Wanderin' Through SW Wisconsin

I will keep the names of most streams hidden. With a little digging, you'll be able to figure them out if you so choose.

June 17
On June 17th at about 5:20 am, I hit the road and drove to Wisconsin for a solo fishing trip. I arrived near Dodgeville, Wi, which is in Iowa County, at about 6:00 pm. Shortly after my arrival at Governor Dodge State Park, tornado warnings were issued, and we all sheltered in and around the bathroom facilities. The storms got vicious, and while we didn't experience any direct tornadoes where I was, this would shape my next couple days of fishing. After the heavy rains and winds subsided, I setup my tent, referenced some maps, and took a drive around the Iowa County country side. Iowa County is gorgeous. It is some of the most well-kept farmland I've ever seen. I also found many numerous spring creeks. The problem, however, was that they were all muddy brown from the storms. I returned to my campsite, ate some dinner, and turned in for the night, excited and ready to begin fishing in earnest the next day.

June 18
I awoke early, ate some food, referenced some maps, and immediately headed for some nearby trout waters. Wisconsin streams and geology is vastly different than that here in PA. The majority of the stream bottoms I encountered were sand and muck. While I didn't love that aspect of Wisconsin, what I did love was their stream access laws. They have pamphlets detailing what exactly a "navigable waterway" is, and basically if it has a defined stream channel, it's navigable. This equates to a wet feet law that allows you to access and fish pretty much everything, even the smallest trickles, without worry of trespassing. Furthermore, you can access streams at any public bridge crossing as long as you can safely pull off the road. Add on the tons of easements and public parking lots built for anglers, and you have a wealth of spring creeks and access - TAKE SOME NOTES, PA. SPEND YOUR DOLLARS HERE! I drove around for a bit trying to find clear water and decent access points, and I struggled. Eventually I found an easement for a small stream that was relatively clear, and I ventured down into the meadow to try my luck. This stream was Harker Creek. Harker Creek is a small, and I mean small in the headwaters, spring creek that harbors brook trout and brown trout. Read the signs posted below. In Wisconsin, many streams have special regs, and if a stream does, the regs will be posted right at the access points. Notice the special protections on Harker. Brook trout must be released; brown trout may be harvested. ONCE AGAIN, TAKE NOTE, PA!

I didn't fish Harker Creek long. It was muddied up pretty good, even its headwaters, and so narrow and grassy that I had a hard time landing casts in the actual stream, which was, on average, probably 3 feet across. Basically, the rest of this day was spent driving around Iowa County, soaking in the scenery, and trying to find access points to streams that weren't muddy. Almost this entire day was a bust. Everything was muddy. I had low confidence in fishing, and we all know confidence is key.

After fishing many different streams all day and driving around the county, after dinner, I was bound to get back out there. I checked out Otter Creek, which looked gorgeous and was a fair-sized stream, but was flowing so, so muddy. I eventually found my way back to Harker Creek, below the confluence of Martin Creek, which is another tiny spring creek, and finally found a great time. I noticed Harker was clearing. It still had stain, but it was clear enough now that I felt I could catch some fish. I walked way downstream through this meadow, and what ensued was my first magical evening in Wisconsin. Here, Harker was maybe 10-15 feet wide in places, and in others it was only maybe 2-3 feet wide. This stream had a tremendous volume of water, too. It would regularly be over my waist, and often could top my chest waders! I hooked some beautiful, impressive browns, but I lost everyone of them before I could land them. I landed 4 brook trout. I was hooking fish. The stream was cold. The landscape was beautiful and bucolic. I understood Wisconsin's charm; I saw its trout fishing potential.

I really liked this stream, and the next time I am in SW Wisconsin, I am 100% without a doubt fishing this stream again. I returned to Gov Dodge, ate dinner, and went to sleep.

