Fly Fishing Freedom in the WI Driftless – March 16, 2013

• Stream Location: WI Driftless
• Air Temperature: 37 °F
• Water Temperature: 41 °F
• Other Conditions: Sunny, hint of snow, little wind
• Distance Hiked: 4.75 miles
• What Worked Best: Dead drifting and working larva/pupa patterns

Remember at the end of the movie Braveheart when William Wallace yelled “Freedommmm!” just before he took his last breath?  His entire fight throughout the movie was to protect their freedom.  Similarly in the trout fishing world, freedom is not guaranteed.  Many high quality sections of rivers out east or out west are locked down.  They’re bought up by individuals and groups who restrict any access or who charge a pretty penny for a few hours of fly fishing.  It’s hard to get the sense of freedom in areas like that.  Then we enter the Wisconsin Driftless Area.

The Wisconsin DNR has done a tremendous job throughout the years to gain easements on many streams which open them up to the public.  Honestly, it’s hard to find a stream that’s kept private.  If you do find a section that is private, land owners are normally more than happy to grant you access if you ask because they know that fly fishers care for the land as if it were their own; we leave it better than we found it – that’s just an unwritten law in fly fishing.  This therefore allows anglers to experience the ultimate fly fishing freedom.  It gives you so many options to choose from.  Pick any day of the year and you can find a good trout stream without another angler on it if you choose.  This is a freedom that maybe sometimes us Driftless fly fishers take for granted at times, but it is certainly unique to our area and something that we are very fortunate to have.  We owe a lot for the work the WI DNR and Trout Unlimited has done and will continue to do, in making the Driftless Area a world-class trout fishery.

I tied on a Coulee Creeper, a Spirit Streams Flies pattern.  This fly can imitate a larva, pupa, or emerger, depending upon how you choose to work it.  It’s very versatile, which is what we look for in a fly.  Our mantra around here is this: Tying flies that trout devour, not the ones that sit in museums.  In other words, we tie for effectiveness and productivity, not to try to precisely match every minute detail of the insect we are targeting.  Attacking fly tying in this manner has proven time and time again to be extremely productive.

After working the Coulee Creeper in a few holes, I had a confident strike and slowly worked him in.  The next couple holes proved to hold trout as well; hauling in a few more.  The Coulee Creeper was just what the trout ordered today.

I continued downstream and covered a lot of ground today; exploring sections that I hadn’t in years past and discovering more solid trout holes.  Today was a good day and the Coulee Creeper proved yet again why it’s toward the top of our list during the early season.

– Spirit Streams