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Post 24 Jul 2017, 19:11 • #326 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 10/26/12
Posts: 1188
Location: Fairfax, Virginia
There are people in Pennsylvania and Virginia that guard their Morel Mushroom hunting grounds closer than their best brook trout streams !!

Pecos


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Post 24 Jul 2017, 21:48 • #327 
Master Guide
Joined: 05/30/13
Posts: 853
Location: Wisconsin Driftless
@Pecos... when they sell for upwards of $50/#... they're pert near gold. Like a good fishing hole. You keep that knowledge locked up till you're dead and buried.

Got out for a little bit this evening. Streams are looking good. Streamside bushwhacking is minimized thanks to the flooding. And the streambeds are looking so fresh and so clean.

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This evening I cooked up the chanterelles I foraged yesterday. Made a mushroom ragout for starters and finished off with a bacon wrapped tenderloin from the local butcher with whipped potatoes and topped with more chanterelles.

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Post 25 Jul 2017, 06:50 • #328 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 02/26/14
Posts: 3578
Location: US-MN
Well done sir!!!! Actually, I'll take mine medium-rare.....


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Post 25 Jul 2017, 09:58 • #329 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 10/26/12
Posts: 1188
Location: Fairfax, Virginia
Hotdish ... that is one special meal !!

Pecos


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Post 25 Jul 2017, 18:16 • #330 
Master Guide
Joined: 06/28/16
Posts: 930
Location: Northern WI
Not really a mushroom guy but that sure does look tempting.


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Post 25 Jul 2017, 20:08 • #331 
Master Guide
Joined: 11/04/15
Posts: 631
Location: US-FL
Chanterelles...reminds me of when I read about Doug Peacock up on Scalplock Mountain in Glacier N.P., aka the grizzly Hilton. He is fond of chanterelles, too.


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Post 30 Jul 2017, 17:44 • #332 
Master Guide
Joined: 11/04/15
Posts: 631
Location: US-FL
Is that a new reel, hotdish?


Last edited by Del Gue on 31 Jul 2017, 11:00, edited 1 time in total.

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Post 31 Jul 2017, 08:08 • #333 
Master Guide
Joined: 05/30/13
Posts: 853
Location: Wisconsin Driftless
Yesterday I spent a chunk of the day in front of my tying desk working on some warmwater flies a friend asked me to tie up for him... As the day progressed I got the urge to hit up the big river in search of warmwater species. Gathered up all my gear and out the door I went.

I pull into the gas station in Viroqua for some beverage and gas and be on my way. Reach for my wallet at the pump and to my surprise I'd forgotten said wallet. Not to be deterred I look at my gauge. 1/4 tank. Well I'm not doubling back and wasting time. Where should I go? Decided to head over to Sidie Hollow... Maybe I'll hook into a few bass... One look at the lake and decide maybe not. Well now what? Plan A fizzled... Plan B is no bueno. My 1/4 tank of gas dwindling. I remember my boss earlier in the week had told me of a spot he'd heard a friend pulling multiple 20" browns out of. I vaguely remembered the details. So I vaguely headed that way. Not really remembering which one of the two streams he was talking about I drove over both bridges. Stopping at the second. I decided this looked good. Nice thing about the recent flood is that most streamside vegetation is bowled over. Making for easy access. Stream bottoms are also pretty much silt free and takes a lot of the guess work out of wading.

As I made my way downstream I started to realize maybe my 5wt was a bit much for this stream but it's all I had with me. Back in the day people caught trout on 6s and 7s all day in the driftless though so I just continued fishing and enjoying the evening.

The action started out a little slow and with no signs of anything that remotely resembling 20". I'd caught a tiny brown at this point. Signs of life! A few runs later I start hooking into brookies. Wanderlust ensues and I keep going further and further downstream. Beautiful water. And more brookies to hand with a brown peppered in here and there. Nothing of size but it's not really the size of a brookie but rather the mix of a Dali and Van Gogh motif that brookies carry with them.

I finally notice the sun has dipped below the coulees. Probably time to head back. Just one or two more bends to look at. It's getting dark faster as we approach August. No headlamp. I thanked my phone for still having enough juice to use as a flashlight.

