A Marvelous Pastime

[billems]

Today was the last day of the trouting season in Wisconsin. So, I made sure to set aside the time to escape the dreck of everyday life. The weather was cold and windy today, grey clouds hung low and reminded me that the warm days are nigh. Not much hatching, though. A few small bwos, a few caddis. A few rises, but they weren't buying my matching flies. It was windy, and getting a dragless presentation proved difficult. I switched to a partridge and orange soft hackle and things began to happen. For a while I was catching a brown on every other cast. Then a nice footlong brown dove into the weeds and I broke my tippet off trying to horse it in. It was a sweet burst of fishing, and I decided that was my wrap to the season. I drove home relaxed, satisfied. A perfect few hours.

I am so damned grateful that I have this sport. I feel very lucky today.

[sagegrouse715]

I ended my WI fishing today also. It was a cold blustery day but I was rewarded for my 1 1/2 hours on the stream this evening. I haven’t caught much in the past two months when I have been fishing. Tonight I was rewarded. I caught 2 12”, a 14”, and a 15” on a woolly bugger. I end the year happy to be able to still wade a trout stream.

[rsagebrush]

I was fishing for brookie's on a local stream, very low water and a lovely warm day, did pretty well considering. Fishing season is not over here.

[PYochim]

It’s just heating up on the stream that runs through my neighborhood. The irrigation that reduces the water to a trickle is done for the season and the fish are active. It is amazing how the fish tolerate these low flows.

[driftless angler]

Billems, I was fishing your area yesterday. I too found a few BWOs and managed a few on a cdc emerger (Mole fly), including a 16" that nearly gave me a heart attack when I saw his head come up to sip the dry. Fished a Wards version of the HI Tonka Prince. I too felt very lucky and grateful when a stepped out of the stream and gave one last look over my shoulder. This pastime gives me such joy!

[billems]

Billems, I was fishing your area yesterday. I too found a few BWOs and managed a few on a cdc emerger (Mole fly), including a 16" that nearly gave me a heart attack when I saw his head come up to sip the dry. Fished a Wards version of the HI Tonka Prince. I too felt very lucky and grateful when a stepped out of the stream and gave one last look over my shoulder. This pastime gives me such joy!

Wow, a 16-incher is a pig these days. That flood last year was terrible. A Wards HI Tonka Prince? You're my blue-collar hero, Man! What size was your emerger? I tried my usual #24 bwo, but nothing. Soft hackle ruled the day. Cold and windy, wasn't it?

[billems]

It’s just heating up on the stream that runs through my neighborhood. The irrigation that reduces the water to a trickle is done for the season and the fish are active. It is amazing how the fish tolerate these low flows.

Sheridan is such a great launching place for anywhere you want to find good fishing. How do you like living there? The town, social scene, etc.

[driftless angler]

Yeah, that flood sure changed things. My usual late season BWO spot on the Kinni is now ankle deep and the riffle is buried in sand. All in all it was a good year, just had to learn the rivers all over again.

I tied the mole fly I was using on a #22 scud hook. I can tie a size #24-26 on that hook and still have a decent hook gap.

Yes, very cold and windy!

[billems]

Yeah, that flood sure changed things. My usual late season BWO spot on the Kinni is now ankle deep and the riffle is buried in sand. All in all it was a good year, just had to learn the rivers all over again.

I tied the mole fly I was using on a #22 scud hook. I can tie a size #24-26 on that hook and still have a decent hook gap.

Yes, very cold and windy!
[/quo9)te]

Yeah, the lower kinni is tough of this old guy (69). Those damn rocks piled up in the bends makes walking around them an ordeal. The Kinni, I've heard,is giving up bigger fish than the Rush. I saw some recent pics of browns caught that exceeded 20 inches.

[driftless angler]

Sounds like I need to get back to the Kinni!

[Caneghost]

Our season did not end, at least not via a regulatory end this year on the fifteenth. Many of our rivers have remained too high for any real wading for more than a month, and we had more rain yesterday. Our dry fly season has waned certainly, though we enjoyed a nice week of Indian Summer this week, capped by an eighty degree afternoon on Friday. I hunted down a riser or two and worked over a good trout tucked into an impossible spot. Well, nearly impossible. I took him finally on a tiny beetle, a buttery colored wild brown of eighteen inches on the storied Beaverkill.'

Sadly I cannot wade that water tomorrow, and more rain is coming. We have the opposite weather pattern this season from parts of the west and midwest, 21 inches July through September. I wish we could share some with you! This week patterned out to finding perhaps one nice trout rising per afternoon, as there are very few bugs around, but it was beautiful! Forty-six this morning and tomorrows high to be only fifty. The change is upon us!

[GerardH]

Bill, finished out the season last Sunday on the river. A bluebird day in the upper 60s, but extremely windy. #24 olives were the fly of choice timed between the gusts, but I didn't hook up with anything over 10"....kind of the story since the flood. Extremely subtle takes, probably lost twice as many as I brought to hand. Weeds didn't help matters, several fish unhooked themselves by taking refuge into a clump of weeds.

Speaking of weeds and last year's flood, I wonder if there's a cause and effect between the two. Since last fall, I've never seen the river so choked with vegetation. Hoping for a snowy winter and plentiful, but timely, rains next year (no 500 year rain events please). Have a good off season and good health.

[AlexP]

Nice reports /posts. Did not fish this weekend, between "Girls Camping Weekend" where I drive and set up the camper for the wife and her friends, and the kids last soccer Fall hurrah, could not squeeze an outing. A lot of weeds this year at the tail end, agree with Gerard.... Time to tie some flies, finish a blank that I have laying around for a while, and hitting the SE MN State Parks that remain open year around. If the weather is nice, I do not mind the 1.5 - 2 hr drive from my house.

Enjoy the Fall in these parts of the World.

Tight Lines!

Alex

[scarlet>fire]

Cheers to a great season! I am hopeful to get a few days in swinging for Steelhead next month and thats about all that is left of my season as well. Looking forward to tying flies and daydreaming all winter of next season!

Best, Chris