June 19
The next day, I arose, ate breakfast, and packed up my camp. My two nights at Gov Dodge came to an end, and I had to mosey and fish all day long towards my next destination, Vernon County, Wi. I passed through the town of Boaz in Richland County. I pulled off at every bridge and evaluated the streams. I fished many streams, and I caught nothing. Every stream I fished the entire trip was a Class 1 trout stream, which is similar to our Class A list. The streams are very mucky and sandy, and their characteristics are vastly different. There aren't many trees, and there aren't many rocks. One stream, Mill Creek, I fished in several places. This stream has a reputation for holding big trout. In the town of Boaz, it was so mucky I felt I couldn't wade it. Further upstream, I found gorgeous water, but I couldn't move a fish. I even chatted with a gentleman who said he moved there to Richland County 30 years ago for the fishing. He loves Mill Creek, and he said he catches many big browns on large Rapalas and other plugs. He was nice enough to talk to to, but I soon noticed the theme that every fish he caught of every species seemed to be nearly as big as his arms could stretch After a brief chat and after having fished maybe 5 streams on the drive, I found myself in Vernon County, and I setup my tent at Sidie Hollow County Park. Thanks for the campsite recommendation, @CinnamonJoe!

I can't remember what all streams I fished that day, but I found good fishing on one of the nearby Class 1 streams. The water was gin-clear, and the fish were spooky, but I managed to get them to eat some dries. The Elk Hair Caddis was the best dry I fished all trip.

The report will continue in a separate post. I've reached my photo upload limit.

 

June 19, continued.

After poking around several streams and having decent fishing, I returned to my campsite and mapped out my fishing for the next day.

June 20
I arose, and headed to a different area of the county. I found myself on a stream that was my favorite kind of stream, and it reminded me of my favorite PA spring creek that I fish often. The only differences were this stream has way, way more water, and the fish were much spookier and harder to catch. On this day, I caught maybe 10 trout, all of which were on dry flies except one fish that ate a nymph, and that was the only fish that ate a nymph the whole trip. The fishing was kind of hard, and when I thought I had it figured out, it quit working. I think I fished maybe 4 different streams before heading back to my campsite. It was fun, and there were some beautiful creeks, but I definitely didn't set the world ablaze here.

 

June 20, continued

After regrouping at camp and heading into the Driftless Angler, a fly shop in the county seat, Viroqua, I went out fishing again. I went to a tiny brook trout stream, and I finally thought, "Hey, here is a stream that reminds me of PA." Rocks on the bottom, easy trout, etc." I was kind of right. This stream was a unique one, and it would definitely be on my fish again list. It also had brook trout protections, and brookies were all I caught here, but I am sure it probably had browns in it somewhere, too. This stream was like a tiny mountain freestoner, and then it would open up into these weird, wide, weedy, and stagnant pools that would be filled with hundreds of brook trout. However, I could usually catch a couple of trout before I spooked the whole lot. This stream was really cool, and probably smaller than most people bothered to fish.

June 21

After having spent two days camping at Sidie Hollow and fishing Vernon County, I packed up, and once again began driving and fishing whatever I crossed over and stumbled upon. I eventually needed to be in the Twin Cities, so that was my general course of direction, but I had nowhere mapped out to camp or sleep. I stopped at some streams along the way, caught nothing, and eventually found myself in Jackson County near the town of Black River Falls.

 

June 21, continued...

Black River Falls was a cool small town. I walked around the town, and I stopped into a hardware store and chatted with some folks for a while. I then wandered to Castle Mount SP and booked a site for the night. I couldn't check in until 3:00 pm (they seem to take that pretty seriously in Wi) and so I looked at some maps, and I found a stream only a couple miles from the campsite. Wow! This stream was a winner. It was totally unlike any other stream I had fished in Wi up until this point. The water was dark and tannic. It was a mixed brookie/brown stream, and it was awesome. I caught so many fish on woolly buggers. They were easy; they were fun. I needed this stream after having some difficulties. I will 100% be back on this stream again someday.

After having fished this stream for a couple hours, I returned to Castle Mound, set up my tent, ate some food, and got ready for my evening of fishing. I went to the North Branch Trempeleau first, and that's a pretty well-known and famous stream, but I caught nothing. Feeling tired and worn out, I almost headed back to camp, but I decided on one more small stream, and I am glad I did.

