ronk Posted September 30, 2011 Report Share Posted September 30, 2011 As the pix illustrate the height & density of the plant growth in the fields thru which these rivers flow make for some challenging & frustrating ffing come summer.That's why I just bought an 8'9" 3wt to use in place of the 7'9" 4wt which I use in spring.The rivers wouldn't even be accessible once the plants reached full growth were it not for the farmers who've granted easements for fishing mowing pathways along them for the fishermen.In some sections of the rivers cattle graze the fields which keeps the plant growth much more manageable for fishing.The pic of the landscape with the fence in the foreground shows the height the land in the Driftless can reach those being cornfields in the bottomland. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eugene f collins Posted September 30, 2011 Report Share Posted September 30, 2011 Ron, thanks for sharing. Need to explore this area someday soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Gillio Posted September 30, 2011 Report Share Posted September 30, 2011 Ron, it looks like you fish the same areas I do. Some of the prettiest browns I've seen have come fro those streams. The ripple in the second to last picture is where I spooked a huge brown one late Sept. day. I put him at about 10 pounds. I also had a rainbow hooked from the log pile that was under the bridge the same day. I estimate him to be about 7 pounds. He got tangled in the branches and then broke off. I have landed quite a few nice 18 inch browns from these small streams over the years. I wasn't able to make it up there this year, but I can almost get that exhilarating feeling of being there from your photos. Thanks for sharing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronk Posted September 30, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 30, 2011 The season closes today.I fished Wednesday & in the maelstrom yesterday.On Wed. I fished a wooded stretch where a cupl weeks ago I got big #s on terrestrials.Not much doing this time however.There were 2 cars parked on the stretch I would've prefferred to fish this time.I could've had any stretch of any river all to myself in yesterday incessant gale force winds.They turned out to be surprisingly manageable due to their being out of the north which put them at my back as I fished upstream,the rivers all flowing north up there.I was hoping the wind would blow enuf terrestrials onto the water to trigger the trout.But neither the hoppsrs nor the trout showed themselves.I didn't catch many;but the ones I did catch were mostly nice size 12"ers.And I figure to have caught anything on a flyrod in yestrerday's conditions is an accomplishment.Harder than controlling the flyrod was driving the 225mis home last night in the rain & wind which would try to push the car out of its barely discernible lane with numerous wind gusts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarlB Posted October 1, 2011 Report Share Posted October 1, 2011 I was in the Driftless area thursday, and Friday. I did very well , lots of 10"-12" Browns, with a couple of larger browns on but were able shake free. Most of the Browns came on Dries , with a few came on a beadhead Baetis pattern. most of the streams are pretty over grown, which is best, I think the trout stay more active in those streams , because they see less preasure. I will post some pics later. Carl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark K Posted October 1, 2011 Report Share Posted October 1, 2011 Do you guys ever fish Iowa, after the season closes in Wisconsin or is it just more productive to go after trib steelhead? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mannym Posted October 1, 2011 Report Share Posted October 1, 2011 Nice report Ronk. I had mentioned to John G about trying to get up there before yesterday, but overtime at work got in the way. As it did for a trip I wanted to take to Indiana today. Thanks Manny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jude Posted October 1, 2011 Report Share Posted October 1, 2011 I was at the Blue River yesterday as well. Figured I'd burn a vacation day for the last day of the season. Had a decent morning, catching a dozen or so, the biggest being two 14 inch browns, plus one fat 11" brookie. Stopped for lunch at Sheddy's Bar and Grill in Monfort. Must have left my Mojo at the bar, 'cause the P.M. was pretty slow. Good point about rod length. My new trout rod is only seven feet long. A nine footer would make life much easier in those weedy areas. Mark: Iowa doesn't have quite as much public water, but is still very much worth the trip. I go up there a couple times a year, including an annual "Cabin Fever Trip" in late January or early February. The best area is up near Dorchester, just south of Minnesota. The Iowa DNR puts out a great map with all the public access streams highlighted. Call or e-mail them and ask them to send you a copy of their "Trout Map". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronk Posted October 1, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2011 I was in the Driftless area thursday, and Friday. I did very well , lots of 10"-12" Browns, with a couple of larger browns on but were able shake free. Most of the Browns came on Dries , with a few came on a beadhead Baetis pattern. most of the streams are pretty over grown, which is best, I think the trout stay more active in those streams , because they see less preasure. I will post some pics later. Carl Like me you must've had your river all to yourself thanks to the wind.Nice looking pics.What sre the specs of your bamboo rod? Mark I've never fished Iowa.I'll probably do so this year.Since their streams are stocked the fishing's easier than the strictly wild Wis. trout.With stocking there are more rainbows too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarlB Posted October 1, 2011 Report Share Posted October 1, 2011 Hi ron it is a 7' 2" PHY Driggs 4/5 wt. taper, it's got some very good trout