Fly Fishing in Wisconsin
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1/13/2023 10:25:00 AMEarly inland streams catch and release season for trout opens on Jan. 7. Dress warm and make sure to have a 2022-2023 general fishing license and inland trout stamp, which are both good until March 31, 2023. All regulations apply. Do you know the physical differences between Wisconsin’s four species of inland trou...
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3/18/2022 8:50:00 AMCentral Wisconsin Trout Unlimited (CWTU) will host its 50th annual conservation banquet on Saturday, April 30, 2022 at Mt. Morris Camp and Retreat, W6016 Blackhawk Rd, Wautoma. Doors will open at 3 p.m., with dinner served at 5:30 p.m., catered by Rockman’s Catering. Open to the public, tickets for the event are $50 each for adults...
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1/24/2022 10:00:00 AMOld fishing hat was unflappable companion JERRY KIESOW To this day, I miss my old fishing hat. My Hat and I were together for more years than I can remember. She was more than just a hat to me - she was also home to an assortment of fishing flies. My Hat and I were inseparable, and we went to great lengths to maintain our friendship, even in the ...
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9/16/2021 7:40:00 AMJohn Luthens The forest surrounding the trout stream had been logged over, leaving behind a maze of stumps, upturned roots and stunted trees. Ferns, blueberry bushes, and scrub had taken the place of pine and aspen and, although the late-summer sun was barely cresting the northwestern Wisconsin hills of Douglas County, the cutover path to the rive...
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8/4/2021 4:25:00 PMCentral Wisconsin Trout Unlimited will offer two fly tying classes this fall to the public. Fly tying is the art of producing an artificial fly with manmade or natural materials and tying them to a hook to catch fish. The first, Fly Tying – A New Experience, is geared toward beginners and will help new tyers learn how to tie fishing flies fo...
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8/2/2021 11:30:00 AMA dedication ceremony and unveiling of the Thomas W. “Doc” Poullette Trail on Bird Creek will be held at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 21. Free and open to the public, the dedication will honor Poullette (1932-2019), a founding member and first president of Central Wisconsin Chapter of Trout Unlimited (CWTU). Poullette, a dedicated cons...
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10/10/2018 12:50:00 PMSauk Creek in Port Washington is a must-see destination for the Lake Michigan salmon run in Wisconsin By John Luthens Round about harvest time, when the late-season flowers blossom along the streets of Port Washington, Wisconsin, and the Lake Michigan mists of autumn rise from the cold waves to shroud Church Hill in their blankets; a venturing an...
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The Driftless Region of Southwestern Wisconsin: A perfect place to wind up the Trout Fishing Season.10/5/2018 11:05:00 AMBy John Luthens The last day of the inland trout season is floating around the bend – closing on October 15 – but don’t pack away the waders and trout rods just yet. The last weeks are some of the most scenic and satisfying, and the Driftless Region of southwestern Wisconsin, stretching from Lacrosse to northeastern border of Iow...
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10/5/2018 10:45:00 AMInland trout fishing continues through Oct. 15 Even in areas hit with historic flooding this August, Wisconsin trout populations are holding strong and anglers can expect good opportunities for fishing. As water levels return to more normal levels, anglers can enjoy the benefits of the harvest season running through Oct. 15. Read the rest...
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9/26/2018 6:50:00 AMBy John Luthens Insects hummed above the greening banks and the lush smells of spring were blooming across the water when a brown trout first rose to a caddis fly in a northern river valley. He surfaced with a predators force, and nothing was left behind after he went back down but a snapped fly and the start of an obsession. Wisconsin hides unto...
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6/28/2018 12:00:00 PMBy John Luthens For a beginner, the dainty art of fly fishing can rapidly degenerate into a tangled snarl of confusion before the first cast is even arched over the water. Leaders, tippets and knots; sinking line, floating line, wet flies, dry flies, nymphs, streamers and goofy-sounding insects – all of it running together into a tiny crossw...
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5/30/2018 5:55:00 PMMore than 400 projects improving trout habitat on more than 100 miles of streams are now easier for inland anglers to find and fish. Their locations and details have been added to DNR's online T.R.O.U.T. tool, giving you a ready resource to guide you to stream segments where fish populations and angler access benefit f...