The next stream I found myself in was just magical. I hooked my biggest fish here, about a 19 incher, but lost it. These fish went bananas for a woolly bugger. I only had about an hour here and then I was out of daylight. I would have spent hours on this stream, and this one, too, is one I need to revisit. The pictures of this one will be on the next post....

 

June 21, continued....

This was the magical stream I found that evening.

The next day I packed up camp and headed out. Today was the day I'd arrive in Minnesota after fishing for 5 days. I fished several streams, and I caught nothing. The last stream I fished was the Rush River, a river known for producing huge browns. The water was crystal clear and weedy. The bottom was stable enough not to sink in, so that was nice. Some streams out there you could sink in by a couple feet. The Rush River was gorgeous, but at about 3:00 pm I left it behind and went to the city.

This is by no means an exhaustive list or write-up. I didn't mention certain streams, such as the West Fork Kickapoo, which I fished for a bit, because they were lackluster. That was the only stream that was even close to being too warm, too, as it was 68 degrees. Most streams were very cold and had a lot of water. It is much different than PA. I won't say it was better, but it was different. Their stream access laws, however, are miles ahead of us here. I will go back to Wisconsin. There is no doubt about it.

 

Excellent write up. I used to live in the Minneapolis suburbs but unfortunately never did any fly fishing in the Driftless region when we lived there.

Your last photo reminds me of an English chalk stream.

 

Excellent write up. I used to live in the Minneapolis suburbs but unfortunately never did any fly fishing in the Driftless region when we lived there.

Your last photo reminds me of an English chalk stream.

That is the Rush River. The thing I found strange about many of the WI streams is understanding where many of the trout could hide. Undercut banks and in the vegetation were the only solutions I could figure out. Now, there were some good log jams in the Rush, but still. That fine gravel and sand bottom is something else. Many of the streams I fished had pure sand and nothing but sand. I mean, it looked like the Sahara desert under the water.

 

Looks like you had a great time, Josh. Great write-up and pics.

That tea-stained stream is a clone to many Pocono streams.

 

Good stuff, J...

One thing to bear in mind about the West Fork (KIckapoo) is that one branch of it actually headwaters in an impoundment. Hence, when you combine this with it's above average size, it will almost always be one of the first streams to hit 70 F on a sunny Summer day. I've taken it as warm as 74 F at the campgrounds at Avalanche. Most everything else out there is what I would call a lot more temperature "elastic" and seldom warms out of the prudent range for fishing.

I'm glad you had a good trip. Beating the Driftless flat for 15 years pretty much ruined me for the take-a-number fishing on the name PA limestones. I've never been much for the socialization aspect of trout fishing anyway and am kind of other angler phobic. I'm happier catching 8 inch crappie out of my home lakes with nobody else around than counting how many other guys are within sight on Spring Creek..

 

Looks like you had a great time, Josh. Great write-up and pics.

That tea-stained stream is a clone to many Pocono streams.

Poconos have rock bottoms though, right, and not pure sand?

 

Wowsers. Great trip and write up Josh. Love the big Brookies and that super tannic stream.

 

Poconos have rock bottoms though, right, and not pure sand?

Dear jifigz,

That tannic colored stream reminds me of how White Deer Creek used to look 30 plus years ago. White Deer has a few rocks, but it was mostly a sandstone gravel and cobble bottom.

For you and anyone else looking to take a trip to the Driftless Region I have an internet friend from the old VFS days who has lived his entire life in the area, and he has always told me he'd gladly show me around if I ever got out that way. He's older now, but he played a big role in many of the access points and protections that are in place in the region. I'm sure I could message him and he'd be glad to assist anyone I put him in touch with.

Regards,

Tim Murphy 🙂

 

Thanks so much for sharing your trip. Your pix of the different streams were very interesting. Not sure what I expected the driftless area to look like, now I know. I see what you mean about some areas lacking what I would consider typical hiding or holding areas in PA trout streams. Only the tannin stained stream had that familiar NEPA look to me.

Looks like a new road trip destination for me.

 

Dear jifigz,

That tannic colored stream reminds me of how White Deer Creek used to look 30 plus years ago. White Deer has a few rocks, but it was mostly a sandstone gravel and cobble bottom.

