Date: March 31, 2018 Time: Noon - 6 p.m. Location: Wisconsin's Driftless
Temp: Cold... Real Cold... Wind and Clouds made it even colder :)
Saturday early morning....I hear rain outside my window. No big deal. Then I hear it...not rain...Wind. Wind that could blow the spots off a cheetah kind of wind. For real! Not sure why but apparently the Wind Gods and I have some sort of beef going on. Well bad thing for the wind.... I never give up. So I peeked out my window as I pulled my curtain to the side. There it was.... face to face with me... bending the small trees and plants as it tossed carelessly about with zero regard for mine or any other fly fishers feelings of disgust and utter hatred for it. As if to really dig on me hard off goes some bark from a tree hurling to the ground. Hmmmph! Hmmmph! and off to the stream I went! On the journey to heaven on earth, I prepped myself for what was in store. Possibly a tree snag or 10. Then there's always the dreaded line slap on top the water, the tangled lines, the huge possibility the fish may be hunkered down and may not want anything to do with what I prepped for their dinner. But I was determined. The sun poking through the silvery clouds, slowly warming everything it touched, helped me stay inspired to continue on to my destination.
Just like that and poof, I'm there. Sip coffee, question my decision... Here I go. As soon as I step out of the vehicle I'm regretting not putting on both sweatshirts at once. Standing there, I am forced to push against the door to keep it open, since the wind in some sort of bullying attempt is trying to slam it shut on me. On goes the second sweatshirt...crap...its still blowing straight thru into my bones. Luckily I had packed a 3rd sweatshirt and on it went....Perfect. I opened up the rear door, only to have to pry it open against the wind. Wow this might be more than I bargained for. Well to hell with it...grabbed my rod and pack and off to explore I went. Maybe the wind will be blocked by the huge limestone bluffs that contain the majority of the holes I would fish...yeah that seems possible. I continued on and began to take in the sheer beauty around me and doing my best to pretend the wind didn't even exist. The water was quite clear considering the late night, early morning rain. Down deeper it appeared a touch stained which boded well for me as far as I was concerned. I decided to tie on a Zonker fly I had tied up the night before, in hopes of pulling a big fat Brown out from the depths. After a few casts in with no bites I decided to switch it up and put on more of an attracting sort of fly. My take on a Copper John Barr's Fly. First cast in with new fly and things started to look up real quick. Did the wind stop?...NO.....Did the bluffs protect me once I got back into them?......NO... In fact the wind continued all day long and at times did its best to send me home to my warm cozy house... Fortunately the fishing kept my blood pumping and the cold soon became a distant memory, while golden Brown Trout took its place. I ended up saving that fly every single time it got snagged... I couldn't let the stream sirens take my precious fly. By the end of my adventure the fly resembled a fly I might have tied 25 years ago when I first picked up the habit. The trout destroyed it beyond recognition. I would say if you are heading up towards Wisconsin's Driftless Area any time in the near future be sure to pack 2 things in particular: An extra sweatshirt or two and a Copper John Barr's fly. Here are a few pics of the adventure. All fish were caught and released to swim into someone else's net another day. :) Hope you enjoy.
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| Some of the holes along the limestone bluffs...that didn't block the wind. |
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| Mushrooms sprouting from dead tree...Look kinda tasty.. :) |
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| If you look at fence you can see just how high creek had gotten earlier this spring. |
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| One of my favorite parts of fly fishing.... The Release |
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| Healthy Brown Trout ... Till we meet again |
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Finding some time to reflect on life is another reason to visit the stream
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| My take on a Copper John Barr's Fly. This was the hot meal ticket of the day. A must in your fly box, unless you hate catching trout :) |
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| Little Brown Trout who wanted in on the action |
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| Small Stream with pretty defined holes... but I tend to pick them off through the rapids drifting down stream as well |
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| Just messed with this picture in editing, to highlight its golden sheen. |
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| See you later. Thanks for the hospitality |
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| The water was clear and small in spots. Could hop across with a single bound. |
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| Another healthy brown who fell for all the fluff.... :) |
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| It was a barrel of fun |
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| A nice Brown from a completely new hole that has formed since last year. Bulls-eye |
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| Sometimes I find myself wondering.....Is this all just a dream... a really good dream :) |
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| They were all nice and healthy. They put up a fight as if they had never been caught before. |
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| Got most of my bites deep down in, letting fly drift down in and letting it sit. |
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| Up close and personal. |
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| Feisty fella |
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| They were still biting even though the fly was pretty trashed at this point. |
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| At times I would have to re-wrap the red wire back onto the fly so it looked somewhat presentable. |
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| Something was after dinner. Lucky little Brown |
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| Ice in the guides cold. |
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| This Thermos keeps coffee piping hot .... ummm forever pretty much... |
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| Brown Town |
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| Baby Trout with a goofy facial expression. |
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| Not so baby Trout.... maybe the mom of the fish pictured above. Caught this one drifting down into a hole. |
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| Pretty sure that face is his way of saying.... " Haven't we met before "... |
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| Some real beauty on the fish this day |
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| Maybe I should have brought my surf board... Wind made for some tough casting... but I managed. |
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| Picture of Momma fish from above. |
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| The beginning of the end for this fly |
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| At this point the fly had unraveled all of the peacock feather I had wrapped around it. But they didn't care. |
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| Maybe a trout from above..maybe a different one... Honestly I lost track. Most fish pictured are different...but.... |
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| Releasing this fella so he can get big and kypie! |
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| By the end I was cold and fingers wrinkly.... but it was worth every shiver |
Until Next Time............ Tight Lines to All !!
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