I Love the Driftless

There's just something about this region of southwest Wisconsin that amazes upon each and every pilgrimage. The rolling green hills, the cold spring creeks, the voracious trout; it's wonderfully unique and intoxicating. 

Now I don't consider myself a very good trout angler. Once upon a time I was on the path to perhaps becoming one, but ever since moving to Florida, I just don't get to fish for trout frequently enough to really advance my skills.

That said, upon entering the Driftless, I always seem to punch above my weight class. The fishing can be just that good. It's the kind of place that satisfies, no matter one's skill level.

Two weeks ago I met up with a half dozen fixed-line friends for five days of camping, fishing, and camaraderie. Our base camp was in the Viroqua, Wisconsin area, ideal to launch off in any direction for a full day of fishing and fun. It was a trip I won't forget soon, and honestly there's no reason to want to.

Here are more than a few photos from that week.

Jonathan stalking

Matt laying low

Jason fishing some pretty water

Greg's rookie tenkara experience

Greg working the pool

I even got to finally meet Len Harris...

Brats!

Jonathan at the vise

That's One Hungry Trout!

 Sometimes a Picture Says a Thousand Words

This awesome photo is courtesy of Len Harris, a Driftless area angler (and friend of the blog) who is known to tell a good story or two. In this case, Len didn't need to do much talking, but did share the following commentary:

"The silly thing hit my spinner with its mouthful already and it battled like normal. It did not seem to be hindered. I thought about taking the frog out of its mouth but I thought I might injure it because the inside of the fish's mouth the teeth are all pointed down the throat and I might tear it. It swam away just fine. I guess it was quite hungry."

Trout are amazing.

Kind of makes you think... if you were a trout, what favorite food might be found sticking out of your mouth when caught? As for me, well, I'm a glutton for pizza... or maybe tacos. I eat pretty much anything in taco form. That would certainly be a sight.

Autographed & Inscribed Fly Fishing Books

I don't have a ton of fly fishing books, but I have probably accumulated more than my fair share over the last decade or so.

Artful Profiles of Trout, Char, & Salmon - Dave & Emily Whitlock

If possible, I try to get them signed by the author. It has nothing to do with enhancing the resale value, rather I think it makes that particular copy a bit more special. A cherished keepsake if you will. Even though the author's words are contained on the pages within, books are mass produced if not distributed digitally. One of many. To me, the signature creates more of a one-on-one connection, makes it unique. They don't even have to be "famous" authors or anglers, that's not the point.

In any event, some autographs you can still obtain in person, and some unfortunately you cannot. Personally, I kick myself sometimes on some of the opportunities I've missed out on due to poor planning. However, if you have a fly fishing book collection, you might be interested in an email sent out by the Rogue Angler in Oregon, that was promoting the autographed books they have for sale, including one signed by the recently deceased legend, "Lefty" Kreh that would certainly garner a special place on any angler's bookshelf. Oh, and Yvon Chouinard is no slacker either...

Now I'd note, I have no association with the Rogue Angler whatsoever. No monetary kickbacks for this post. I just thought it was a pretty cool opportunity to take advantage of, should my readers have any interest. Certainly caught my attention.

In any event, here are a few photos of the autographed/inscribed fishing books I own. I think they're pretty cool to look at each time you pick up the copy to re-read the contents once more.

A Fly Fishing Guide to Rocky Mountain National Park - Steve Schweitzer

Native to this Stream - Paul Weidknecht

Jack's Drift - J. Wilfred Cahill

tenkara the book - Daniel Galhardo

How To Fool Fish with Simple Flies - Dr. Paul Gaskell & John Pearson

The Stream of Time - Len Harris

Fishing, Ghosts, and My Mother's Gray Hair - Mark Kautz
(If you've read my blog enough, you know this guy...)

Do you happen to enjoy getting your fly fishing books autographed or inscribed too? If so, I'd love to read in the comments below about which books are the treasures of your home library, and why they might be special to you.

The Driftless Photo Dump

Took quite a few photos while in Wisconsin.  But first a bit of backstory.

I usually take most of the photos on this blog with my smartphone, which has (what I think) is a pretty good camera. Well, as I was headed to the airport to start my long weekend in the Midwest, I heard this "thud" while getting some stuff from the trunk of my SUV and looked down to see that I had obliterated my cell phone screen... to the point that it started leaking purple LCD juice all over the inside of the display, rendering the phone pretty much unusable for the weekend. Ugh.

R.I.P. Google Pixel

When I landed in Wisconsin, I ran over to the Walmart and picked up an inexpensive, unlocked Android phone to use for the weekend. The new phone works just fine, the major tradeoff being that the camera wasn't quite as good, although it took photos that were generally okay in the full-on sun.

The reason why I tell you this is some of the photos below are from the cell phone, while others are from my waterproof point and shoot. You may or may not notice, but it bugs the heck out of me.

In any event, here's a photo dump from the Driftless, 2018... starting with the Midwest Tenkara Fest, then expanding to a liberal amount of fishing, (captioned where needed, accordingly).

Culver's is always a must stop. We finally have them in Florida, but there's just something about eating them in Wisconsin. As far as a "chain" fast food burger goes that isn't an absolute gut bomb, these are at the top of my list. 

Coon Valley American Legion, home to the Midwest Tenkara Fest

Matt & Mike from Badger Tenkara conducting an onstream clinic

The new Tenkara USA Hane was attracting quite a bit of attention

As was Tenkara Grasshopper Graham Moran

Chris Stewart always brings the best toys

Some spin fishermen taking on the muddy waters of Coon Creek

Used my Tenkara USA Sato in the muddy water with some Coulee Killer tungsten bead nymphs to get into fish on Saturday

Was interesting to be in Wisconsin the first day of the season. So much water available to fish there was little to no crowding

This fish was a solid fighter, came out from an undercut to attack a "road kone" kebari 

I think the best fishing was toward dusk. Fish really started coming to life from 3-8 PM.

My beagle buddy

Viroqua, WI is a very fishy town. Home to the Driftless Angler fly shop as well as the Driftless Cafe (pictured)

Once the waters cleared up a bit on Sunday & Monday,
I flipped to fishing the Three Rivers Confluence and "road kone" kebari. 
I really think the Confluence is an underrated rod, worth checking out if you haven't already.

Picked out about 3 fish that looked just like this one in a certain run of narrow, but deep and fast water. By far the most frantic, fun, and fantastic twenty minutes or so of the trip.

Fishing adventures over, the reflective walk back to the car

Before ending this post, I did want to thank Len Harris (Stream of Time) for keeping me abreast of the weather situation via Facebook, probably wouldn't have brought the gear (particularly flies) I did had he not warned of the high and muddy water. Also, huge props to David Nash (My Leaky Waders) for pointing me in the direction of a lot of great fishing. I'm sorry we didn't get to fish a bit, definitely the next time.

Oh, and if any of these photos (or prior posts) have you interested in visiting the Driftless, make sure to check out this video from a few years back. It's awesome and captures everything that makes the Driftless Area a unique fishery.