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Post 31 Jul 2017, 08:11 • #334 
Master Guide
Joined: 05/30/13
Posts: 853
Location: Wisconsin Driftless
Del Gue wrote:
Is that a new real, hotdish?
I got it earlier this year. Won it on another forum. Nice reel. It's a Piscifun Sword. Chinese reel. They come in at a really good price point. And I haven't had any issues with it yet. Holds line just fine.


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Post 31 Jul 2017, 08:53 • #335 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 10/26/12
Posts: 1188
Location: Fairfax, Virginia
Now that is one nice, "non-vague" fishing report !

Pecos


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Post 31 Jul 2017, 12:09 • #336 
Master Guide
Joined: 11/04/15
Posts: 631
Location: US-FL
A machined reel **and** a good price point. Reviews have been positive. Be interesting to see how it holds up, although I expect it will be satisfactory.


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Post 01 Aug 2017, 19:39 • #337 
Master Guide
Joined: 03/18/12
Posts: 461
Location: Troy Grove, IL.
Beautiful pics and thanks for posting em.....


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Post 09 Aug 2017, 11:10 • #338 
Master Guide
Joined: 05/30/13
Posts: 853
Location: Wisconsin Driftless
What a great August we've had so far here in the driftless. Lows in the 50s and highs in the 70s. It's an amazing time to be here. Usually Augusts are hellishly hot and humid. It's the foam hatch time of the year and trout are taking all sorts of top water presentations. Most of my luck has come with a Chubby Chernobyl with double droppers. Still even though the weather has been mild trout are still best caught in the mornings and evenings with midday being slow and tough.

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Post 10 Aug 2017, 09:09 • #339 
Master Guide
Joined: 11/04/15
Posts: 631
Location: US-FL
Beautiful waters! And that frog looks to be colored about perfectly for his environment.


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Post 10 Aug 2017, 09:15 • #340 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 02/26/14
Posts: 3578
Location: US-MN
Awesome pics!


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Post 27 Aug 2017, 21:49 • #341 
Master Guide
Joined: 05/30/13
Posts: 853
Location: Wisconsin Driftless
I didn't die, I swear. Just been busy with life. August continues to be amazing. I've fished with a few cool folks. The weather is great! 60s & 70s during the day and 50s and 60s at night. I've been camping for the past week out at Sidie Hollow. Figured I'd get out of the house and enjoy the outdoors. But with that also brings no cell service. It's been great to disconnect.

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Converted a friend. Casting his newly acquired Featherlight.
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My home is on the water with the sun, moon, and stars above me.

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ArtB with a nice driftless brown during the eclipse.
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Art doesn't give himself enough credit, dude can cast.
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Cute but poisonous. White Hickory Tussock Moth Caterpillar
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The bend of an Echo 4wt
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Post 28 Aug 2017, 12:10 • #342 
Guide
Joined: 02/05/17
Posts: 131
Location: NorCal
Thank for the fresh air hotdish. I live by andromodous waters so all our little streams are off limits.

Plus its wine county tourist season and the rubber hatch is on full blast here, the river fills with people and the algae blooms heavily. Your posts are like my "some day soon" motivational goal pictures. (Planning to change location to a fishier area asap)


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Post 28 Aug 2017, 16:34 • #343 
Master Guide
Joined: 11/04/15
Posts: 631
Location: US-FL
Y'all have got some really pretty streams up there.

I'm off to Montana in the morning. I'm hoping, hoping, that I can catch my first trout on a fly rod this trip. Maybe not, prolly not, but maybe.

I'll also try to get some pics from out there.


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Post 05 Sep 2017, 08:14 • #344 
Master Guide
Joined: 05/30/13
Posts: 853
Location: Wisconsin Driftless
Day 101. Day 100 was very uneventful. And its taken me two weeks to get to here. In the end, it's ok, today's outing made up for day 100. And the action was well worth the wait.

I started the day off on a very familiar stream. The water was gin clear. Fishing was tough. In fact I didn't catch a single trout. My casting sucked and my mind was elsewhere. I soon headed back to the car.

I drove around for awhile not knowing what my next move was going to be. I was recently told I needed to step out of my comfort zone. To whatever effect, I agreed, and checked out a section of stream I'd never fished before. I'd looked at it before. Bridge with a big deep pool. Flanked by exposed rock face on one side and corn on the other. Downstream is a no go. Barbed wire to the bridge and even more downstream. It screams "stay out!" Upstream is more inviting. A clear buffer zone between the stream and the corn field.

