So, for my first day out in 2017, I found a new section on a this phenomenal trout map. I don't know who made it for Minnesota, but it is awesome. I love it. I'm hoping someone will make it for Wisconsin.
The section I fished had easement access but it was really hard to find so I stopped at someone's house to ask for directions. They were very helpful and said I could fish anywhere I liked. Score!
The stream has only a mile of publicly fishable land that had work done on it back in the 80s. A beaver did some work on it this last summer, but that is another story I'm sure.
Anyway, after finding the easement, I hiked my way down to the stream and found myself facing a phenomenal run and pool.
There was a nice undercut near the run so I threw a streamer through the run and caught a healthy driftless brown on my first cast. It is one of those sparsely spotted browns with good olive and gold color. It amazes me how variable these fish can look.
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| I got a new Patagonia hip pack. I love it. I'm a hip pack person for sure. |
I fished down stream until I came to a long, slow, deep section. I started hoping over a few muskrat or beaver dens and quickly saw when the section is so deep.
A broad, sturdy dam was doing its job. I wonder how that affects the fish population in that part of the stream. Darker water. Deeper water. Bigger fish?
On my way back out, I hit a few spots I a spooked earlier and manages a gorgeous native brookie. There is something special about the native brookie. Sure they don't get as big as the big browns, but, man, I really love them.
It was a great way to finish a first day out on the water in 2017. My next outing would prove to be a bit tougher as far as fishing is concerned.
We recently had a bit of a cold snap in Wisconsin, as such finding open water was more of a task. I hoped a favorite stretch would be open, but it was much harder than I thought. I should have searched for a sunnier stretch of water. So all in all, no fish came to hand.
I threw streamers because I'm not that confident in my nymphing technique or skill.
You can see how sparse the pockets of water were at times. It made for a gorgeous day. At times, I was able to simply walk across slow runs because the ice was nice and thick.
A couple amazing finds were this frozen hawk. I think it is a Nrothern Goshawk, but if any of you know can identify it as another type, let me know! I looked closely, but left the bird to the wild.
It was surprisingly light weight for its size. I suppose that's the deal when you are a bird.
I also found this big buck. I presume is a hunter's lost harvest. a gorgeous rack, just squeaking out that 9th point.
By the time I got back to the car, I decided to leave the waders on for the drive home. My gators were frozen to my laces. My feet were warm though.
Once we have a slight warm up, the water will get a slight stain and the fish will get hungry. The bite will turn on again!