mojo, and it's the pertect lenght for the Driftless area. A few years back another club which I belong to had a bamboo rod building class. I'm really happy with how the rod turned out. It has a parabolic action and roll casts like a demon. I have started another rod but still have to finish that one, it's a PHY 7' 6" perfectionist 4 wt. which I hope will be another excelent riftless area rod. Like I said rod has good mojo, also very forgiving to light tippets, use lots of 5, 6 and 7 x tippet. http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad227/CarlB46/002-1.jpg http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad227/CarlB46/Brown2.jpg http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad227/CarlB46/009.jpg http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad227/CarlB46/Brown.jpg http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad227/CarlB46/Brookie2.jpg http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad227/CarlB46/fishingPics001.jpg http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad227/CarlB46/SWWis0018.jpg http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad227/CarlB46/SWWis00110.jpg http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad227/CarlB46/SWWis0013.jpg http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad227/CarlB46/SWWis0015.jpg http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad227/CarlB46/COFryingPanRiver2010018.jpg http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad227/CarlB46/CampCreek2010Wis005.jpg http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad227/CarlB46/1022.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKollmann Posted October 2, 2011 Report Share Posted October 2, 2011 Do you guys ever fish Iowa, after the season closes in Wisconsin or is it just more productive to go after trib steelhead? Brings back memories, Mark . . . when my Dad took me fly fishing to French Creek and Waterloo Creek in the driftless area of NE Iowa (grew up in Waterloo). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronk Posted October 2, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2011 John Very nice collection of Driftless pics.I also like to use a short rod in spring.But once the weeds get tall I find a longer rod makes dealing with them easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarlB Posted October 2, 2011 Report Share Posted October 2, 2011 I usually like the 7'er but have been know to fish a 8'er. When fish some of the smaller spring creeks I see no benefit in the use of a longer flyrod. I'll shorten up my leader a little, and make the tippet a little heavier and I'm good to go. Now where the creeks are a little more wide open a longer rod will keep the fly up above the vegatation, I have been fishing the Driggs on all types of creeks and rivers with no problems. Carl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asherman Posted October 2, 2011 Report Share Posted October 2, 2011 I made my first fly fishing trip to the Driftless in mid September this year, and came back hooked on fishing that area. I'll be looking for fishing partners for next season. The landscape is lovely and the small streams are full of trout. I've always liked fishing small streams, and that is what the Driftless is all about. I fished in a variety of Driftless streams using an 8 foot rod, which worked well in most spots. It seemed to me, however, that there are places where you could make the case to use short, medium, and long fly rods. I fished in tight, overgrown spots where a rod shorter than my eight footer would have been welcome, and in a few spots I could have used another 6 to 12 inches of rod length to keep my back casts above the vegetation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronk Posted October 3, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 3, 2011 Since the casts on these streams are short there should be no problem keeping backcasts above the vegetation while fishing from shore if they're aimed higher.While these streams are narrow in many stretches they're too deep to wade.The fish tend to hold tight to the banks if there'e nothing hatching which is about 99% of the time.The main benefit of a longer rod comes after making a cast close to the bank you're standing on.The longer rod makes it easier to manipulate the flyline so as to keep from tangling in the weeds along the water's edge as you fish out the cast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronk Posted October 3, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 3, 2011 I was at the Blue River yesterday as well. Figured I'd burn a vacation day for the last day of the season. Had a decent morning, catching a dozen or so, the biggest being two 14 inch browns, plus one fat 11" brookie. Stopped for lunch at Sheddy's Bar and Grill in Monfort. Must have left my Mojo at the bar, 'cause the P.M. was pretty slow. Good point about rod length. My new trout rod is only seven feet long. A nine footer would make life much easier in those weedy areas. Mark: Iowa doesn't have quite as much public water, but is still very much worth the trip. I go up there a couple times a year, including an annual "Cabin Fever Trip" in late January or early February. The best area is up near Dorchester, just south of Minnesota. The Iowa DNR puts out a great map with all the public access streams highlighted. Call or e-mail them and ask them to send you a copy of their "Trout Map". Jude Good tip re the trout map. If you want a longer rod for summer fishing when the weeds get tall I highly recommend the TFO Finesse 8'9" for less than $200 I just bought.It's a worthy partner to the 7'9" Powell I use in spring.Speaking of Montfort if you ever head out on Cty I from Montfort make sure you don't exceed the 25mph limit.I did & got handed a $175 ticket for 10mph over by the cop who cherry picks by parking at the bottom of a hill just before the limit goes to 55. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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