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5/5/2018 10:55:00 AMJerry Kiesow I reached for the log, and the log submerged – it was a floater - and I followed it . . . down. I spread all the items from the vest out on the tailgate of the truck so they would dry. Where do I begin? I have been paddling a canoe for decades and aside from the times when I was negotiating whitewater, have never exp...
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3/26/2018 9:00:00 AM(Small Water, Big Fish, and Big Fun) By John Luthens A swirling chill circled in the Lake Michigan morning and crested the waves in the Wisconsin harbor city of Port Washington as I stood on the lip of the brushy valley of Sauk Creek, a winding and rocky snake that pushes itself through the quiet town bef...
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3/23/2018 2:45:00 PMBy John Luthens The Winneboujou Bridge, spanning the Bois Brule River in northern Douglas County. (Pencil Sketch by Daniel Luthens) Tucked beneath red-pine shadows in a furthest corner of northwest Wisconsin is a bridge named Winneboujou; stone pilings stretch...
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2/19/2018 4:10:00 PM(A photography and fly-tying presentation by OWO contributors John Luthens and Jerry Kiesow) Gordon MacQuarrie cast his final, Wisconsin line over 60 years ago, but the words he left behind continue to capture the hearts of sportsman outdoor enthusiasts, and they continue to be relevant for trout fishermen everywhere. Born in Superior, Wi...
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10/13/2017 2:15:00 PMDon't forget to visit our Root River spawning facility during our Open House this Saturday! Root River - On Saturday, Oct. 14, enjoy the ninth annual Salmon Spectacular from 9 a.m. to 3 p. m. at the DNR Root River Steelhead Facility in Lincoln Park in Racine, 2200 Domanik Dr. The open house w...
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10/6/2017 8:05:00 AMBreath of the Brule River. I was tired. The long miles into the heart of the Brule River in Douglas County never shrink. Rolling down the window and rubbing my eyes, ignoring the horn-blast hurry and burnt-rubber smells of interstate life, I sucked in a deep breath northward. Faintly…faintly, I could smell its breath. I pounded th...
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7/8/2017 11:50:00 AMBy John Luthens: I was first led astray to No Man’s Pond in that in-between season when the promise of magic water floats around the edges of a fly fisherman’s vision like a hidden diamond, but there are still enough slushy patches beneath the pines to dampen the spirits. Peering from the morning window of my suburban home...
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5/20/2017 2:00:00 PMWisconsin Department of Natural Resources Outdoor Report summary for May, 2017 Complete DNR Outdoor Report (Reports from conservation wardens, wildlife and fisheries staff and property managers from around the state) Many rivers running high from recent rains; fawns being born, turtles nesting Strong storms that swept across Wisconsin...
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4/17/2017 12:15:00 PMBy John Luthens Another spring season glistens along the steelhead runs of Wisconsin. Spring wades gingerly up the steelhead backbones of Wisconsin’s Great Lakes tributaries. She is a temperamental lady and it is a chancy effort. The sun might push the thermometer to 70 degrees inland, but water rushes cold and the shoreline winds are raw...
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2/20/2017 11:10:00 AMIn addition to a host of fly tying experts, guides and manufacturer representatives, 10 seminars will take place throughout the day. Experts will share their knowledge and experience on subjects such as northern trout habitat, women in fishing, and recent stream restoration projects that trout fishermen should take advantage of. OnWisconsinOutdoor...
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1/8/2017 3:25:00 PMMADISON, Wis. - Anglers have a great reason to celebrate the New Year thanksto the return of early trout season. The season starts at 5 a.m. on January7 and runs until midnight May 5.Joanna Griffin, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources trout specialist,said the early catch-and-release season offers opportunities for everyon...
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11/10/2016 12:10:00 PMThe ‘river of presidents’ on the edge of November. By John Luthens Scant weeks before the presidential election and I was up to the waterline in a fine state of political current. Hooks and barbs were flying. A numbing sensation had begun somewhere along my left toe and was slowly creeping upward and threatening to freez...