Blog

We have been getting a bunch of questions as to why we are reporting scuds being highly successful this summer.   Scuds generally live in the slower water areas of a trout stream (sandy edges, weed beds, in spring heads etc).  On our waters they make up a major part of a trout's...

Every once in a while a product comes along that we wish we would have thought of first.  The type of gear that you invent around the campfire or the hotel room after a day of fishing.   The Sharktooth system is just that. A band to keep tippet spools clean and tangle free, a...

"Hi Mat, Thanks again for giving Tom and Randy L. such a great driftless experience. Tom said Tuesday was the best day of fishing in his life. Randy and I hammered the fish on the Timber Coulee Monday night and Tuesday morning. Black buggers and clousers took big fish ... pink squirrels...

Tired of reading the doom and gloom out there about flooded streams and muddy water?  I was too, so I went fishing with clients and on my own. Caught a ton of these: A few of these: And even a couple of these: Streams have flooded a couple of times already this season...

Urgent Message from Scott HQ regarding new Fiberglass Rods.  We will be taking pre-orders for these rods starting next week.  Watch for details on our e-mail newsletter. This year we’re introducing a full new line up of glass rods that both improve performance and pay homage...

If you have not attended one of our tying nights you have missed impromptu lessons on deer hair spinning, rubber leg tying, soft hackles and more.  This weekend learn the basics of tying with foam, and the hackle stacker style of dry flies.   All skill levels welcome, and we have limited...

Went out for a casual Tiger Trout hunting session last night.  While I caught a bunch of brookies and browns, no tigers showed their 'stripes'. Only brought leeches and a couple hoppers and did not need any other bugs last night.  The fish liked the leech twitched along the...

This was posted on Scott's Facebook page the other day.  For a glass rod take a look at the tip recovery.  No wobble visible.  Of all the new rods coming our way this fall, we are most excited about this one.   Glass is too often overlooked as a rod, especially for our...

It has been raining here.  A lot.  Enough that there has been a stain on many of our area streams for what seems like an eternity.  The stain on the water all but guarantees that fishing will not take place up top except for the terrestrials that have not been washed away by high...

My obsession with the color pink in flies was put into motion in part because of this rig that has been fantastic of late. With this dropped below it.   Pink has always been a trigger color here in the Driftless, but never as crazy as it has seemed this season!

Pink is a hot color in our area (and many other trout areas in the country).  I did some digging on other boards and came across an older post on a conventional tackle forum that explains pink a bit. "First, the primary colors of LIGHT that produce a color response in humans are...

  If you have stopped by the shop recently you have probably noticed our staff shambling around like zombies.  Bags under the eyes, breath reeking of stale coffee, muttering something that sounds vaugely like "buggggs". ...

My recent client Mike sent this feedback on me as a guide.   Thanks Mike, I have been referred to a bucket full of something before, but that time is was not knowledge!   Seriously the fishery gets all the credit.  The fishing here is world class and nothing beats...

This is the big sidewalk sales weekend in Viroqua.  Besides the great fishing right now, the shop has a bunch of stuff on sale. Fleece and Soft Shells 50% off Women's Clothing 30% off Converitble Guide Pants 30% off Waders and Wading Boots 25% off Sale T-shirts at $10.00 and even sales...

Not everything is muddy. Hit the water this afternoon in part to prove that we have fishable water.  If you look at the weather forecasts you see nasty things like FLOOD WATCH, HYDROLOGICAL WARNING... etc.    We are not under water, we do have clear creeks, and we...

Kicked off July in style.  Fished the upper section of one of the more famous area streams the other night.  Water temps were not great, I did not have my thermometer but it felt warm for the headwaters for sure.   Nothing hatching so I tossed on the always deadly summer...

That's really all I have to say.  Guided trips have been great on hoppers with midges down below.  Weather has been fantastic allowing us to fish throughout the day.  Plus it has dried out and gotten breezy and terrestrials are on the trout's radar big time.   Remember...

All is not lost when we get muddy water and rains.  Fishing recently has been blown during the day due to thundershowers at night.  But mid day and into evening the smaller tributary streams are clearing and fishing well (until they get blown out again by late night storms...)  ...

Fly boxes.  Too many options out there, most fly shops remind me of a toothpaste aisle with tons of options that all do the same thing.   Rarely does an option come along that really makes you sit up and take notice.  Our Driftless Angler Magnetic boxes have me switching over all of...

A great short explination of rod action versus power.  This is a very misunderstood concept that often confuses anglers.  A medium action rod does not necessarily mean that it has no "backbone" or power.  There can be powerful fiberglass rods that bend into the cork...

Cloudy weather, drizzles and showers, and a high in the high 60's.  Yesterday was perfect weather to hit some new water.   We have been fishing on the Mississippi river qute a bit over the past year and as we learn the water and the habits of the big water we are catching more and more...

Wild Parsnip.  A pretty plant with some tasty roots (harvest it before it blooms for the best tasting roots) that can do some nasty things.  It is all over in our area, usually on edges of fields and roadsides, but also present along area streams.  It is evident by its yellow flowers...

