Hard to reach blue lines can make for excellent tenkara water
It is not like we record these conversations for posterity, but I think it went something like this: “Hey Matt, I found a pretty little creek that I think will be loaded with brook trout and sees almost zero fishing pressure. You interested?”. Not surprisingly, Matt responded in the affirmative. He always does.
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An Iowa Driftless Tenkara Adventure
The cold arrived quickly in the Driftless this year. After a solid month of sub-freezing temps, a freak warm front brought us a 4 day weekend that melted everything and made it nice to be outside. Naturally, just about every angler in the Driftless made a break for Iowa water that weekend. I was lucky enough to get out on that Friday, and check out a creek that I'd not yet explored. Most of the snow and ice had already melted off, so water temps were stable. With overcast skies and light wind, it made for just about the best conditions you can hope for on a late Autumn day.
I started the day with the BAD AXE rigged as it was from my last day out - 12 feet of regular Badger Line, about 5 ft of 5x tippet, and a #12 Pink Squirrel. I typically prefer to fish this rod with a BADGER-LITE line, but have been experimenting to see how the rod handles it. All and all, it performs well enough with a heavier line. I've seen a slight loss of accuracy and an increase in "splash" on delivery. If you want to throw streamers on the BAD AXE, the regular Badger line offers some extra weight to help those larger flies turn over. When fishing dry, wet, or small to medium nymph patterns, the BADGER-LITE suits the rod perfectly for delicate and accurate presentations.
I was able to bring 6 nice Rainbows to hand on this trip, and had one LDR (long distance release) where the fish got off the hook after a short but energetic fight. Typically, I have found the Rainbow trout in Iowa to be a bit lazy when hooked, but the fish in this creek surprised me. They all put up solid fights that reminded me more of wild Browns than stocked Rainbows!
The first two fish were caught on the Pink Squirrel. They were holding on the soft inside edge of a faster corner pool. Both fish made good runs across the small space they had!
After moving upstream to a wide, and slow pool, I spotted some risers. Having already knocked the skunk off with a few fast catches, it was time to get experimental. Have I mentioned the success I had this season fishing the "Pass Lake" ? It's far past the time of year for a fly or terrestrial the size of a #12 pass lake to be found on our creeks, but I figure the fish have their attention on the surface, and a good sized meal floating past will not be ignored. Hone the zone, as I like to say. Get something that resembles trout food into the water that the fish is paying attention to - and that will catch fish. At least, that is the theory. How will it work in late Autumn, after a six week freeze?
Turns out, pretty good. Moving up to the top of pool where I saw the risers, I dropped the cast into the slow current entering the pool, and drew attention Immediately. There was a swirling disturbance on the surface around the fly - but no "felt" take. What I SHOULD have done was set the hook when I saw the swirl. Instead, I waited a beat. I sighted the fish on what must have been his post-take dive, and set the hook then. After a few serious runs, it managed to slip the hook, and I lost the fish. DOH!
The next three catches came from what was either an extremely long pool, or an extremely slow run. I saw an active feeder near the tail-out, and put the stalk on it. By focusing my casts on the part of the pool that was just slightly faster flowing, I caught that feeder and another about 5 feet upstream. The final fish of the pool was in faster current near the pool's head, in conditions that were more "usual".
The last fish of the day was caught with a tactic that has been working well for me all year. By casting downstream into current and using the disturbed surface as visual cover for my position, I can get pretty close to the head of the pool. Drifting and swinging across the current like one would use a streamer has been really productive with both wet flies (Pass Lake, of course) and nymphs (Killer Bugs).
Another note about the last fish in the video. I do not feel good at all about how I landed the fish. I really should have taken the time to fully assess the water and determine a safe route to bring the fish in.
It was really a fun day out, with lots of lessons to be learned and some really sporty fish. Driftless Iowa continues to be a productive and interesting place to fish in Wisconsin's off season!
I started the day with the BAD AXE rigged as it was from my last day out - 12 feet of regular Badger Line, about 5 ft of 5x tippet, and a #12 Pink Squirrel. I typically prefer to fish this rod with a BADGER-LITE line, but have been experimenting to see how the rod handles it. All and all, it performs well enough with a heavier line. I've seen a slight loss of accuracy and an increase in "splash" on delivery. If you want to throw streamers on the BAD AXE, the regular Badger line offers some extra weight to help those larger flies turn over. When fishing dry, wet, or small to medium nymph patterns, the BADGER-LITE suits the rod perfectly for delicate and accurate presentations.
I was able to bring 6 nice Rainbows to hand on this trip, and had one LDR (long distance release) where the fish got off the hook after a short but energetic fight. Typically, I have found the Rainbow trout in Iowa to be a bit lazy when hooked, but the fish in this creek surprised me. They all put up solid fights that reminded me more of wild Browns than stocked Rainbows!
The first two fish were caught on the Pink Squirrel. They were holding on the soft inside edge of a faster corner pool. Both fish made good runs across the small space they had!
