The Driftless Area

[AKSkim]

I was just looking at Joe D's moniker and to me at least it looks like a spring creek out west some where.

It got me thinking about the Driftless Area in the upper mid west which has a good number of spring creeks.

Has anyone ever been out there and fished that area?

 

[Trouser Trout]

I was just looking at Joe D's moniker and to me at least it looks like a spring creek out west some where.

It got me thinking about the Driftless Area in the upper mid west which has a good number of spring creeks.

Has anyone ever been out there and fished that area?

I believe Charles Ingalls may have fished that very place with Laura and Mr. Edwards.

 

[Dr. Gonzo]

I fished it for a few days in July 2009 in the areas around Viroqua, Wisconsin. I loved it out there and would recommend it to anyone considering it as a place to go for a few days of fishing.

We camped at the West Fork Sportsman's Club on the banks of the West Fork of the Kickapoo River. On the recommendation of the local fly shop owner we spent most of our time fishing Timber Coulee and its tribs. The scenery is amazing out there and there is tons of access to the creeks. Most of the land out there is used for dairy farming and the local farmers have agreed to provide access to anglers so most of the time you'll find yourself hiking through pastures to get to the streams. In some cases the farmers graze their cattle right up to the edge of the stream keeping the grass and other cover very short. The locals call that "golf course fishing."

The fishing was tough because there is so little cover and being unfamiliar with the streams we didn't know where the fish would be holding. We'd often spook pods of fish just getting into a casting position but we managed to catch a lot of fish on hoppers and other dries. The streams are full of wild fish, some of them large.

 

[Rusty Spinner]

The Driftless Region, so called because the Wisconsin Glacier that covered 2/3 of the East somehow missed this region of the upper Mid-West. I know TU has a major initiative working throughout this area to restore rivers, fence cattle out, plant riparian buffers, and to add fish habitat structures in some very nice trout waters. I've heard and read a fair amount about the area, but have not been out to fish it unfortunately. The area has received tremendous project funding and support from the states involved (I think WI, IL, IA if I recall them all) and other cooperating agencies and landowners.

 

[AKSkim]

Thanks Dr. G very good response.

Do you have any photos of the stream?

---------- Post added at 09:23 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:20 AM ----------

Thanks Rusty.

I should check into some of the TU chapter's out there.

I find when looking to go to an area that I haven't been to before I found if there
is a local chapter that has an online newsletter I get a good deal about of info,
and believe it or not, some very good places to fish.

Once an area peaks my interest.... the next step is planning the trip.

 

[Rusty Spinner]

Thanks Dr. G very good response.

Do you have any photos of the stream?

---------- Post added at 09:23 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:20 AM ----------

Thanks Rusty.

I should check into some of the TU chapter's out there.

I find when looking to go to an area that I haven't been to before I found if there
is a local chapter that has an online newsletter I get a good deal about of info,
and believe it or not, some very good places to fish.

Once an area peaks my interest.... the next step is planning the trip.

I'll do you one better and hook you up with the TU DARE project coordinator, Jeff Hastings. Great guy. Bring him some cold Coronas and you'll have a friend for life.

 

[Dr. Gonzo]

I think the photos are in the possession of one of my friends who was also on the trip. I will see if I can track them down.

Also, the TU work in the area was pretty impressive. One of the common habitat improvements was the lunker structure. The work TU has done on some of the streams out there is really having an impact on the trout habitat. Also, Wisconsin has an interesting stocking technique where they move wild fish around in the watershed using electro-fishing, rather than planting hatchery fish in the rivers.

Unfortunately for us at the time we visited, the West Fork of the Kickapoo had recently experienced heavy flooding which damaged or destroyed a lot of the structures on the stream. Thing is, there are so many streams in the region that you can always find one to fish no matter what the circumstances.

Our experience was that Matt, the owner of Driftless Angler, gives great advice on patterns and locations and for that reason alone his shop is worth a visit if you're fishing in the area.

 

[Rusty Spinner]

Here's a great link not only to TU info on the Driftless Area, but other links are on the bottom of the page. On the left scroll you will find our various watershed based Home Rivers Initiatives and under the DARE one are several additional sites by streams restored.

