Driftless Area Spring Creeks

The Driftless Area covers southwest Wisconsin plus corners of Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois that the glaciers never flattened. Mel Hayner, owner of The Driftless Fly Fishing Company on the Minnesota side, explained on the podcast in July 2023 that the porous limestone feeds springs at about 42 degrees all year, so the creeks rarely overheat or freeze and grow big trout in small water. Wisconsin DNR classifies 13,271 miles of trout streams, and 5,365 miles are Class 1, where wild trout reproduce well enough to need no stocking. The DNR's Coon Creek Fishery Area in Vernon County takes in Coon Creek, Timber Coulee, Spring Coulee, Bohemian Valley and Rullands Creek, all Class 1.

Craig Amacker, an Orvis endorsed guide at Madison Fly Fishing Company, built his March 29, 2022 episode, Gateway to the Driftless Region, around gin-clear water and picky fish. Geri Meyer, co-owner of The Driftless Angler, told the podcast in October 2019 that her season is best from April to late June, then hopper season in July and August, fished early in the day.

Kinnickinnic River

The Kinni flows through River Falls to the St. Croix. Wisconsin DNR lists 25 miles of Class 1 trout water and an Outstanding Resource Water designation, with abundant brown trout and smaller numbers of brook trout. Paige Olson of Kinni Creek Lodge and Outfitters covered it on GDF 03 in March 2019.

Bois Brule River

The Brule runs 44 miles from Solon Springs to Lake Superior. Steelhead lead, with browns, coho and chinook; resident brook trout are the only native salmonid. Wisconsin DNR puts the spring steelhead run from late March through May and the fall run from mid-August to late November, strongest from mid-September to late October. Below U.S. Highway 2 the season runs from the last Saturday in March through November 15; above it, from the first Saturday in May through September 30. Rainbows must be 26 inches and only one may be kept, and an inland trout stamp is required on the river and its tributaries.

Wolf River

On the Upper Wolf in Langlade County, Wisconsin DNR says brook, brown and rainbow trout are most common from County Highway T down to the county line, and the stretch is an Outstanding Resource Water. Expect whitewater rafts in summer. Downstream, 24 miles from the Langlade-Menominee county line to Keshena Falls were designated a National Wild and Scenic River in 1968; that reach lies entirely within the Menominee Reservation, so ask the Menominee Indian Tribe about access before you fish it.

Lake Michigan Tributaries

Lake Michigan tributaries are open all year, and Wisconsin DNR egg-collection stations show where the fish go. The C.D. Besadny Anadromous Fish Facility on the Kewaunee River handles steelhead, brown trout, coho and chinook; the Root River Steelhead Facility at Lincoln Park in Racine takes steelhead, coho and chinook; and Strawberry Creek in Door County runs chinook in early October. A smallmouth guide near Milwaukee told the podcast to swap full-sinking lines for sink tips in river current, because a full sinker bellies and drags the fly past fish too fast.

Musky Waters

Wisconsin named the musky its state fish in 1955, and the DNR says more world records have come from Wisconsin than anywhere else, including the 69-pound, 11-ounce state and world record from the Chippewa Flowage. The statewide minimum is 40 inches, larger on some waters. Dan and Jen Donovan of Musky Fool, a Madison couple, told the podcast in April 2021 that a good Wisconsin musky tops 40 inches and a trophy runs 48 to 50 or more. Start with Chris Willen's three musky tips.

Also worth the drive

• St. Croix and Namekagon rivers: the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway protects 252 miles along the Wisconsin-Minnesota border under the 1968 Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. Kip Vieth of Wildwood Float Trips guides musky and smallmouth on the St. Croix and talked about it on the podcast in June 2023.