After moving upstream to a wide, and slow pool, I spotted some risers. Having already knocked the skunk off with a few fast catches, it was time to get experimental. Have I mentioned the success I had this season fishing the "Pass Lake" ? It's far past the time of year for a fly or terrestrial the size of a #12 pass lake to be found on our creeks, but I figure the fish have their attention on the surface, and a good sized meal floating past will not be ignored. Hone the zone, as I like to say. Get something that resembles trout food into the water that the fish is paying attention to - and that will catch fish. At least, that is the theory. How will it work in late Autumn, after a six week freeze?
Turns out, pretty good. Moving up to the top of pool where I saw the risers, I dropped the cast into the slow current entering the pool, and drew attention Immediately. There was a swirling disturbance on the surface around the fly - but no "felt" take. What I SHOULD have done was set the hook when I saw the swirl. Instead, I waited a beat. I sighted the fish on what must have been his post-take dive, and set the hook then. After a few serious runs, it managed to slip the hook, and I lost the fish. DOH!
The next three catches came from what was either an extremely long pool, or an extremely slow run. I saw an active feeder near the tail-out, and put the stalk on it. By focusing my casts on the part of the pool that was just slightly faster flowing, I caught that feeder and another about 5 feet upstream. The final fish of the pool was in faster current near the pool's head, in conditions that were more "usual".
The last fish of the day was caught with a tactic that has been working well for me all year. By casting downstream into current and using the disturbed surface as visual cover for my position, I can get pretty close to the head of the pool. Drifting and swinging across the current like one would use a streamer has been really productive with both wet flies (Pass Lake, of course) and nymphs (Killer Bugs).
Another note about the last fish in the video. I do not feel good at all about how I landed the fish. I really should have taken the time to fully assess the water and determine a safe route to bring the fish in.
It was really a fun day out, with lots of lessons to be learned and some really sporty fish. Driftless Iowa continues to be a productive and interesting place to fish in Wisconsin's off season!
Winter tenkara makes you work for your catches
Well, winter is refusing to relent here in Wisconsin. I was pretty optimistic looking at the forecast this week, but when we arrived at the creek the temperature was still in the 20’s, the air was damp and the wind was blowing. Those kind of conditions tend to chill me to the bones. Matt measured the water temp, and found it was only 38 degrees. Things weren’t shaping up quite the way we were hoping.
We were fishing Willow Creek in Richland County, Wisconsin. Both Matt and I had heard good things about the creek. It has a reputation for being very pretty and fishing well. One of my guidebooks even had recommendations for which sections of creek to fish. Well, suffice it to say that we did not think the creek really lived up to it’s reputation. The banks were typically between 6 and 8 feet high. You could certainly fish from the bank, but good luck landing a fish if you did. The stream bed was mostly sand and the water was low and clear. If you did get in a wade, making a stealthy approach was almost impossible. There was very little cover in the stream, other than blow downs and the occasional bend. We only saw a few fish in the stream, mostly in the 6-8 inch range. I did get one fish to thrice swipe at my wooly bugger, but never was able to hook up with him, perhaps because I was perched on a bank 7 feet above the creek and at an awkward angle. Nevertheless, Matt and I kept giving the creek the benefit of the doubt, fishing it for about two hours. We kept thinking that perhaps around the next bend it would better. It never really did. Eventually, we decided to cut our losses and move to a known creek to get some better fishing in.
We headed to Adams creek (not a real name) where we had success earlier in the month. I failed to put my rod away properly and was rewarded with a giant rat’s nest of line when we arrived. I told Matt to go fish the bridge pool while I re-rigged. Within a couple minutes, Matt was hootin’ and hollerin’ something about a big fish. I was wrapping an Albright knot at the time. Failing to recognize the significance of the situation, I continued to tie the knot rather than run over with the net. As I got up to walk over, the bend in Matt’s rod straightened itself out. His tippet had snapped and the fish was gone. He thinks the fish was pushing two feet in length, a figure I think is possible given the depth of the pool and some of the other fish we’ve seen in it.
We then fished the upper section of the creek, which has not seen much in the way of improvement. Most of the fish there are in the pools. Some of the pools may hold a couple dozen fish each. I had a long distance release on a fish about a foot in length in a pool that was maybe only 2 by 4 feet. I did manage to land a fish about 11 or 12 inches long in one of the bend pools. After that, we made the long walk to the lower section of the creek.
We were fishing Willow Creek in Richland County, Wisconsin. Both Matt and I had heard good things about the creek. It has a reputation for being very pretty and fishing well. One of my guidebooks even had recommendations for which sections of creek to fish. Well, suffice it to say that we did not think the creek really lived up to it’s reputation. The banks were typically between 6 and 8 feet high. You could certainly fish from the bank, but good luck landing a fish if you did. The stream bed was mostly sand and the water was low and clear. If you did get in a wade, making a stealthy approach was almost impossible. There was very little cover in the stream, other than blow downs and the occasional bend. We only saw a few fish in the stream, mostly in the 6-8 inch range. I did get one fish to thrice swipe at my wooly bugger, but never was able to hook up with him, perhaps because I was perched on a bank 7 feet above the creek and at an awkward angle. Nevertheless, Matt and I kept giving the creek the benefit of the doubt, fishing it for about two hours. We kept thinking that perhaps around the next bend it would better. It never really did. Eventually, we decided to cut our losses and move to a known creek to get some better fishing in.
