Driftless Country Fishing
Brown Trout
After reading JERUSALEM CREEK Journeys into Driftless Country by Ted Leeson, I began to research the area with the idea that someday I might get a chance to fish the area he writes so eloquently. I finally got my chance during May of 2009.
The upper Midwest contains more than 600 limestone spring creeks. In the area bounded by portions of southwest Wisconsin, southeast Minnesota, and northeast Iowa is one of the world’s greatest concentrations of spring creeks comprising over 2,500 miles of water.
The region was an “island” of land untouched by the glaciers leaving the sedimentary rock undisturbed rather than bulldozed. The layers were eroded by streams resulting in “bluff “country or “coulee” country. The name “Driftless” refers to the absence of glacial deposits, or “drift” in this area.
This is an area of beautiful farms, with wooded ridge tops and outcrops of bedrock. You notice the smells of new mown hay and wild mint as you move along the streams.
Miles of public water are accessible either by fishing easements or government owned land. The streams are concentrated and at times little more than a couple of road miles separates one stream from another, a far cry from our western fisheries which can be hundreds of miles apart.
Habitat improvement and stream restoration is
Pat on Duschee Creek
ongoing in both Minnesota and Wisconsin. In Wisconsin alone up to three miles of stream are improved yearly by the DNR. The results are impressive with some streams boasting of over 4000 trout per mile with browns and brook trout the predominate species.
We made Rochester, Minnesota our fishing base of operations at the beginning of the trip. We spent time on several creeks as we tried to get a feel for both the fishing and the area. Lodging and dining is easy in Rochester with all the usual motels, hotels and restaurants available plus you are only 20 minutes from being on a stream.
In Wisconsin we made Westby our base of operation although the town doesn’t have the amenities of Rochester there was a good restaurant and decent accommodations. Several spring creeks were within a twenty minute drive including Timber Coulee Creek which was included in Trout Unlimited 100 best trout streams in the United States.
The fishing in both Wisconsin and Minnesota was excellent with good numbers of browns in the streams and decent hatches throughout most of the trip. The fish are wary and spook easily so careful stalking is the rule. Most of the flies are small (#14-#18) but you can take your California patterns and be assured you will be able to catch fish. Bring everything you need with you–there are few fly shops in the area and those are in the major population centers away from the main fishing areas. If you run out of leader material, floatant, or leaders you will have a long drive!
Limestone Cliff-Spring Coulee
We used the same techniques as here in California including dries with droppers, dries, and indicator nymphing. You do need to adjust the techniques to take into account shallower water and spooky fish. Take rain gear with you as spring time in the Midwest can be wet, although we had only one bad weather day during our trip (fished anyway!).
All I can finish with is that we will be going back, probably next year, to enjoy some of the best spring creek fisheries I have ever had the pleasure of fishing.