Driftless, WI, MN, IA, IL | Trout Unlimited - Conserving coldwater fisheries


And I see I forgot MN earlier...

 

[AKSkim]

Bring him some cold Coronas and you'll have a friend for life.

Rusty; check out UNDER the trailer...

This is how I ROLL...

Need I say more?

---------- Post added at 10:22 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:02 AM ----------

Here's a great link not only to TU info on the Driftless Area

It is a good link. THANKS.

From my door to La Crosse, WI
1,072 miles, 19 hr 30 min drive.
Est 200 gallons of gas @ 3.25/gal = $650
5 nights at a CG @ $35/night $175
Est. $825
Cooking at the CG huge savings than eating out.

Newark to La Crosse FLT in April 1 wk dep on a Tuesday Delta Air $440 round trip.
Hotel & car rental 5 nights @ $775
Est. $1,215

 

[Rusty Spinner]

No fun in flying! Besides, they frown on BBQ grills and coolers full of beer on the plane, not to mention the necessary over-sized BBQ knives.

Roadtrip

 

[AKSkim]

No fun in flying! Besides, they frown on BBQ grills and coolers full of beer on the plane, not to mention the necessary over-sized BBQ knives.

Roadtrip

Chow is already on the grill....

I think we might be onto something here....

 

[Rusty Spinner]

Brookies and browns in the limestoners of a sparsely settled area. Yeah, it has the makings of a good trout roadtrip.

 

[AKSkim]

it has the makings of a good trout roadtrip.

You got that right !!!!!!!!!!

 

[AKSkim]

Received 3 of my 5 books that I ordered last week on fishing the Driftless area in Wisconsin.

Planning for a trip that is a year away, and already I am getting pumped.

The most spring creeks concentrated in a single area than any where else on the planet.

 

[G Lech]

Lucky you! I also received a good fishing resource in the mail this week. THANKS! A few months to go but I'm pumped!!

 

[CR]

Ted lesson wrote a great book about his growing up in that area and the fishing. Definitely recommend that.

 

[Dr. Gonzo]

Found this on another forum and thought this was worth sharing. It's a creel survey from 2008 done at Timber Coulee - one of the streams I fished while I was out in the Driftless in July '09.

 

[AKSkim]

.. Timber Coulee - one of the streams I fished while I was out in the Driftless in July '09.

Had lots of time to read yesterday, 4 flights, between 3 major air ports.

Almost finished one book on fishing Wisconsin... There are so many great streams to fish..
the more I look into it, the harder it is becoming on JUST WHERE TO FISH while out there.

Your input is more than appreciated.

Thanks Dr. G.

 

[MACFLY]

Rusty; check out UNDER the trailer...

This is how I ROLL...

Need I say more?

---------- Post added at 10:22 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:02 AM ----------



It is a good link. THANKS.

From my door to La Crosse, WI
1,072 miles, 19 hr 30 min drive.
Est 200 gallons of gas @ 3.25/gal = $650
5 nights at a CG @ $35/night $175
Est. $825
Cooking at the CG huge savings than eating out.

Newark to La Crosse FLT in April 1 wk dep on a Tuesday Delta Air $440 round trip.
Hotel & car rental 5 nights @ $775
Est. $1,215

Excuse me but where are you getting your gas price from. i am sorry to say this has thrown your formula way off. Plus you didnt factor in tolls...Come on now AK lets pay attention to the details

 

[AKSkim]

Excuse me but where are you getting your gas price from. i am sorry to say this has thrown your formula way off. Plus you didnt factor in tolls...Come on now AK lets pay attention to the details

If you go back to the date that was posted, that $3.25 was ABOVE the price per gallon at the time.

Thi spast weekend in PA it was $3.55/gal, and in NJ it was 20 cents less.

It could be $5.00 BUX a gallon... don't matter to me, if I want to go I go.

So to you, go back and pay attention to those little details as they were at the time FF Jr.

 

[MACFLY]

If you go back to the date that was posted, that $3.25 was ABOVE the price per gallon at the time.

