Happy New Year to all! Paul and I made the best of the last day of 2010.  The country roads are ice packed and it was raining off and on so we decided to stay right in town and fish the Upper Iowa.  With the warm weather and rain we had been getting the river has opened up and the water was clear and cold.

The fish were feeding today but it took a lot of casts and very slow drifts.  Trout slow down in the winter and their strikes are very soft so you need to watch your indicator closely.  This trout took a size 18 Prince and my indicator just paused slightly on the take.

Paul and I only fished about 2 hours because of the cold but it was good to get out and land a few fish.  It was a good end to the year with a good number of days on the water.

Also, Northeast Iowa Fly Fishing has joined Facebook in 2011.  Check us out and add us to your friends!  Happy New Year!

We got our first snow fall of the winter on Friday.  So winter fishing has begun.  The sun was out today so Paul and I headed out fishing.  With a fresh snow fall it’s a lot easier to see if any one has been to the stream lately.  We were definetly the first people out since Friday.

Winter Fly Fishing takes some getting use to.  You really need to think about each step you take and every cast you make.  Falling down in the snow and getting wet or taking your gloves off to often to fix your line is a sure way to shorten the fishing trip.

Winter Fly Fishing is a great way to get out of the house and enjoy nature.  We took a good number of breaks to warm up the hands but it was great to be on the water.

We used flies ranging from 18-22.  Smaller flies are a must in the Winter.  The bugs in the water this time of year are small.

Casting can be tough with ice building up on your line so each cast counts.  Fish are feeding but they are not overly active.  Your drift needs to be in the feeding lane and at the right depth for the fish to take it.

Well the football season has ended and I haven’t seen the river since August.  So I was looking forward to getting back out there and casting my rod.  What a great day of fishing.  November and the weather is outstanding.  It was about 63 degrees  and not a cloud in the sky.  The water conditions were clear, however the water was low.  I fished most of the day with size 18 Hare’s ear and PT.  I was not in the mood for many changes in attack, but they did me well on the day.  I caught about 15 fish on the day, two very nice Browns (16inch and 19inch).   I had a shore lunch on one of my favorite Rocks and just enjoyed a great day in November.  Yes 6o degrees in November and still fishing well.  The great thing about fishing the driftless area is that you can fish year round and run into days like this.   However, I do look forward to the winter fishing come this December and January – if you are willing to bundle up and brave the elements you can have lots of fishing days with solitude and find the fishing to be excellent.  I look forward to catching more fish soon, real soon.

Fly fishing in Northeast Iowa at the end of October can be a coin toss sometimes, depending on the weather.  Chris and Eddie picked the day a month in advance and ended up with great weather.  The sky was overcast but it was warm and calm.

Chris grew up fly fishing for salmon but now that he lives in Iowa, he took this opportunity to come to Decorah and get back to his fly rod, this time for trout.  For some people like Chris it’s just like riding a bike.  He was back in the zone in no time.

Eddie was ready to give fly fishing in Northeast Iowa a shot.  He fished his home state of North Carolina quite often and found the streams around Northeast Iowa similar to the mountain streams he fishes.

We were fishing just under the surface.  The fish were active, and we landed numerous fish with emerges and bead heads size 16-20.  Eddie was successful fishing a sausage and egg combination.  He chose to leave out the sausage (aka, San Juan Worm) and went with a red copper john instead.

Thanks guys.

My wife and I hit the water today for a long over due fly fishing trip.  The sun came out just in time for this picture of Kelly and a nice Rainbow Trout but it didn’t last long.  We battled the cold tempertures and a strong wind all morning but we had a good time and landed a few nice fish.

The water levels are good and the weather seems nice for the rest of the week and into the weekend.  If you are in Decorah Thursday night for a weekend of fly fishing, you should stop by the local TU meeting at T-Bocks sports bar.

Check out the website for more info on the Driftless Chapter of Trout Unlimited.  www.iadriftless.org

We have gotten a lot of rain the past week but it seems that most of the streams in the area are fishing well.  There were a good number of people fishing on North and South Bear this morning.  The water is a little high for this time of year and a little off color but the fish were active.  I talked to a few people who fished Coldwater Creek this weekend and they said it was very high and dirty.

Fall is a great time to get out and fly fish some new water.  Iowa trout fishing never closes so get out and fish.  Catch and release fly fishing is very important in the fall.  The brown trout are spawning so let’s keep the population strong.

Fished Coldwater Creek for a few hours tonight.  The trout were very active feeding close to the surface.  Dead drifting soft hackles and size 22 emerger patterns worked well.  I really enjoy fishing Coldwater Creek.  It has deep runs and cut banks that hold a lot of fish.

The day started off cold and cloudy with a light rain.  By the time Laurie and I hit the water this afternoon the rain was gone but it was still overcast.  It was a fun day of fly fishing on the North Bear.

Laurie was in town from Virginia to test her skills against the trout of Northeast Iowa and she succeeded.  We had success swinging soft hackle flies at the tail end of runs.  With the overcast skies we saw a few bugs starting to hatch later in the day.

Laurie, Thanks for fishing with Northeast Iowa Fly Fishing while you were in Decorah.  I enjoyed our trip.

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 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.