

More snow has hit.  This last round of the fluffy white stuff is just more water in the bank for the upcoming season.  It has been just cold enough to not get jazzed about fishing in Iowa but I decided to put the waders on anyways yesterday and venture forth.   Waders are hands...

Our fishery is unique.  Small to tiny spring creeks that wind through valleys present challenges that anglers who fish outside of the Driftless will never experience.  It is then no wonder that for the most part major rod manufactureres have missed the boat in having a rod line for our...

Warmer weather is melting some snow and making it start to feel (at least for my cabin fever riddled brain) like spring is around the corner.  Keep in mind that season opens this year on Saturday March 6th at 5:00 AM.

Yes you read that correctly, driving around a bit yesterday to get out of the house we saw fish rising to midges in the riffles of a couple local streams.  Even though the 'warm' weather of last week is gone for a couple of days bugs are still hatching and fish are still rising.   A...

One of the best parts about giving presentations is sharing ideas and learning things from other anglers.  Last night after giving a presentation on cold water fishing in Dubuque one of the members shared an excellent way to scout during the coldest weather. and it involves limited time...

And no I do not mean holiday shopping (unless you are planning on shopping here that is).   There are a few things we have been watching lately.  It looks like Rajeff sports is picking up Stroft monofilament products.  Good German tippet is hard to find!  More details as we...

Finished putting up Christmas lights and raked some leaves today in balmy 40 degree weather.  Pete is in the tropics fishing for the next few months.  I am a bit grumpy as these pictures are starting to pour in from his trip. Well Pete, you are missing high temperatures of 27...

Thanks to Midcurrent.com for the content Fly Fishing the Midwest's Driftless Area By Marshall Cutchin  on November 27, 2009 6:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) Image via Wikipedia In The New York Times, Gustave Axelson follows cow trails through...

A friend of the shop, Scott Thorpe is collecting information for an article on fishing mice in Wisconsin.  I know that there are a ton of you rodent heads out there, so lets share some stories and tactics for mousing in the Driftless.   Below is the shop's letter to...

50's to 70 degrees over the past week (and through this weekend).  Fishing has been incredible and worth checking out.  Dry fly hatches from eleven to dark, and fish eating nymphs and streamers.  Lots of fun!   If you have never experienced Iowa fishing treat yourself while the...

We have been guiding in Iowa the past few days and fishing has been great.  A handful of dry flies have fish rising on French and Waterloo, and nymphs are working very well area wide.  The weather is supposed to be in the mid 50's to 60's throughout the next few days.  Photos...