Just got out of the Upper Iowa and it’s fishing well.  Caught a nice number of rainbows and small mouth bass.  The water was clear with nice flow.  Tons and tons of bugs were hatching as night fell.  If you’re ever in town fly fishing the streams around Decorah, take some time to experience the Upper Iowa River.

Today, the Driftless Chapter of Trout Unlimited (TU) based in Decorah, hosted a Boy Scout trout fishing day at the Decorah Fish Hatchery.  TU had a several volunteers show up to help the Scouts learn to cast fly rods and spinning rods.

It appeared the event was successful – a good time was had by all!  In the photo to the right TU members, Tom and Bill, are showing Scouts the Rainbow Trout that are raised at the Hatchery.

The forecast called for rain all day so Paul and I headed out early this morning to get a little fishing in.  We stayed dry until 10:30 and then the rain came down hard.  The fish were not as active as we had hoped but Paul got this nice Brown Trout on a size 18 Hare’s Ear.  We also had luck fishing Streamers just before the rain started to fall.

Fishing has been good the past week but the temperature has not.  It has been very hot and humid so Paul and I where happy to have a cloudy sky this morning.

I was able to attend the Friends of the Decorah Fish Hatchery celebration last week.  They are raising money for a new restroom facility and visitor information center.  We have a link on our website if you would like to donate money or read about the project and their goals.  It would be a great addition to our fish hatchery and local bike trail.

The photo to the right is me helping 4 yr old Amelia learn the basics of casting a fly rod.  She picked it up quick and had a fun time trying to hit the target.  She is a natural at the two handed casting, and a Spey Rod and some Great Lakes Steelhead could be in her future.

I was able to spend two days guiding Jim from Minnesota and it was a treat.  It’s not often I get to guide someone who has fly fished in so many places, seen some beautiful things and has some great stories.

Our first day was spent at Cold Water Creek.  We had luck fishing Pheasant Tails and Black Copper John’s size 18.  We focused on the faster water working our way up and down the water column by adding weight.  We caught both Brown and Rainbow trout.  It was overcast with a few rain drops and the temperature was perfect.

Our second day was on the North Bear and Jim used his 2wt fly rod.  Using a 2wt makes every fish more fun to catch and also makes casting nymphs slightly more difficult.  We had success on the same flies as the day before. We also used Red Copper Johns and Lightning Bugs size 18 with success.  The morning was humid and overcast but we could feel the temperature rising.  We traveled farther up the North Bear for the afternoon and fished only Grass Hoppers.  We had success in the hot sun casting along the grass banks and in the shallower runs.  Fly fishing with Hoppers using a 2wt is a great way to end a fly fishing trip to Northeast Iowa.

Thanks for fishing with us, Jim.

Happy August!!  Can you think of a better way to bring in August than with good flows on our Northeast Iowa trout streams?  I was able to join Fly Fishing / Chicken guru, Steve Matter on the upper reaches of the North Bear tonight.  The two pictures are of the first Brook trout Steve has caught on this stretch of the North Bear.

We were both fishing size 16/18 nymphs.  I was using Red Copper Johns, Pheasant Tails, Black Zebra Midges.  Steve was using some of his own creations, one called the Miracle Midge and the other was a Red Emerger.  Stop by the Chick Hatchery, on Water Street in downtown Decorah, and Steve will show you what flies to use.  He will also let you know where the fishing has been good.

We fished the shallow runs and some deep slow moving holes and had success doing both.  Steve fished mostly with no weight while I was back and forth all night.  It seemed that no weight worked well tonight – although once you get into that faster water, adding some weight might increase your success.

We have been getting a lot of rain the month of July but the streams are still in good shape and fishing well.  I was able to finally hook up with my friend David for a evening fish.  Unfortunately it was David’s first outing of the summer and after donating a pint of blood to the mosquitoes,  he got right back into the grove and landed a few trout including the one pictured.  David caught this trout on a Brass Colored Copper John.  I caught most of my fish on a Pheasant Tail size 18 and Red Copper John size 18.

Summer is winding down so call your friends and get out and do some fly fishing.

More rain for Northeast Iowa.  We got about 2 inch over night Wed. and Thursday.  The trout streams are high and muddy again and more rain today.

Day 1 -  We started our first day with “chocolate clear” water from unexpected rainfall up north.  I thought to myself – this will be a real challenge for the Oregon & Nebraska natives (this being their first time to Iowa) however on days like this you just have to approach it with the mind set that the fish are there and if we can get the right fly at the right depth and close enough to see, we will catch a few tight lines.  Howard had just come from fishing in Montana  and his skills where very sharp.  Dubber was new to fly fishing, but after a few casts into his second hole, he showed great potential and a soft, easy cast.   We started to catch fish using what I call the “special one” – aka the “Green Weenie”.  size 22.  Fish are creatures of their environment- as long as the conditions of the water stay the same for at least 24 hours they will adapt and find food, when the sudden change happens they tend to hold and cover until they adjust to the water conditions.  Lucky for us the fish were starting to adjust and they were finding our flies.  We fished most of the day with the “Green Weenie” and a BH FPT.  We concentrated on the faster water and long tailing drifts catching some fish on the up swing of their drifts.  It was a gorgeous day and Howard and Dubber worked very hard on honing their skills to the stream.  We ended up catching more then enough fish for a days worth and trading some stories about our love for the outdoors, the beautiful North East Iowa scenery, and of course Nebraska/Big Ten football.

Day 2:  I decided to take them to a stream that was a little smaller then our 1st day, but had a more intimate feel and was great for a half day trip.  We spent the morning on the clear water and had alot of the same results.  I put their casting skills to test a couple of times into some tight drifts against banks and they met every challenge.  Dubber caught a “double” on one stretch (2 fish on 2 separate flies on one single drift) – unfortunately the bigger fish got off before the landing, but he still managed to get both fish up to the bank before the bigger one got off – very common in a double.  Howard showed his ability to make long precision casts near small pockets holding fish – I will have to say it was fun just watching him cast. We ended our day at lunch time and I was thinking to myself – I wish we had all day because these two guy’s were great to fish with.

I considered it a privelage to fish with these two guy’s.  I could tell they really enjoyed being around each other and I would be glad to fish with them any day.  Howard had a great love for flyfishing and Dubber was an avid outdoorsman – kindred spirits that landed in the Driftless Region to Flyfish.  Thanks Guy’s – I look forward to fishing with you again next year.  -Ethan

More rain over the weekend has the water a little high and dirty on the North Bear again.  Fished the edges of the runs looking for fish in shallower water.  Used Black Copper Johns and Black Zebra Midges.  Enjoyed guiding Ottie this afternoon and showing him some Northeast Iowa trout streams.

Thanks for booking a trip with us Ottie.  Hope to see you on the streams some day soon.