Going Driftless is going on the road to Boliver, Missouri on August 4th.

If you have the time and the inclination try to make it to the TRI-LAKE Flyfihsers monthly meeting on August 4th in Boliver, Missouri. I will be giving a presentation called "GOING DRIFTLESS..." I will discuss fly fishing opportunities in Southeastern Minnesota and Southeastern Wisconsin. It is bound to be a hoot. Hope to see you there.

Boot

More 2014 Driftless oddities...First Fishes and new caddis'

Here are a couple more interesting tid-bits from our the recent trip to the Driftless area in Wisconsin. Both come from the Kickapoo.
 

Net spinning Caddis

The first is a really interesting Caddis I seen. Actually, it is the caddis house more than the caddis itself. This little guy built or spin a little net that looked like a cabana . The water would flow in to the opening and to the back where he lived on the scraps that floated in. I had heard of these net spinners, but this is the first I have ever seen. Pretty Cool.

Q-Balls first brown Trout

Okay, so Q-Ball may not quite classify as an complete oddity, but I have to show you a photograph of his first ever brown trout. This came on what else...a PINK SQUIRREL.

2014 - Going DRIFTLESS...version 2.0

During our 2^nd annual Driftless Fishing trip we ended up in southwest Wisconsin, more specifically, Viroqua, Wisconsin. In addition to “Stinkbug” and “Sasquatch”, this year we added a newbie to the group “Q-ball”. With a bald head like that there is no question where he got his name. 

2014 Driftless Crew...Boot, Q-ball, Stinkbug, and Sasquatch

The first two days we had pretty good success fishing on the Kickapoo River located east of Viroqua. The water was great and the fish seemed eager to bite, especially on leeches, coulee scuds and of course pink squirrels. 

Coulee Scud. One of the most productive flies we used all week

The first two days on the Kickapoo River looked great. Lots of fish and great water.

Two days into out trip the rains set ina nd the Kickapoo River was Blown out and muddy the remainder of the week

After a couple days the rains set in, the bigger creeks rose quickly and turned to mud. We had no other choice but to go to the more technical smaller streams of the Coulee Creek system. These streams are a bit more difficult and can drive a person crazy if they are not used to fishing them. The best success was seen fishing up stream with dry flies. The fish were not huge by comparison, but for a small Driftless area stream they were wonderful. Each day I was able to land a dozen fish with the largest reaching 12 inches. For the Coulee System that didn’t seem bad to me at all. 

Spring Coulee Creek...Small technical stream with great rewards

Spring Coulee reward

I should mention that there is a great little fly shop on the main drag in Viroqua called the Driftless Angler. They were more than willing to help us plan our trip over the last few months and even helped us to find places to fish after the rains had set in. Check them out and tell Matt and Geri (the owners) we said Hi. They are super nice. Always to support your local fly shop!

 

One of the greatest things about Wisconsin is their ability to brew beer. Leinie's Red Lager is something we cannot get here in the midwest., but you can there. My recommendation is to give this a try. You will not be disappointed.

YUM!

The fly shop has an apartment upstairs, but if you want to camp the Vernon County park system is great. They have all the amenities that you could ask for...clean showers, quiet campsites, and centrally located. Sidie Hollow was really nice and the price was right. About $20 a night. Cannot beat that anywhere.

More to come soon. Including a photos of Q-Ball's first Brown Trout, Stinkbugs worse joke of the week and great photos of our 2014 Driftless Area trip.