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3. 3/9 WI Spring Creek

I made a trip to a new river in WI this last Saturday. I have been on a hunt for bigger fish since they eluded me last season. My biggest on a spring creek was 14". Armed with sink tip and streamers, I was ready. My accomplice informed me we were at the right spot for big fish. It was the lower third of a spring creek. The water was slow and sandy with some very large deep pools and medium fast runs. After two hours we still had not tied into any. I was getting anxious because the gentleman I was fishing with was new to fly fishing. He grew up fishing this river with spin gear, but only started fly fishing this year. I was hoping to be a worthwhile teacher. He had talked up the big fish potential, so he didn't want to disappoint either. Finally, fishing through a 2.5-3 ft run, a fish swirled and it was on. Despite missing the fly and hooking itself in the side, I was excited to see some action. I quickly landed this healthy male brown of around 16".
I was excited, but now I wanted to get my partner hooked up. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. However, I managed to get one more. I was casting streamers upstream and working them back through stretches. At this point, I lost my line control and it started going slack. When I regained control, there was some weight. I popped a hook set...fish on. This one, unlike the last, ate my fly. Hooked in the corner with the rest of the fly in it's mouth. A little bit nicer than the last, I put this female around 18".

Both fish caught on this fly that I tied:

All in all a great day. I fished with someone new, got two quality fish and have a new river to explore. Best of all, from work to this river is about an hour. Finally some quality trout water within an hour of work! Hopefully I am no longer stuck being a weekend warrior.

Great job Kyle! Were u using a sink tip or full sinking line? That fly pretty much resembles a Slump Buster.

Good catch, Matt. I use full sinking line. It was the first time I used that fly too. The wool head acts really nice in the water. Much more similar to deer hair than I was expecting. It dodges and darts like a sculpin and doesn't roll on me like some of mine have.

Kyle,

"Good catch,"

You'd have to get up very early in the morning to put one over on me. The color of the line was a dead giveaway.

love that area. i went last saturday and hooked into a few 12" on nymphs. i had never gone while the snow was out but had so much fun im going again next thursday and saturday!

Very nice! Love the fly too. I have always loved streamer fishing. Nothing ... anal... about it.

Hey, a suggestion: Lose the full sink and go to a weighted leader set-up. You'll love it. Made to order for streams and streamers. Search "leadcore" on this site for details. Actually, here are some links:

http://www.troutnut.com/topic/6852/2/Sinking-Lines-for-Rivers-and-Streams
http://www.troutnut.com/topic/6791/Weighted-leaders

Glad to see some fellow troutnuts catching trout this early in the year. I actually caught six rainbows back in January but that was through holes in the ice...I'm itching to get out the fly rods but it's just been too cold for me with this cold from hell I'm still getting over...but the steelies are running in the lower Au Sable, my consulting boss sent me a picture of a nice one he got on a spoon this morning. Time to get out the 8-weight and start warming up the casting arm...though I'm told the ponds on the upper Au Sable still have over two feet of ice on them! Ice fishing may spill over into fly fishing season this year...

In any case, beautiful fish, and yes I too love streamer fishing - the jolt of the strike going straight up your arm into your brain like an electric shock! My first flyrod trout last year was a 14" brown from the Rifle and he hit like a ton of bricks!

Jonathon

Matt - I thought I did get up early! That may just be the traces of college still stuck in me.

Ike - Me too! It is beautiful country. I just can't wait until the weather warms up so the fishing really gets going. Do you spend more time in WI or MN?

Paul - Thanks for the idea on weighted leaders. I read through some stuff and think it could work out very nicely. It would be nice to have a little more customization of length and sink rate. I may even switch out hole to hole so as to fish each stretch most effectively. Plus it gives a better range of streamer fishing. Full sink is great to keep the fly along the bottom and the retrieve horizontal, but that is not always desired. Plus a 24', 200gr line may be a little much for some of the skinny summer water.

Jonathon - There is something about the strike on a streamer. Even smaller fish hit with a vengeance. Exactly! That shock seems to affect the brain pretty significantly. I hope that cold of yours clears up and you are able to find some steelhead. I don't know if "shock" even justifies the feeling of one of those hitting a streamer:)

Don't get too complicated. Keep your flies wet. Not too much rigging time. I found that a single 30" to 40" piece covered a lot of water.

I do have a tendency to do that. I'll try to keep it simple. Huck some feathers and fur on a line with some weight and strip :)

"Me too! It is beautiful country. I just can't wait until the weather warms up so the fishing really gets going. Do you spend more time in WI or MN?"

definitely WI, i usually take a few trips to whitewater and a few unnamed spring creeks but other than that you can find me around pierce county