July 18th Fishing Report
Sunny, with a high near 76. Calm wind.Great summer weather again today, and really into the weekend. We are only seeing highs hitting about 80 degrees and the night time lows in the high 50s. Just about perfect for summer trout fishing in the Driftless.
We are focusing heavily on fishing in the mornings. Water is cooler, fish are much happier, and we have been seeing tricos on many of our creeks. These tiny mayfly spinners can get fish rising at first light until about 10 a.m. on some days!
If the fish are not rising, we switch to a beetle or small hopper, usually with a bead head below.
Once mid day hits, the trout slow down their feeding and head to cover or depth to get out of the sun. Water temperatures can start to climb (use your thermometer!) and everyhthing slows down. Taking a mid day break is recommended.
Once the sun starts to angle off the water, fishing can pick up again. Terrestrial with a dropper is effective as well as smaller generic dry flies for rising fish at dusk.