We headed to Adams creek (not a real name) where we had success earlier in the month. I failed to put my rod away properly and was rewarded with a giant rat’s nest of line when we arrived. I told Matt to go fish the bridge pool while I re-rigged. Within a couple minutes, Matt was hootin’ and hollerin’ something about a big fish. I was wrapping an Albright knot at the time. Failing to recognize the significance of the situation, I continued to tie the knot rather than run over with the net. As I got up to walk over, the bend in Matt’s rod straightened itself out. His tippet had snapped and the fish was gone. He thinks the fish was pushing two feet in length, a figure I think is possible given the depth of the pool and some of the other fish we’ve seen in it.
We then fished the upper section of the creek, which has not seen much in the way of improvement. Most of the fish there are in the pools. Some of the pools may hold a couple dozen fish each. I had a long distance release on a fish about a foot in length in a pool that was maybe only 2 by 4 feet. I did manage to land a fish about 11 or 12 inches long in one of the bend pools. After that, we made the long walk to the lower section of the creek.
Mike hooked this nice Brown on a shallow bend.
The lower section has seen some improvements from the DNR and Trout Unlimited in the past few years. It is really something to behold: riffles, runs, plunge pools and so on. Surprisingly, for the second time in a row, we did not find many fish in what is essentially a perfect “trout park”. I had one long distance release, Matt had a bump, but that was it. We can’t help to think that our poor success on this perfect trout water has something to do with conditions.
We fished our way back to the bridge pool. Matt started fishing while I switched from a nymph pattern to a streamer. Matt was quickly into a fish. I would estimate it at 16 inches, perhaps more. Again, Matt’s tippet snapped and fish sulked away. We both re-rigged with 3x tippet and heavy streamers. I was surprised how well the Badger Tenkara Classic cast with 12 feet of line, 7 feet of heavy tippet and a large, ridiculous weighted streamer. It seemed like our plan was for naught when Matt announced his “ceremonial last cast”. His rod bent, and he was into another fish. I came down with the net, determined to not have him lose a third fish in this pool. Matt kept the line tight and I netted the fish. It was not as big as the previous “ones that got away”, but it was still pretty respectable, around 14 inches. We elected not to tempt fate and packed it in from there. It was a long haul back to Madison, but we’d do it again.
The very cool/cold early season has been frustrating. Fish have not been terribly active and the hatches have been sparse. I think I can count the number of surface-feeding fish I’ve seen so far this season on one or two hands. Still, we’ve enjoyed reasonable success despite these conditions primarily by fishing with nymphs and small streamers. We’re optimistic that some of these creeks will really produce when conditions become more favorable.
-Mike
We fished our way back to the bridge pool. Matt started fishing while I switched from a nymph pattern to a streamer. Matt was quickly into a fish. I would estimate it at 16 inches, perhaps more. Again, Matt’s tippet snapped and fish sulked away. We both re-rigged with 3x tippet and heavy streamers. I was surprised how well the Badger Tenkara Classic cast with 12 feet of line, 7 feet of heavy tippet and a large, ridiculous weighted streamer. It seemed like our plan was for naught when Matt announced his “ceremonial last cast”. His rod bent, and he was into another fish. I came down with the net, determined to not have him lose a third fish in this pool. Matt kept the line tight and I netted the fish. It was not as big as the previous “ones that got away”, but it was still pretty respectable, around 14 inches. We elected not to tempt fate and packed it in from there. It was a long haul back to Madison, but we’d do it again.
The very cool/cold early season has been frustrating. Fish have not been terribly active and the hatches have been sparse. I think I can count the number of surface-feeding fish I’ve seen so far this season on one or two hands. Still, we’ve enjoyed reasonable success despite these conditions primarily by fishing with nymphs and small streamers. We’re optimistic that some of these creeks will really produce when conditions become more favorable.
-Mike
The weather here in the lower Driftless continues to confound. Air and water temperatures have been in chaos and the trout seem reluctant to feed. Despite these challenges, I’ve been very happy that we are still producing some nice catches on the spring creeks.
We set out to scout what we thought was a very promising stretch of new water, but Willow Creek was a disappointment. It had lazy flow over a very sandy bed, and its only notable structure came from downed trees. While it held a few nice pools, most of the water that we like to target was crowded into tangles of deadfall and steep, restrictive banks. While I’d like to explore some other sections of the creek in search of better water, I wouldn't give this section another run.
Better water was a short drive away, so off we went. Mike had a nasty rat’s nest of line to deal with...so I strolled off to hit the bridge pool that splits this section of water. We’ve caught some 8-12 inches Browns from this pool before, so I figured I’d sink a streamer in there and see what was hungry.