I got geared up and streamside. My first cast, swing and a miss. Second cast, I hook up with a little brookie. Score! The day continued on brookie after brookie. A lot of missed fish too. Enough misses to rethinking my hook selection. I've noticed this season I've had a lot of missed hookset with Dairiki hooks. Time to try something new. But anyways. Soon enough my eyes widened. I came upon a beaver dam. I love these things. It almost always means big fish. Hopefully big brookies in this case. First couple casts and nothing. Soon after I connected with my first creek chub in who knows how long. Not looking good. I work my way along this long beaver pond. Flip a cast under a tree and hook up with a nice 12" brookie. A few more missed trout... damn these dairiki hooks... As i neared the end of the pool... What is this? Yet another beaver dam. Just my luck. This one looks newer. Can still see the rocky bottom behind the dam. A few more brookies and I decided to end the day. Day 101 was a good day. ImageImageImageImageImage


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Post 05 Sep 2017, 08:25 • #345 
Master Guide
Joined: 02/09/16
Posts: 746
Location: Colorado
Beautiful!


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Post 08 Sep 2017, 07:29 • #346 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 10/09/09
Posts: 2796
Location: US-NM
Great pictures thanks and I love golden chantrells my favorite mushroom.....aurelio


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Post 08 Sep 2017, 12:15 • #347 
Master Guide
Joined: 03/18/12
Posts: 461
Location: Troy Grove, IL.
Just plain outstanding pics and many thanks for posting them.......


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Post 20 Nov 2017, 22:31 • #348 
Master Guide
Joined: 05/30/13
Posts: 853
Location: Wisconsin Driftless
Hey all, I'm still kicking. Wisconsin inland trout season ended Oct. 15th and I've been chomping at the bit to get over to Iowa ever since. Cold weather came in strong and needless to say I wasn't ready to play ball. Finally though things were looking up. Forecasted to be a calm and 50°+ and I was ready to get my fish on. More importantly I was ready to break in my new 7' 6wt that I recently received from Chris Barclay.

A lot of other things had kept me from getting out on the water these past couple months... life... work... car problems... all of which had been figured out and fixed now. Or most of them have. Clearly life will always throw you a curve ball. I woke up. Ready to fish. I ordered my yearly nonresident Iowa license online. Hopeful that I'll get to Iowa at least 6 times before January. I spooled up a reel with wf6f SA MPX and put a furled leader on. Packed my 6pc 3wt in my sling, just in case. Grabbed my waders and boots and headed out the door.

As I'm on the road the first thing I notice is that my car is running so much smoother. It had been a guessing game for the garage for weeks as to what was wrong. So much relief. About 30 minutes into my drive I realize... shhhhiiiii!! I left my reel on the desk!! F! F! F! Fine! Whatever! I've got my 3wt still. Not going to let this day get ruined. Not. 30 minutes later (an hour later total) I arrive at my destination. I look through my car quickly and to my surprise there's a reel that I have lined with a SA MPX but I'm wf5f. So what the heck. Lined up the Barclay with it. Gave it a few practice casts, a little fast, but it'll do.

The day was great. Started out super windy. I should've figured. How else do you gain 30° in a day without a little help from the wind to blow that sweet southern warmth up here. It was perfect for a fast 6wt though! Heh. Fishing wasn't the best. A few follows and one taker. I stuck to streamers. Had I been more patient and switched to a nymph I probably could've done better. Even seen a few risers throughout the day. The section of stream I fished had changed some. Widening, always a downfall to any stream. Making for slower shallower runs that were filled with vegetation. But much like the seasons of the Upper Midwest, Driftless streams are in a constant state of change. It's what I love about this place. ImageImageImageImageImage


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Post 20 Nov 2017, 22:36 • #349 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 02/12/16
Posts: 4093
Location: USA-CO
Great shots -- thanks! I like the one of the bridge especially.


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Post 21 Nov 2017, 01:09 • #350 
Master Guide
Joined: 05/30/13
Posts: 853
Location: Wisconsin Driftless
Thanks, Tomah. That bridge is pretty cool. Use to trip me out as a child. It's a very tall bridge. I know it still freaks out some adults. Haha


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