For you and anyone else looking to take a trip to the Driftless Region I have an internet friend from the old VFS days who has lived his entire life in the area, and he has always told me he'd gladly show me around if I ever got out that way. He's older now, but he played a big role in many of the access points and protections that are in place in the region. I'm sure I could message him and he'd be glad to assist anyone I put him in touch with.

Regards,

Tim Murphy 🙂

That's a nice offer, Tim. Honestly, though, Wisconsin makes it so easy on the angler. Access points are literally everywhere and they are well-marked. They post these great county maps of Class 1, 2, and 3 trout streams, too. They do a lot of stuff better there than in PA. I

still prefer our stream style and scenery.

 

Fishing buggers on those little streams, are you throwing upstream and fishing it back to you? I always mean to do that more but seldom do.

 

Fishing buggers on those little streams, are you throwing upstream and fishing it back to you? I always mean to do that more but seldom do.

It was more like picking out where I thought that fish would be and dapping the bugger on a tight line. You really couldn't cast on many streams, so I'd flick or bow and arrow cast it and drag it through where I thought the fish would be. No stripping, no casting far upstream, just stealthily plunking it into holes and pockets. In the right stream, the browns were like sharks that would crush it immediately.

I could cast on some streams, like that larger, tannic stream, just not all of them.

 

Nice trip report. I've fished several of those streams before, for sure. The June 20th one in particular (if it's the one I'm thinking of, which has a dam at the lower end of it), Wisconsin actually systematically removed browns from it using electrofishing runs to study brook trout response from 2019-2023. The study is available online.

I fished it twice in two different trips. It's a fun stream with tons of brookies in it, and I had the same experience you did. Catch a fish or maybe two if lucky, then the rest of its several hundred buddies spook.

Like you, I like Wisconsin's stream access rules, the data they have online and I also like that their license year is April-April. We had a family license when we lived in Illinois, which was also something PA could stand to do. For fishing just brook trout, PA is much better than WI in terms of stream accessibility (since most brookie water here is bigger wooded land that tends to be public) and I just plain prefer to fish the woods over the cow pastures. I'm thankful to have fished both, though.

 

Nicely done, Josh!

Hopefully next time around, my schedule will not be so frazzled, and we can meet-up on some of this fine water.

Joe

 

Nice trip report. I've fished several of those streams before, for sure. The June 20th one in particular (if it's the one I'm thinking of, which has a dam at the lower end of it), Wisconsin actually systematically removed browns from it using electrofishing runs to study brook trout response from 2019-2023. The study is available online.

I fished it twice in two different trips. It's a fun stream with tons of brookies in it, and I had the same experience you did. Catch a fish or maybe two if lucky, then the rest of its several hundred buddies spook.

Like you, I like Wisconsin's stream access rules, the data they have online and I also like that their license year is April-April. We had a family license when we lived in Illinois, which was also something PA could stand to do. For fishing just brook trout, PA is much better than WI in terms of stream accessibility (since most brookie water here is bigger wooded land that tends to be public) and I just plain prefer to fish the woods over the cow pastures. I'm thankful to have fished both, though.

You're right; you know which stream it is. I just looked it up, and they did remove browns from that stream using electro-shocking. That stream was a fun one, and so weird. It felt like a straight up freestoner at times, but it had to be spring influenced, too.

 

You're right; you know which stream it is. I just looked it up, and they did remove browns from that stream using electro-shocking. That stream was a fun one, and so weird. It felt like a straight up freestoner at times, but it had to be spring influenced, too.

I really liked fishing it. We stayed at an AirBnB cabin nearby for our anniversary w few years back and fished that one and the branch it runs into. Then I fished it solo last year. You're right that it felt like a PA freestoner more than basically all the other streams I've fished in Wisconsin (I have 23 in the spreadsheet)

Another interesting part about that one for me was that the data shows that there's about 180 kg per hectare of brook trout in that stream. Of course that may vary a little bit from year to year, but it gives me a sense of what it's really like when I read the PA reports that show 30 or 50 or 60 or 100 kg per hectare in a trout stream, specifically brook trout. You can see a big chunk of the fish in that stream as they all scatter and spook.