I was fishing a 12 foot Badger Line, and another 6 feet of 5x tippet with my old standby - #12 black woolly bugger. I let it sink and worked back in with a slow twitch a few times...and then it hit. A strong take and MUCH more resistance to my set than I was expecting. I lifted the rod up and back to try to get him to the surface, with limited success. The first time he breached, I got a decent look (in the video you'll hear my reaction - WHOAH!) and the fish was much larger than I estimated. I thought I saw a bright swath of red along its side, which would have meant he was a ‘bow, but to my knowledge, there are only Browns in this water. The red I saw must have been all the adrenaline dumping into my system when I saw just how big of a hog he was!
I planted my feet firm and decided to stand my ground, managing to bring the fish up a few times but unable to prevent him from diving again. He’d been running side to side, allowing me turn him as he went, but my luck was about change - he started a hard sprint directly away from me. Man, this fish had some muscle! I brought my left hand up to stabilize the rod, hoping I could hold off his charge with a double grip.
I had both hands on the cork, which still allowed for a decent amount of flex in the rod, but then shifted my lower hand up onto the base section of rod above the cork. The fish dug in its heels - we both froze there pulling against each other for a few very long seconds, until - SNAP! The tippet just couldn't take anymore, and my monster dove back down into the pool.
We set out to scout what we thought was a very promising stretch of new water, but Willow Creek was a disappointment. It had lazy flow over a very sandy bed, and its only notable structure came from downed trees. While it held a few nice pools, most of the water that we like to target was crowded into tangles of deadfall and steep, restrictive banks. While I’d like to explore some other sections of the creek in search of better water, I wouldn't give this section another run.
Better water was a short drive away, so off we went. Mike had a nasty rat’s nest of line to deal with...so I strolled off to hit the bridge pool that splits this section of water. We’ve caught some 8-12 inches Browns from this pool before, so I figured I’d sink a streamer in there and see what was hungry.
I was fishing a 12 foot Badger Line, and another 6 feet of 5x tippet with my old standby - #12 black woolly bugger. I let it sink and worked back in with a slow twitch a few times...and then it hit. A strong take and MUCH more resistance to my set than I was expecting. I lifted the rod up and back to try to get him to the surface, with limited success. The first time he breached, I got a decent look (in the video you'll hear my reaction - WHOAH!) and the fish was much larger than I estimated. I thought I saw a bright swath of red along its side, which would have meant he was a ‘bow, but to my knowledge, there are only Browns in this water. The red I saw must have been all the adrenaline dumping into my system when I saw just how big of a hog he was!
I planted my feet firm and decided to stand my ground, managing to bring the fish up a few times but unable to prevent him from diving again. He’d been running side to side, allowing me turn him as he went, but my luck was about change - he started a hard sprint directly away from me. Man, this fish had some muscle! I brought my left hand up to stabilize the rod, hoping I could hold off his charge with a double grip.
I had both hands on the cork, which still allowed for a decent amount of flex in the rod, but then shifted my lower hand up onto the base section of rod above the cork. The fish dug in its heels - we both froze there pulling against each other for a few very long seconds, until - SNAP! The tippet just couldn't take anymore, and my monster dove back down into the pool.
Afterwards, we fished upstream, where I caught a nice 12-13 inch Brown (right after the action cam died, of course), and then hiked down another section and fished up again. As Mike mentioned, this creeks lower section is structured like a Tenkara theme park, but the fish are scarce. The whole time, I was thinking back to that big ‘un that got away! What could I have done different? Should I have moved instead of holding tight? I decided that was the case.
We hit that pool again on the way back to the car. I was rigged up the same way. After a few minutes, suddenly I've got another good sized fish on the line! AWWW YEAH! I brought the rod up high and held the fish on the surface, then started moving him towards shallow water - this time I wouldn't make the mistake of holding tight and creating a stand off, plus - Mike had jumped down the bank and was rushing in for a net assist - I had him!
Or so I thought...SNAP! The tippet gave way and the fish dived out of sight. “Youve got to be kidding me!” I shouted, and literally jumped up and down, stomping my feet in frustration. I'm usually pretty centered, but MAN, I just couldn't believe I had two snap-offs in the same pool.
“I guess the 5x just couldn't take it” I told Mike. “Wait - you were still using the 5x?” he asked. “Thats all I carry!”. Mike still carries some extra tippet spools from his “western” fly fishing days, I rigged up with 3x and tied on a weighted, white marabou streamer to get back in the game.
We worked the pool for another 5-10 minutes, mike throwing some monster purple streamer and I the weighted minnow, and we finally decided to pack it in. I announced my “Ceremonial last cast” and was doing the slow twitch retrieve, laughing and trying to figure out exactly what made it “ceremonial” … when I got a really solid take and managed to land a really nice brown. I guess THAT is what made it ceremonial!
The "ceremonial last cast" prospecting the bottom of a deep pool with a weighted minnow conjured this handsome Brown.