Thi spast weekend in PA it was $3.55/gal, and in NJ it was 20 cents less.

It could be $5.00 BUX a gallon... don't matter to me, if I want to go I go.

So to you, go back and pay attention to those little details as they were at the time FF Jr.

Well of course you going to go. That was not the point. You were making a comparison and I was pointing out the flaw in your math. I am here to help. When I take over NEFF I will offer all kinds of helpful tips like this. You should thank me

 

[Dr. Gonzo]

AK -

I know what you mean about having a hard time deciding where to go out there. There is SO MUCH water and it all has trout. We spent 3 days on Timber Coulee and its tribs and still left a lot of water unexplored.

Matt at Driftless Angler was invaluable because he helped us pin-point those places where we'd find rising fish no matter what the conditions were. Perfect example is that since there's so little tree cover you rarely find risers in the middle of the day. He pulled out the map and showed us where the clusters of trees were that would provide enough shade to keep the fish active even at midday.
We had a blast fishing Matt's hopper pattern (I was up there in July so it was terrestrial season). Interestingly, I was getting so many strikes that my hoppers fell apart so I tied on a Dave's hopper. The fish completely ignored it. I tried 3-4 other types of hopper patterns that I had in my box, all were ignored. Shows you how valuable local shops can be!

 

[Rusty Spinner]

AK -
Matt at Driftless Angler was invaluable because he helped us pin-point those places where we'd find rising fish no matter what the conditions were. Perfect example is that since there's so little tree cover you rarely find risers in the middle of the day. He pulled out the map and showed us where the clusters of trees were that would provide enough shade to keep the fish active even at midday.
Shows you how valuable local shops can be!

Interesting that you were told that because I was recently reading our staff notes on the Driftless and one of their big focuses is riparian buffers for better tree cover (cools the water, roots hold the banks, filters runoff). And I agree that local fly shops are invaluable when it comes to local knowledge. You simply can't get that from a big box store.

Look out Wisconsin, Flat Stanley is on his way!

 

[Dr. Gonzo]

There were little groves of trees scattered around but you could end up driving a lot looking for them if you don't know where to go. But since so many of the streams run through cow pastures out there, it is definitely true that a lot of them lack cover. This also poses serious problems in approaching the stream. Many times we'd pick a spot to walk down to the bank and see a dozen fish scatter as we made our first step towards the river.

 

[coolkyle]

Man that's a lot of driving. WI is a lovely state, and the people are even nicer than in Jersey. Eat some Hardees for me. Shit, you could fish Michigan on the way back.

 

[AKSkim]

A stop to fish Michigan IS on the way OUT THERE...

Dr. Gonzo... WOW some great info thanks so much!

RS.. how great of a trip report would be if your smiling face is
seen in from of Flat Stanley out in Wisconsin...

 

[Dr. Gonzo]

Eat some Hardees for me

No way broseph, Wisconsin is all about Culvers when it comes to fast food.

 

[AKSkim]

Timber Coulee

Dr. Gonzo again thanks for your post on Timber Coulee.

I looked it up in books on The Driftless Area of Wisconsin and now I know why you gave it such high praise.

Trout Streams of WI & MN considers Timber Coulee a PREMIER BROWN TROUT stream which is a complex of many spring creeks to create COON CREEK which was described as an open lazy creek of 8 miles.

They include RULLANDS COULEE CREEK, and SPRING COULEE CREEK which is another excellent trout stream in the area.

COON CREEK water shed in which TIMBER CREEK is located in the heart of Wisconsin's DREFTLESS AREA.

The water shed is roughly 12 miles top to bottom and 14 miles across. So it looks like if I am able to find a campground around the city of Coon Valley we will be able to hit a lot of premier trout stream all with in easy driving distance.

Calls Timber Coulee the crown jewel among Wisconsin's spring creeks that cuts through some very scenic pastures and coulees with more than 5,000 trout per mile.

I hope you (Dr. G) will be able to post some of your photos of TIMBER COULEE CREEK trip so I can continue to salivate the thought of fishing the DRIFTLESS AREA.