Exploring Wisconsin Trout Streams The Angler’s Guide S E ECOND DITION Steve Born, Jeff Mayers, Andy Morton, and Bill Sonzogni THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN PRESS The University of Wisconsin Press 1930 Monroe Street, 3rd Floor Madison, Wisconsin 53711-2059 uwpress.wisc.edu 3 Henrietta Street London WC2E 8LU, England eurospanbookstore.com Copyright © 1997, 2014 The Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any format or by any means, digital, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, or conveyed via the Internet or a website without written permission of the University of Wisconsin Press, except in the case of brief quotations embedded in critical articles and reviews. Printed in the United States of America Illustrations on pp. 8, 20, 30, 48, 62, 63 (bottom), 65 (bottom), 80, 99 by Stephen Di Cerbo. Copyright 1995 by Stephen Di Cerbo. Illustrations on pp. 1, 16, 29, 38, 40, 43, 47, 49, 50, 53, 54, 61, 63 (top), 64, 65 (top), 72, 87, 92, 94, 109, 111 by Richard Berge Maps by Susan Hunt Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Born, Stephen M., author. Exploring Wisconsin trout streams: the angler’s guide / Steve Born, Jeff Mayers, Andy Morton, and Bill Sonzogni. — Second edition. pages cm First edition published in 1997. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-299-30004-3 (pbk. : alk. paper)— ISBN 978-0-299-30003-6 (e-book) 1. Trout fishing—Wisconsin—Guidebooks. 2. Fly fishing— Wisconsin—Guidebooks. 3. Wisconsin—Guidebooks. I. Mayers, Jeff, 1959–, author. II. Morton, Andy, author. III. Sonzogni, Bill, author. IV. Title. SH688.U6E96 2014 799.12’409775—dc23 2013046016 Contents Illustrations Foreword by Gary A. Borger Preface Acknowledgments Introduction: These Are the Best of Times PART 1. Before You Go Fishing 1 Wisconsin’s Trout-Fishing Heritage 2 Wisconsin’s Environmental Management Legacy 3 Getting Started 4 Insects and Crustaceans of Wisconsin Trout Streams: A Quick Survey 5 “Don’t Miss” Wisconsin Fishing Opportunities 6 Looking to the Future PART 2. Pursuing the Trout 7 A Regional Guide to Wisconsin Trout Fishing 8 Trout Fishing in Northern Wisconsin Bois Brule River Namekagon River White River Prairie River Peshtigo River Oconto River Wolf River Pike River East Branch of the Eau Claire River Kinnickinnic River 9 Trout Fishing in Southern Wisconsin Tomorrow-Waupaca River Mecan River Lawrence Creek Black Earth Creek Mt. Vernon Creek Castle Rock Creek and the Blue River Big Green River Timber Coulee Creek Willow Creek Kickapoo River Appendix: Fishing the Web Selected Bibliography Index Illustrations Photographs Young woman flyfishing, ca. 1930 Enthusiastic participants at a women’s flyfishing clinic A happy Wisconsin trout angler The 2013 restoration of lower Black Earth Creek The lower Black Earth Creek returned to its former meandering channel A beautiful brookie Aldo Leopold The original design for the MEPPS spinner Duke Welter with one of the “rewards” of his conservation work in Wisconsin’s Driftless region Stabilization of stream banks and habitat improvements on Black Earth Creek The same Black Earth Creek section, one year later The Big Green River Dr. Mark Ratner with a soon-to-be-released brown trout A young angler shows off his catch Steve Born with a fine Driftless Area brown trout Bill Engber with a beautiful brown trout A magnificent Hexagenia spinner Bill Engber holding a trophy steelhead A fine April Brule River steelhead A healthy small watershed in the Kickapoo River drainage system Scott Harpold with a monster brown trout The majestic Brule River in northern Wisconsin Reed’s Creek Winter reveals a totally different portrait of a trout stream A challenging lie under the bridge Trout fishing on the Bois Brule River, ca. 1900 President Calvin Coolidge fishing at Cedar Lake Lodge on the Bois Brule River The Prairie River dam and power house The free-flowing Prairie River after removal of the dam Every angler’s goal—a big brown trout in the net! A wild brown caught nymphing The Hunting River A jewel-like brook trout Elk Creek, Chippewa County Nelsonville Dam removal, new culverts, and stream restoration on the Tomorrow River The next generation of anglers Picture perfect Black Earth Creek Black Earth Creek The caddis hatches of springtime Some of the most picturesque and productive trout angling in southern Wisconsin Jim Bartelt fishes a corner pool on the Big Green River Multi-brooded small blue-wing olive mayflies The Kickapoo Valley and its coulees seen from Wildcat Mountain State Park An angler fishes one of the many small tributaries in the Kickapoo River drainage The “pay-off” for a good student of trout and trout fishing Steve Born pursuing trout on Bishop’s Branch Figures 4.1 Aquatic and terrestrial insect emergence schedules 5.1 Typical alkalinity and hardness of Wisconsin trout waters, indicating the most fertile streams Foreword Trout fishing has always been a passion for me. At age four I was casting into the mud puddles in front of the house. By six I was exploring the local trout streams with vigor. At eleven I was inspired to take up flyfishing by the writings of Joe Brooks, Al McClane, Ted Trueblood, the young Ernest Schwiebert, and other flyfishing writers of the time. It has been a full-time and fast-paced pursuit ever since. Over the years I have been blessed with an agenda that has taken me around the world to some of the best trout fishing that can be found: the hallowed chalk streams of England, the crystalline streams and lakes of New Zealand, the swift little mountain brooks and spring creeks of South Africa, the tundra rivers of Alaska, the freshwater lagoons of Tasmania, the brawling salmon rivers of Russia, and many others. In all this, I have come to see the common threads in the complex fabric of flyfishing; the strands that run through trout fishers, the fish they so lovingly pursue, the environs that make this sport possible, and the impact that humankind has had on this fragile resource. It has become evident to me that the cold, clean water that harbors trout is a rare commodity on this planet. In fact, scientists have calculated that less than one millionth of one percent of the world’s water actually flows in trout streams at any one time. Because they are so rare, such waters are easily degraded by the activities of man—farming, road construction, housing developments, waste disposal, even recreational activities, all take their toll. And so it is, that when one finds a state well blessed with trout water, such as Wisconsin, one can be assured that it is no accident—that it must be a carefully husbanded resource. The truth is that the history of Wisconsin has been one of intense overuse of the forest and agricultural resources, followed by an intense, conservation- based ethic that has restored the pristine quality of many of the state’s lakes and streams. True, the vast forests of huge white pines are gone, but Wisconsin’s currently well-managed forest cover contributes strongly to its healthy watersheds, and consequently to its healthy fisheries. True, the sweeping acreages of tall-grass prairie have disappeared beneath the plow, but the farmers of Wisconsin now are among the most conservation-minded of this nation. Ours is a state that tries hard to reconcile its human resources with its natural resources.