Driftless Area in May

[Walkfar]

Good morning folks. I am a great fan of small stream fishing and am hoping to visit Wisconsin’s Driftless Area for the first time sometime in mid May. I thought it might be a good idea to hook up with a knowledgeable guide for a couple of days and then perhaps do a bit of exploring on my own. Any suggestions about preparing for the trip, like background reading, guides, flies to tie, etc? I was thinking about contacting the Driftless Angler in Viroqua and using that area as my base of operations. Thanks for any suggestions!

Dennis

[ibookje]

Interesting destination and questions

[trland]

Look up Erik Helm for guiding (and everything else too). He's on this forum too. His web site is classicalangler.com

[blackdog]

Erik Helm is a great resource. So are the Driftless Angler folks. You should have great bug activity, especially in the evenings. There’s lots of public access, so hire a guide for a couple days, then venture out with a map. You’ll really enjoy the area.

[Walkfar]

Thank you folks! I’ll get started on those contacts.
Dennis

[GerardH]

I'd recommend Bob "Silverdoc" Blumreich, I don't think anyone knows the streams or the hatches better in the WI Driftless than Bob does.

As far as reading material of the region and hatches, here are some recommendations:

Wisconsin & Minnesota Trout Streams: A Fly-Angler's Guide by Humphrey & Shogren, a bit dated but still very informative and relevant.
Fly Fishing Midwestern Spring Creeks by Ross Mueller
Upper Midwest Flies That Catch Trout and How to Fish Them: Year-Round Guide by Ross Mueller
Exploring Wisconsin Trout Streams: The Angler's Guide by Born, Borger et al.

Caddis, Hendricksons, olives are good bets in the May.

[MNJoe]

Dennis

WI and MN DNR have on-line maps with easement information. Guides can be helpful, but the Driftless is small streams for easy DIY where fishy spots are recognizable. You are one bend away from new water to explore and endless blue lines to explore.

My advice is go slow and quiet, then go slower and quieter. I am repeatedly humbled seeing the shadows scramble well upstream of my movement. There are more glides than riffles so visibility to you is easier. I believe they can feel/hear vibrations of movement on the bank even when out of sight.

Nymphing is easy if you get the right depth and I continue to believe variation in fly patterns catch fishermen, presentation catch fish. IMHO a selection of nymphs size 16-12 with varying weight can get job done. Basics seem to catch a lot of fish, so no need to overthink. Never ignore a wet flies and try tweaking it with small strips. Dry flies can be tougher as I get schooled often with wrong pattern and size. So take advice of fly shops. I hate black caddis I can't see and fish rising and refusing my flies. Streamer/buggers work too.

What has been new to me for Driftless is the extent of streams with sandy bottoms. As a Western angler we have a lot of rock bottoms for fish to take cover. Those are good in Driftless, but don't overlook deeper pockets and pools that have sandy bottoms. May is a great time.

MN Joe

[Walkfar]

Very helpful Gents - thank you!
Dennis

[billems]

And for heaven's sake, don't miss out on the Minnesota side of the Driftless. I prefer it.

[carl otto]

I think starting at the Driftless Angler is a good bet for you. If you stay around Viroqua do yourself a favor and book a dinner at the Driftless Cafe. Exceptional food! I have used Nick Voss as a guide out of their shop with great success. I told him I wanted a taste of the areas fishing and in one day we fished several hours each on three dramatically different streams with great success. Once armed with that info get the guide books and the maps. The Wisconsin DNR has one of the best sites for exploring fishing streams on line of anyone. Not only are there maps, but stats on water quality/flow/temp, etc. AND a listing (with location) of all the stream improvements on the stream along with, all the access points and stream access properties for each stream. Talk about transparency and knowledge! And yes, Minnesota and Iowa should be looked into too.

Best of luck...Chance favors the prepared mind.

Carl

[blackdog]

For eating in Viroqua, the Driftless Cafe, and Salt & Tipple, are excellent options. Highly recommended.