All and all it was a great day out. Those two fish that snapped tippet are still on my mind; perhaps it was just a simple mismatch and the tippet wasn't sufficient, but I’m thinking hard as to what I could improve tactically to get those fish into the net. That’s one thing I love about Tenkara fishing - it’s a process of learning and exploration and there is ALWAYS another lesson!
-Matt
-Matt
Badger Tenkara has been busy in March
It’s been a great week to get out and explore some new water. The sudden burst of warmth last week left the streams here in the lower Driftless off color for a few days, but the water temperature has stabilized and mostly things are running clear.
While the creeks were mucked up, I spent a little time investigating a great headwater section. This is going to be a highly technical piece of water to fish. The water is gin clear and about 6 to 40 inches deep, with steep banks anywhere from 3 to 8 feet high, and the bed is no more than 6 feet wide. The wild Brown trout that live there hold very, very tight to structure. There were several times that I encountered fish that were holding close to the lone rock on a bend, tucked up under a small deadfall, or a tiny clump of overhanging brush. It’s one of those creeks that will require laser focus casts into extremely small target zones. Since I had limited time that day, I wasn’t able to properly fish this one, but I’m really looking forward to the challenge!
I also made a quick stop at Salmo Pond near Black Earth creek. Over the last few weeks, Mike and I have pulled down over a hundred feisty 5-10 inch rainbows here since opening day. The black wooly bugger with a twitching retrieve has been spot on exactly what these fish wanted. To my surprise, the first fish I hooked up was actually a little largemouth bass who really shouldn’t have been that shallow this time of year. Also had the opportunity to give a brief rundown of Tenkara to another angler, and let him give the “Classic” a try. While he was amazed at the lightweight rod and easy casts…you’ll see in the video that he remained true to his western casting roots!
Capped off the week with a run on some new water that’s about an hour west of Madison. It’s tucked up into some really nice Driftless hill country, and is home to stocked Brookies and wild Browns. The day started out disappointing. The wind was gusting strong, and the downstream sections I looked at were silted up, dark, flat, and devoid of much structure. A bright, sunny sky was wonderful to be out in, but made the stalk a bit harder.
The quick drive upstream landed me on a great access point where I was able to get into a much better section of creek. Here the 55 degree water was largely clear, and there was a very nice “riffle, run, pool” sequence on just about every stretch. The bed averaged 5-10 feet wide with a good amount of 2-5 foot depths. I would have liked to have seen more pronounced undercuts on the banks – my best guess is that these were silted up from the melt runoff and will be visible again soon.
Nothing seemed to be happening on top so I started with a #14 bead head killer bug, which is my go-to subsurface prospector. No joy on that one – maybe the nickel bead head was too flashy in the sun? I shifted to a killer bug without the bead and started to get bumps almost immediately. I didn’t fish it long, because soon after I came across one of those perfect combinations of terrain and timing that anglers are always hoping to stumble across.
Ahead, the creek bends left, and the current is churning up a bubble line that looks like a lit up runway beckoning me to land a plane. It flows right up under a nicely cut bank that is well shadowed by clumps of brush. I watch for a moment – smack, a fish is feeding the top! I pause for a few minutes and watch it periodically surface for another bite. It’s now evident that there’s a good hatch underway, and good sized white, fluffy flies are on the menu!
Now, as you may be aware, I do not subscribe to the “match the hatch” philosophy. Instead, I prefer to “hone the zone”, which is to say that I concentrate on putting flies with general food-like attributes into the zone where the fish are eating (the bottom, the middle drift, or the surface) and then making them effective with good technique. My favorite pattern for targeting trout feeding the top is what I call “Buggy Thing That Floats”. It’s a simple recipe: olive thread with a random hackle of CDC along most of the body, tied on a hook of your choice – that’s it. When bone dry, it floats on the top like a full adult fly, and when wet, it rides the film like a cripple or emerger. The CDC really does a great job looking like wings when it’s dry, and like general insect parts when soaked.
While the creeks were mucked up, I spent a little time investigating a great headwater section. This is going to be a highly technical piece of water to fish. The water is gin clear and about 6 to 40 inches deep, with steep banks anywhere from 3 to 8 feet high, and the bed is no more than 6 feet wide. The wild Brown trout that live there hold very, very tight to structure. There were several times that I encountered fish that were holding close to the lone rock on a bend, tucked up under a small deadfall, or a tiny clump of overhanging brush. It’s one of those creeks that will require laser focus casts into extremely small target zones. Since I had limited time that day, I wasn’t able to properly fish this one, but I’m really looking forward to the challenge!
I also made a quick stop at Salmo Pond near Black Earth creek. Over the last few weeks, Mike and I have pulled down over a hundred feisty 5-10 inch rainbows here since opening day. The black wooly bugger with a twitching retrieve has been spot on exactly what these fish wanted. To my surprise, the first fish I hooked up was actually a little largemouth bass who really shouldn’t have been that shallow this time of year. Also had the opportunity to give a brief rundown of Tenkara to another angler, and let him give the “Classic” a try. While he was amazed at the lightweight rod and easy casts…you’ll see in the video that he remained true to his western casting roots!
