Tag: WI

Lagniappe

487 x 34,585 x 95 x 149

By TB

For much of the past two years, we’ve been on our River Ramble, exploring trout streams across the USA.  All total, we’ve been on this journey for 487 days and have visited TU Greatest 100 trout streams in 26 different states.  In fact, we’ve now fished 95 of the Top 100 streams and 149 different trout streams in all.  I know what you’re thinking, you’re still 5 short, and indeed we are.  There is one more state we’ve yet to visit, Alaska.  While we are looking forward and already deep into planning our Alaska adventure to fish the final 5 (and a few more of course) of the TU 100, we wanted to take a moment to look back on this past two years.

As we’ve continued to discover, Its Not About the Fish…. its about the people we continue to meet along our Ramble.  We’ve been blessed to have fished with some of the best guides in the world on the best trout streams in the world.  In small villages and communities, we’ve met some great local fly shop owners and staff who’ve sent us to some off the beaten path fisheries that, while not TU Top 100 streams, easily could have been.  What we’ve enjoyed most have been guides, shop owners and community members who’ve befriended us, shared their stories with us and allowed us to see the rivers through their eyes and experiences.  We feel so lucky to have met each and every one.

Our tagline for our blog, “Fly fishing, food, friends and fun” has been just that.  We’ve sampled more than a few local brews, pubs, diners and dives along the way.  We’ve also had a great time visiting family and friends in Arizona, Indiana, Missouri and Montana…. rafting, zip lining, pickle ball, baseball, hiking and of course, fishing too.

Our “mothership”, the SaraLinda, has performed like a champ, taking us nearly 35,000 miles along this journey.  We’ve camped in state forests, state parks, national parks, Corps of Engineers campgrounds and even dry camped in amazing, remote locations.  The 180 sq. ft. we’ve been living in is dwarfed by the incredible outdoor expanse we’ve called home these two years.  Our backyards have been the Tetons, Yellowstone, Great Smoky Mountains, Appalachian Trail, Maine wilderness and stream side campgrounds in most every state we visited.

2016 was a great year and we posted up a “Year in Review” video for it last December.  We’ll be fishing numerous streams across the country in 2018 as well as the streams we’ll fish in Alaska, but for now, we wanted to share a look back at 2017.   We hope you enjoy this short music video and a few highlights from our 2017 River Ramble.

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Guide Talk, Westfork Kickapoo

Driftless Kick!

By TB

Ever since we heard Jen Ripple of Dun Magazine talk at the Guadalupe TU TroutFest about the “Driftless” area of southwest Wisconsin, southeast Minnesota and northeast Iowa, we’ve been looking forward to fishing this unique landscape.  Glacial movements missed this section of the midwest leaving a beautiful area behind with numerous drainages holding small streams with trout everywhere.  Our first stop was the West Fork of the Kickapoo River near Viroqua, WI which bills itself as “trout central”.

Jen had mentioned we should stop in at the Driftless Angler in Viroqua and say “hi” to Mat and Geri, the co-owners, so we did just that on our first day in Viroqua.  Mat shared some local flies and flavor and we were off to our campground at the Westfork Sportsmans Club.

The next day, we met our guide, Pete Cozad at the shop and headed out to the river.  We didn’t head to the section of the West Fork that runs through the campground, but took a different turn and headed further upstream.  We hiked down a bit, crossed over a large metal gate and landed squarely in a field of cattle grazing.  Skirting our way around the cattle, we made our way to the stream and began fishing.

After fishing a few sections of the river, landing some really beautiful brownies, we headed back to the campground for our “Guide Talk”.  As you watch, you’ll notice Pete’s dog, Teak, patiently watching us, waiting for Pete to throw the frisbee again.  While Teak waited, we had a great conversation with Pete, talking about the fishery, his efforts to get kids involved in fly fishing and a great “one fly” tournament he holds annually.  We hope you listen in to Pete’s “guide talk” and learn more about fishing in the “Driftless”.

 

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Bois Brule, Guide Talk

Canoeing the Brule

By TB

The Bois Brule River is rich with history, having had 4 United States presidents come to fish its waters.   An outstanding article, Brule: A River of Presidents, was written about the river and its history by Judy Nugget for Lake-Link.

For our trip down the Brule, we took the “classic float” in a canoe with Carl Haensel of Namebini.  Carl has been guiding on the Brule longer than anyone and his knowledge of its history and geology made our trip so memorable.  We floated down sections of the river that resembled a small spring creek and then we’d be in a large lake before heading down a rapids section of whitewater.  The changes in the river were a part of its character and added to its mystery.  As we floated by the Cedar Island Estate, one could imagine all the titans of industry and other luminaries who’d visited here and fished these waters.  As we moved downstream of the estate, it seemed around each bend in the river, a boathouse would appear, with a rich history all its own.

Carl was an excellent guide and his “Guide Talk” revealed his passion for this fishery and area.  This is his home water and it shows in his ongoing conservation work on the river.  Carl is very active in making sure the Brule stays a top trout stream and remains as it has been for decades.

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