[WiFlyFisher]

I'd recommend Bob "Silverdoc" Blumreich, I don't think anyone knows the streams or the hatches better in the WI Driftless than Bob does.

+1 for Bob Blumreich
https://silverdoctor.net/

As Carl mentioned, the WI DNR has a wealth of trout stream info online.

Good luck!

[Walkfar]

This is great information guys! Thanks for pointing me in the right direction. Looking forward to giving my Don Schroeder 4wt a trip back to Wisconsin and a nice workout once we get there. I will also look into some Minnesota options, time permitting. Really appreciate the help!

Dennis

[Erik F. Helm]

"Good morning folks. I am a great fan of small stream fishing and am hoping to visit Wisconsin’s Driftless Area for the first time sometime in mid May. I thought it might be a good idea to hook up with a knowledgeable guide for a couple of days and then perhaps do a bit of exploring on my own. Any suggestions about preparing for the trip, like background reading, guides, flies to tie, etc? I was thinking about contacting the Driftless Angler in Viroqua and using that area as my base of operations. Thanks for any suggestions!

Dennis"

Dennis,
I would be happy to host you. I have a natural and traditional approach to spring creeks... focused on observation and insects as well as trout behavior. I am also bamboo friendly! I am 20 minutes from Viroqua in Soldiers Grove Wisconsin. Email is erik.helm1@gmail.com website is classicalangler.com.
Regards,
Erik Helm, Driftless trout guide.

[WiFlyFisher]

Dennis,

FYI... I don't think you can go wrong with either Erik or Bob; they both have excellent reputations.

You could hit the American Grannom caddisfly hatch.

Good luck,

John

[Walkfar]

Thank you John and Erik! Erik - PM sent.

Cheers,
Dennis

[tiptop]

I've fished the WI driftless in the last couple years and settled on 7'6" rod length in 4wt. For many of the streams a longer rod would be fine. None that I've seen have been brushy enough to warrant a shorter rod. A 3wt would be ok if the wind is down but it's been my experience that a small dropper greatly increases the catch rate and is much better to cast with a strong 4wt or even true 5wt. There are some streams where deep indicator nymphing would probably be productive but most of the streams I've fished are shallow enough that a dropper is sufficient. There are so many streams that knowing where to fish seems daunting but with a little research, fly shop advice, and trial & error you can do fine without a guide and have the joy of discovery that comes with exploring on your own. If you only have a day or two and can afford it a guide might be helpful, assuming the guide is good - which isn't always the case in my experience. Good luck!

[GerardH]

A friend of mine, Jason Freund, has his PhD in fisheries and is a professor at UW-La Crosse, he's a tremendous student of trout, fly fishing, fly tying, hatches, etc. in the Driftless and writes a blog that I find incredibly informative. You may find some useful information here:
https://www.thescientificflyangler.com/

Also, just for fun, Tim Schulz wrote an article in Hatch magazine on a WI Driftless trip from last spring that you may enjoy: https://www.hatchmag.com/articles/going ... Zn4C8qeNfU

The "rancher" in the story is a good friend of mine and breeder of my last couple Brittany Spaniels...

[Walkfar]

Thanks so much guys - more great information and greatly appreciated! I looked at Jason Freund’s website and think it will indeed be an excellent source of information - enjoyed his piece on old/traditional flies - and the Tim Schulz article is a delight. The rods I am planning to take are a 3-piece Don Schroeder 4 wt and a John Pickard Dickerson taper 3-piece 5 wt, both real joys to cast and fish with. I love to tie and have been busy tying a selection of caddis and mayfly patterns, and will also likely take a vise and materials on the trip to tie any additional patterns I might learn about while on the trip. It looks like I’ll have about 5 days up there, and I’m getting excited about the upcoming adventure - sounds like there will be a wealth of things to learn about the area!

Dennis

[Peales]

I wouldn’t bother with Minnesota. Hatches aren’t that great. There are small trout in some of the streams, but mostly chubs and suckers. Lots of sand in the river bottoms. There’s also a lot of nettles, it lines the banks of most water. And mosquitoes… mosquitoes everywhere, all the time, big ones!