Very short trip driving between our house and a friend's house for dinner.  Fished a spring feeding a tiny brook trout stream.  The stream itself is something you would pass over, the spring something that you would not even notice, but it was on the way, my rod was in the car, and...

I have had a couple questions lately about the Scott Custom Rod Shop listing a G2 7'3" 3 weight rod as an option.   It is a rod not commercially available in the United States called the Japan Special. Designed to fish for very technically demanding Yamame with sometimes...

My wife and I were out fishing again last night on a larger stream that runs a bit warmer than other area streams.  Geri cleaned up fishing yellow sallies in the riffles, while I caught a few fish on beetles and craneflies.  Concentrating on the water directly below riffles and in...

The holiday weekend is over.  What do you do when your actually have an evening to spend with your wife?   Well go fishing of course!  Geri and I had a date night last night on a tiny, crystal clear, and foot numbing cold stream.   Got in at the conservation easement and...

I think one of the most overlooked patterns here in the Driftless is the micro bug.  There are many flies that fall into that category, but we are talking size 20 and smaller.  I understand not being able to thread the eye, but other than that you should carry an assortment of teeny...

It is getting to that point in the season.  Too much time in the shop, not enough time on the water.  I have even started contemplating fishing before the shop opens up, because now is the time to be out fishing.   Although hatches are slim, fish are looking up in the...

A client that fished with us this past Friday shared a new technique with me.  Watch the pink squirrel dropper as the dry fly (wulff) hangs up on the weed.   We had at least 5 fish take the squirrel as it dangled on the water on that same weed.  If you have some patience, sometimes...

I have been fishing fiberglass rods a lot this season.  I have also fielded a bunch of questions as to why I am fishing with a non graphite rod.  So I turned to the pros to explain a bit about fiberglass. Jim Bartschi, chief rod designer at Scott fly rods . What would be...

The trout's view after 3 inches of rain on Wednesday night.  The fly was 10 inches from the camera.   I missed about a dozen fish on that section of water targeting the slower flat water.  The type of water that under normal conditions you find trout feeding on the...

Muddy water?  Try fishing a San Juan Worm.  Yes they are ugly, but man do they catch fish here.  Even if the water does not cloud up, any type of rainy day seems to get fish to look for these flies.  This is an easy way to tie a durable San Juan. Materials:  Heavy...

In our continuing "Trout Food" series, today we look at the creek lamprey. HABITAT AND BIOLOGY: The American brook lamprey occurs in small to medium streams. Individuals seem to prefer clean gravel substrates and fast currents.  Seagle and Nagel (1982) estimate that the...

We're constantly looking for the better fly here at the shop.  One that fishes better, looks more natural in the water, and will stand up to lots of fish.  Dry flies are quite difficult to find that live up to those criteria.  Especially on our creeks where flies that float down...

Quite a few people have found fishing difficult during the lighter caddis hatches.  Visibly rising fish that reject or ignore your great dry fly pattern.  What our head guide Pete has done with great success is to tie a soft hackle on about 18 inches below a dry fly.  I used that...

We believe that too much emphasis is put on the larger things in fly fishing.  Catching big numbers of fish, new fly rods, 20 inch fish etc.  So we will be celebrating on this blog, not the next big thing in fly fishing, but the next little thing.    These will be the little...

I had a great day yesterday.  Not in fish numbers, not necessarily in fish size.   My client told me on the phone that he wanted to fish dry flies.  My gut reaction was fear.  Fear that somebody wanted to fish dries through a bright sunny day and walk miles blind...

For those who have fished with me, they know that more often than not I head to the water equipped with a sculpin pattern and a mini sink tip.  However this season has seen an about face in my angling.  The mornings before and evenings after the shop is open have been more than...

At least according to my fly fishing calendar, spring has come to the Coulees.   The past couple of days we have seen hatches of things other than midges.  Mayflies, stoneflies, caddis, they are all starting to appear and the fish are responding.   Instead of the splashy...

Just a quick heads up, we will be opening at 7 AM 7 days a week starting tomorrow April 2nd.   We will also be closed for Easter Sunday, Sunday April 4th. We have started to see spring stoneflies (brown and olive size 12), black caddis, and midges hatching daily.  Water temps are...

 Right around the corner, the black caddis hatch usually happens in Mid April, right around tax day.  If the temperature stays as warm as it has been it may start a bit earlier.  This is THE hatch to fish in the area, and fish eat dries, larvae, and pupae with gusto.  We have...

Midges, the tiny bugs that hatch all season long, and are available as a food for trout all season long,  are probably the most underrated fly pattern in the driftless area.   They have been hatching every day since early opener and for anglers willing to wait until the evenings...

Well, it is over.  At least in theory.  Most of the snow is long gone, muddy water from snowmelt is gone, and I am staring at a bright sunny 60 degree day outside.  Olives have been reported on some warmer streams in the area, and fish are feeding like mad with water temps peaking...

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...