Capped off the week with a run on some new water that’s about an hour west of Madison. It’s tucked up into some really nice Driftless hill country, and is home to stocked Brookies and wild Browns. The day started out disappointing. The wind was gusting strong, and the downstream sections I looked at were silted up, dark, flat, and devoid of much structure. A bright, sunny sky was wonderful to be out in, but made the stalk a bit harder.
The quick drive upstream landed me on a great access point where I was able to get into a much better section of creek. Here the 55 degree water was largely clear, and there was a very nice “riffle, run, pool” sequence on just about every stretch. The bed averaged 5-10 feet wide with a good amount of 2-5 foot depths. I would have liked to have seen more pronounced undercuts on the banks – my best guess is that these were silted up from the melt runoff and will be visible again soon.
Nothing seemed to be happening on top so I started with a #14 bead head killer bug, which is my go-to subsurface prospector. No joy on that one – maybe the nickel bead head was too flashy in the sun? I shifted to a killer bug without the bead and started to get bumps almost immediately. I didn’t fish it long, because soon after I came across one of those perfect combinations of terrain and timing that anglers are always hoping to stumble across.
Ahead, the creek bends left, and the current is churning up a bubble line that looks like a lit up runway beckoning me to land a plane. It flows right up under a nicely cut bank that is well shadowed by clumps of brush. I watch for a moment – smack, a fish is feeding the top! I pause for a few minutes and watch it periodically surface for another bite. It’s now evident that there’s a good hatch underway, and good sized white, fluffy flies are on the menu!
Now, as you may be aware, I do not subscribe to the “match the hatch” philosophy. Instead, I prefer to “hone the zone”, which is to say that I concentrate on putting flies with general food-like attributes into the zone where the fish are eating (the bottom, the middle drift, or the surface) and then making them effective with good technique. My favorite pattern for targeting trout feeding the top is what I call “Buggy Thing That Floats”. It’s a simple recipe: olive thread with a random hackle of CDC along most of the body, tied on a hook of your choice – that’s it. When bone dry, it floats on the top like a full adult fly, and when wet, it rides the film like a cripple or emerger. The CDC really does a great job looking like wings when it’s dry, and like general insect parts when soaked.
"Buggy Thing That Floats"
So I tie on one of my earliest prototypes of BTTF (It’s a little big – it’s on a #12 Scud hook), and send it upstream about 5 feet up the bank from where the fish has been snacking. The dead drift rode the current straight down into the shadows, and the fish took it with authority! He ran hard for the bank a few times, and I muscled him back out into the current, but then he made a really solid dive into the undercut. At this point, I’ve got my rod up over my head and behind me, at the end of my range of motion and all out of leverage. I held the rod steady and took a step back downstream, which managed to pry him off the bank. I brought him to my feet, but gave him a bit too much slack when I reached for the net, so he got an early reprieve and was saved the stress of a net and release. All and all, it was damn exciting and a win for angler and fish alike!
Almost out of time for the day, I came across a wider, deeper bend. In some calmer water just off the main current at the top of the turn, another fish is feeding the surface. Fighting the wind, it took a couple of casts to get the fly into the drift position I wanted. Once I dropped it into his lane, he gave the BTTF a classic smack-and-turn and it was on! He was a fighter, but there was good depth here and not much cover, so tactically, there wasn’t much he could do. I brought him to net and sent him on his way just as my day was winding down. Such a perfect note to end the day on - there is just nothing finer than a dynamic surface take on a fly you tied yourself!
The fish population density here seemed a bit low, but I’m not going to judge it based on this one trip. It’s definitely a fun creek, and one that I’ll come back to many times this season.
If you haven’t fished the small streams of the Lower Driftless, you’ll find they offer a unique experience that is well suited for Tenkara adventures. Come check it out!
-Matt
Almost out of time for the day, I came across a wider, deeper bend. In some calmer water just off the main current at the top of the turn, another fish is feeding the surface. Fighting the wind, it took a couple of casts to get the fly into the drift position I wanted. Once I dropped it into his lane, he gave the BTTF a classic smack-and-turn and it was on! He was a fighter, but there was good depth here and not much cover, so tactically, there wasn’t much he could do. I brought him to net and sent him on his way just as my day was winding down. Such a perfect note to end the day on - there is just nothing finer than a dynamic surface take on a fly you tied yourself!
The fish population density here seemed a bit low, but I’m not going to judge it based on this one trip. It’s definitely a fun creek, and one that I’ll come back to many times this season.
If you haven’t fished the small streams of the Lower Driftless, you’ll find they offer a unique experience that is well suited for Tenkara adventures. Come check it out!
-Matt
Tenkara in the Snow
Somewhere on the South Eastern edge of the driftless...
We knew conditions might be tough today. The high would only make it to the low 20's while we planned to be out. The creeks we had scouted thus far were all still running low and clear. The fish would probably be spooky and lethargic, an unfortunate combination in a trout. But, like anyone who still calls himself a fisherman, we had hope.
