In the last week there has been a considerable pick up of surface related feeding buy the trout in Western Wisconsin. The conditions are finally right for a wide variety of bugs to emerge and the trout have responded. This is a good thing and it is time to scrape that rust off of your Brad Pitt casting skills and put the dry on the water. There will probably be a short period of greed feeding by the trout and a wide variety of bugs seem to be working right now. Eventually the fish will become more selective and pattern selection will become more important as we head into the summer heat.
There were at least 8 different bugs coming off the water and resting in the stream side grasses in the afternoon shifts this last week. They included Olives, Granny Smith sulphers, PAD’s(Lt. hendricksons), yellow cranes, at least two different caddis a light one and an olive one. There was also a beautiful, giant mottled wing tan mayfly that I have seen before on the Kinni and Rush in about size 8 or 10. Could be the hex variety that folks are talking about but I tend to stay away from definitive identifications. The fish have not been particularly selective and hunting trout with long casts to difficult locations has been a gas.
Nymphing and swinging wet flies(soft hackles) has also been effective.
I am suspecting that in the next week or two the flush of hatches will continue, the water will begin to warm and the summer heat start to set in. Of course, I could be wrong and it could snow next week.
Have fun
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Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackAndy– ME and two friends fished the lower Kinni below the dam last night (put in off River Ridge Road) and saw the “greed feed” you described above. For approx 45 minutes, starting at 8:45, the water was full of rising and jumping fish. I had luck with a size 16 sulfur, but just about any light-colored fly was working. Lots of good-sized fish, 12″+. I recommend taking a headlamp in case you have to re-tie a fly after 9pm. I left mine at home and missed out on some fish because I lost my fly at 9:15pm. Earlier in the evening I had luck with a red Humpy and a Royal Wulff (both size 14).
Experienced the same on the lower Kinni on Monday that started around 3PM. Yellow stones in the grass too. Fish feeding all over.
The Lower Kinni is in perfect shape after the rains on Wednesday. Yesterday the upper had more color in it than the lower. I imagine the other rivers in Pierce Co are about the same. Should be good for the weekend. I will try and get you a bit more info later today. Smallmouth this morning:) Tworod, I saw the Giant Golden Stones yesterday. Hopefully a picture will follow.
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