Blue River 9/29/11

Fished the access points off of Snow Bottom and also Bowers. There were large #10 cinnamon colored stoneflies present. Fished midday. Very bright conditions, water ultra clear. Fish were, thus, quite spooky.

I spent a fun half hour trying to extricate two huge 25" or so rainbows out from under a brush pile. Threw everything in my box at them.

Otter Creek 9/28/11

Fished this one at the confluence of Highway Q and 11. Fished at sunset. Very buggy that night. Was able to match the hatch on a #18 fly with gold body, cream tail and hackle. Also noticed tiny Blue Winged Olives. Two small browns took the small white flies.

Great access to this creek, by virtue of the DNR sign and easement. Thanks!

Castle Rock Creek 9/12/11

At 11 AM I spent an hour on Castle Rock. This is one of my favorite streams because it is well-cared-for, including some terrific paths alongside the creek, has lots of fish and a ton of local character, and varied features.

On this day I encountered cloudy water, 75 degree temps, and bright sunshine. A 9" brown fell for a #14 pink squirrel and was promptly released.

Spring Coulee 9/11/11

Tiny Spring Coulee winds through cow pastures and does not have much for access. One such bridge access points is guarded by a rather aggressive bull.

I was able to skirt the bovine and head to the other side of the bridge. Quite shallow in places I found Spring Coulee. Did not see any fish. We fished it just before sunset and through sunset.

That's my Dad and Brother on the bridge.

Rulland's Coulee 9/11/11

Rulland's Coulee empties into the Timber Coulee. Like the stream it pays tribute to, it's an indistinguishable spring creek, smaller than the Timber Coulee. It runs through cow pasture and has relatively few access points compared to the very accessible Timber Coulee.

Conditions were 80 degrees and perfectly clear, which meant for ultra-spooky fishing. There are some huge browns in this creek, though none encountered my hook.

A much smaller cousin did fall for a #14 pink squirrel drifted through riffles 18 inches under an indicator, at 3:30 in the afternoon.

Timber Coulee 9/11/11

We fished the Timber Coulee, one of the top 100 trout streams in all of America, as named by Trout Unlimited, from about 9 to 11 in the morning. Not a cloud in the sky, 80 degrees. Very clear water, fish ultra-spooky.

I had a lot of action on a #8 cricket pattern. Released a 12" brown and hooked many more. Timber Coulee is a fairly narrow spring creek and is not at all visually-distinctive. It looks like many other spring creeks you encounter in SW Wisconsin.

West Fork of the Kickapoo 9/10/11

My first time on this fabled stream, one of the top 100 trout streams in America, according to Trout Unlimited.

Gorgeous day, not a cloud in the sky and 80 degrees. However, not great conditions for trout fishing. My brother and I got skunked but my Dad got a few on Elk Hair Caddis.

Before heading to the West Fork of the Kickapoo, I was told that hoppers, orange scuds, and cinnamon Elk Hair Caddis were the best patterns. In the 4 hours or so we were there, we did not notice any meaningful hatch activity. There were many fish sighted, but seemed to not be feeding.