I had scouted this creek last fall. I liked the looks of it, but could not figure out any legal access. It was a long, cold winter in Wisconsin, though, giving a guy a lot of time to research this sort of thing. Once we had the access piece squared away, we would just have to wait for the season to open.
Convention says that in this type of weather, small nymphs (size 18 or 20) dead drifted are your best bet. Matt and I don't always follow convention. We both tied on number 14 beadhead killer bugs, a pattern that worked well for us in Iowa during the off season. I drifted the fly through a rifle section, not expecting much and getting less. Next came a nice bend pool. I let the bug drift through it, and hooked up with a nice brown, maybe 10 inches. It broke free as I was about to net it, which never bothers me that much. I tried my luck again, but got hooked up on the bottom. I tried to work the fly free, but could not manage to do so. I ended up having to walk up to the pool to retrieve the fly and about two dozen fish blew out of it as I did. Matt saw some of them as they shot down stream. He said one was a real hog. Figures.
Matt and I both fished some promising water after that, but neither of us had much to show for it. We came up on a real nice run and a big pool. Matt and I tend to go out of our way to defer to each other when fishing, so since I had come the closest to landing a fish at that point, I told him to take that section and hiked on. At the next promising pool, I switched to a size 12 beadhead woolly bugger, another favorite early season pattern. I cast to the head of the pool and twitched the fly back, rewarded by the flash of a fish. I figured that might be all that I got, but cast again anyway. I was pleasantly surprised when another fish hit the fly, then a little shocked when I saw the size of the fish. I managed to land it, but it certainly was not one of my more graceful performances. It may not be the largest brown trout I've ever landed on a Tenkara rod, but it was close.
After the fish was safely released, I told Matt I was going to give the pool one more try. I thought the pool would be spooked, as I basically had a controlled fall into the creek when I was trying to land the fish, and there was probably some excessive celebration going on after that. "Go for it" said Matt, so I did. I could hardly believe it when another fish took the fly, also a nice brown but not as large as the first. I guess being an optimist pays off sometimes.
We then backtracked and explored the lower section of the creek. It had remarkable stretches of trouty water: riffles, runs, plunge pools, deep bends and undercut banks. It was something to behold, but for whatever reason we could not move any more fish. I about hooked a muskrat and fell into a snow drift deeper than most of the pools on the creek, but that was the extent of our excitement. Still, I count this day as a success: we explored a new creek that looks to be a winner and should fish well under anything resembling favorable conditions, caught a few fish despite conditions and had a great time. We know we'll be back and we hope to take some of you with us!
-Mike
A challenging day, but it was great to finally be out on Wisconsin water again! This creek has some amazing terrain that I simply cannot wait to fish again once conditions improve. I am confident that once the snowmelt stops destabilizing the water temperatures, this stream is going to be very productive.
Mike and I both fished our Badger Tenkara Classics today, but we each chose different line. He was testing yet another one of his homebrew line ideas, while I stuck with my usual for sub-freezing temps - the 11ft Badger Line with about 5-6 feet of 5x tippet. We had several days this winter on Iowa’s “open all year” spring creeks where #14 bead headed killer bugs caught us lots of fish, so we were surprised that they didn’t produce today. The shift to #12 black bead headed woolly buggers worked as well as we could have hoped under these awkward early season conditions.
Of interesting note, was that we unexpectedly saw many fish holding very shallow. On several larger turns of the creek, they were concentrated on the upper, inside corner of the turn in 8-12 inches of water. In these air temperatures, we would expect to find them gathered in deeper pools and runs, but we think the sun brought them up close to the surface to get some warmth.
The bridge pool we encountered looked like a choice piece of water. We estimate that it was a good 8 feet deep, with steep sides. It may have been dredged out as part of the habitat rehab that was done here not long ago. This was the first place I fished when we started the day, and I had spent a good amount of time prospecting the tail, sides, head, and main current with the killer bug. No joy, not even a bump!
We had been up stream for a good hour so when we came back around, I gave the woolly bugger a go, dropping the first cast centered in between the main current and left bank’s drop off. I let it sink a bit, keeping the rod high, and began to give it a slight twitch every few seconds. The take was easy to feel even though the fly was about 5 feet deep, and the set was clean. The brown was modestly sized but put up a good little fight for being 8 or so inches!
What really impressed me about this creek was that it had a ton of features that make it perfect for Tenkara. In addition to a good amount of deeper pools on larger turns, smaller plunge pools and 2-4 foot deep channels along rocky banks were common. The banks upstream of the bridge pool are almost entirely clear of brush, making for easy casting. The section downstream of the bridge pool had more foliage along the banks but the abundance of postcard perfect terrain features will make it a “must fish” that is sure to produce once the weather evens out.
All and all, it was an exciting day getting to explore this great spring creek. If you're interested in fishing this unique stream on the southern edge of the driftless, drop us a line!
- Matt
We knew conditions might be tough today. The high would only make it to the low 20's while we planned to be out. The creeks we had scouted thus far were all still running low and clear. The fish would probably be spooky and lethargic, an unfortunate combination in a trout. But, like anyone who still calls himself a fisherman, we had hope.
