Trout Fishing In God's Country

[Driftless]

The Driftless Area is a region of the upper Midwest that was not

flattened by the last

glacial period. The term driftless means that the glacier NOT drift

over the area.

The area is an outdoor paradise. It has many rolling hills with

secluded valleys with meandering

streams. These streams are teeming with trout.

Kickapoo River Valley

The Driftless Area is the term that scientists use for this

beautiful area. Four states have

portions of the Driftless Area. Southeatern Minnesota and Southwestern

Wisconsin have the

biggest portions of the Driftless Area. Northwestern Illinois and

Northeastern Iowa have small

portions of the Driftless Area.

The "Heart" of The Driftless Area is located in a small 4 county

area in Southwestern Wisconsin.

The counties in the area are Crawford, Grant, Vernon, and Richland

Counties. This area is

"Trout Central" for the Driftless Area.

The streams in this area have had a noticeable decline in the stream

temperatures. This has caused

a boom in the brook trout (native species) population. A typical brook

trout in this area ranges in size from

6 inches to 18 inches. A twelve inch brook trout from this area is a

very nice trout.

Joe Chadwick with 20 inch brookie from Big Springs Creek

The streams have

a 6 to 8 degree decline in the last three years. The water table has

also gone up and there are springs in

places where there has been none in 20 years.

Nederloe Creek

The "Heart" of the driftless area is also known for it's extra large

brown trout. The browns prefer a little

warmer water than the native brook trout. Browns were brought to the

Midwest by European settlers from

Germany and Scotland. Browns vary in size from fingerlings to very

large like the trout shown below. This

trout was caught in 2008 in a tiny stream in The Heart Of The Driftless Area.

Joe Chadwick with his Knapp's Creek 30 incher.

The brown trout and the brook trout are now sharing spawning

grounds. Because of the mutual grounds,

there has been a rise in the number of "Tiger Trout" being born. A

tiger trout is the product of a wayward

male brook trout finding some browns trout eggs and fertilizing them.

This hybrid is very colorful and is known

for its ferocity. If all three species are in a hole, the tiger will

be the first to bite. Tigers are typically smaller than

browns. They are the mules of the trout world. They are sterile and

can not reproduce. Tigers were stocked in

the Great Lakes in the 70s but it was discontinued in 1977 due to poor

hatching rate in the hatchery.

Weister Creek

Some stocking of rainbow trout is done. Most of the rainbows are

brooders that have been spawned out at the hatcheries

and are released in the Class Two water for the sports anglers.

Joe Chadwick with his Castle Rock Creek brooder.

The Wisconsin Department Of Natural Resources has made three

classifications of Trout Streams

in Wisconsin.

Class One: High quality trout stream that has a self-sustaining

population of wild trout.. These streams are not stocked.

Sections of these streams may be small and the trout grow at a slower

rate. There are 4,136 miles of Class 1 trout streams in Wisconsin

Tainter Creek

Class Two: Streams have some natural reproduction. Stocking is done

to maintain a sport fishery. These streams have

good survival of adult trout. Some of the adult fish may grow to large

sizes.There are 4,644 miles of Class 2 trout streams in Wisconsin.

Mill Creek

Class Three: These waters have no natural reproduction occurring.

Annual stocking of trout is required. There is no carryover of trout .

There are 1,591 miles of Class 3 trout streams in Wisconsin.

Pine River

This area is relatively unknown. You can find many areas that do not

have another angler's footprint on the banks. Solitude and

the beauty of nature abound in "The Heart Of The Driftless Area."

Tainter Creek

[magic_minnow]

Those are amazing pics.

[Odonata]

Nice Post, fun to look at. Next time I will drive!

[DARK30]

Great looking fish! Gotta love that limestone! Can't wait to do a little "sneak n cast" again

[Far-I]

Thanks for sharing. I love reading all of your posts. My grandpa fly-fished and i have yet to start, but you got me itchin to! God Bless