I had scouted this creek last fall. I liked the looks of it, but could not figure out any legal access. It was a long, cold winter in Wisconsin, though, giving a guy a lot of time to research this sort of thing. Once we had the access piece squared away, we would just have to wait for the season to open.
Convention says that in this type of weather, small nymphs (size 18 or 20) dead drifted are your best bet. Matt and I don't always follow convention. We both tied on number 14 beadhead killer bugs, a pattern that worked well for us in Iowa during the off season. I drifted the fly through a rifle section, not expecting much and getting less. Next came a nice bend pool. I let the bug drift through it, and hooked up with a nice brown, maybe 10 inches. It broke free as I was about to net it, which never bothers me that much. I tried my luck again, but got hooked up on the bottom. I tried to work the fly free, but could not manage to do so. I ended up having to walk up to the pool to retrieve the fly and about two dozen fish blew out of it as I did. Matt saw some of them as they shot down stream. He said one was a real hog. Figures.
Matt and I both fished some promising water after that, but neither of us had much to show for it. We came up on a real nice run and a big pool. Matt and I tend to go out of our way to defer to each other when fishing, so since I had come the closest to landing a fish at that point, I told him to take that section and hiked on. At the next promising pool, I switched to a size 12 beadhead woolly bugger, another favorite early season pattern. I cast to the head of the pool and twitched the fly back, rewarded by the flash of a fish. I figured that might be all that I got, but cast again anyway. I was pleasantly surprised when another fish hit the fly, then a little shocked when I saw the size of the fish. I managed to land it, but it certainly was not one of my more graceful performances. It may not be the largest brown trout I've ever landed on a Tenkara rod, but it was close.
After the fish was safely released, I told Matt I was going to give the pool one more try. I thought the pool would be spooked, as I basically had a controlled fall into the creek when I was trying to land the fish, and there was probably some excessive celebration going on after that. "Go for it" said Matt, so I did. I could hardly believe it when another fish took the fly, also a nice brown but not as large as the first. I guess being an optimist pays off sometimes.
We then backtracked and explored the lower section of the creek. It had remarkable stretches of trouty water: riffles, runs, plunge pools, deep bends and undercut banks. It was something to behold, but for whatever reason we could not move any more fish. I about hooked a muskrat and fell into a snow drift deeper than most of the pools on the creek, but that was the extent of our excitement. Still, I count this day as a success: we explored a new creek that looks to be a winner and should fish well under anything resembling favorable conditions, caught a few fish despite conditions and had a great time. We know we'll be back and we hope to take some of you with us!
-Mike
A challenging day, but it was great to finally be out on Wisconsin water again! This creek has some amazing terrain that I simply cannot wait to fish again once conditions improve. I am confident that once the snowmelt stops destabilizing the water temperatures, this stream is going to be very productive.
Mike and I both fished our Badger Tenkara Classics today, but we each chose different line. He was testing yet another one of his homebrew line ideas, while I stuck with my usual for sub-freezing temps - the 11ft Badger Line with about 5-6 feet of 5x tippet. We had several days this winter on Iowa’s “open all year” spring creeks where #14 bead headed killer bugs caught us lots of fish, so we were surprised that they didn’t produce today. The shift to #12 black bead headed woolly buggers worked as well as we could have hoped under these awkward early season conditions.
Of interesting note, was that we unexpectedly saw many fish holding very shallow. On several larger turns of the creek, they were concentrated on the upper, inside corner of the turn in 8-12 inches of water. In these air temperatures, we would expect to find them gathered in deeper pools and runs, but we think the sun brought them up close to the surface to get some warmth.
The bridge pool we encountered looked like a choice piece of water. We estimate that it was a good 8 feet deep, with steep sides. It may have been dredged out as part of the habitat rehab that was done here not long ago. This was the first place I fished when we started the day, and I had spent a good amount of time prospecting the tail, sides, head, and main current with the killer bug. No joy, not even a bump!
We had been up stream for a good hour so when we came back around, I gave the woolly bugger a go, dropping the first cast centered in between the main current and left bank’s drop off. I let it sink a bit, keeping the rod high, and began to give it a slight twitch every few seconds. The take was easy to feel even though the fly was about 5 feet deep, and the set was clean. The brown was modestly sized but put up a good little fight for being 8 or so inches!
What really impressed me about this creek was that it had a ton of features that make it perfect for Tenkara. In addition to a good amount of deeper pools on larger turns, smaller plunge pools and 2-4 foot deep channels along rocky banks were common. The banks upstream of the bridge pool are almost entirely clear of brush, making for easy casting. The section downstream of the bridge pool had more foliage along the banks but the abundance of postcard perfect terrain features will make it a “must fish” that is sure to produce once the weather evens out.
All and all, it was an exciting day getting to explore this great spring creek. If you're interested in fishing this unique stream on the southern edge of the driftless, drop us a line!
- Matt
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