When I fly into the upper Midwest to fish the Driftless I typically travel through the Minneapolis airport. It’s the easiest place to get flights in and out of from Jacksonville with the least amount of connections. The weird thing is that I always bypass the fishing on the Minnesota side of the Driftless, and head directly to southwest Wisconsin. Not really sure why, it’s just where I’ve always gone.
Well, today, on my fourth day in the Shire, we were going to change that, with the help of a friendly guide.
Anthony, Matt, & I arose a bit earlier than we had in recent days, hopped in Anthony’s Outback and made the short drive from our rental house, through the recently installed traffic circles of La Crosse and over the Mississippi River.
Welcome to Minnesota
We met up with our friend Dave at Kaddy’s Kafe, a small diner right across the state line in La Crescent, Minnesota for some breakfast, coffee, and conversation. I would note, the food was delicious, the service was fantastic, and the price was extremely reasonable. By ignoring Minnesota, I was clearly missing out on Kaddy’s all these years!
After we had our fill, we headed out to a stream that was suggested by some of the folks at the campout. It was one that none of us had ever fished before, even Dave. There was the guarantee of the standard Driftless brown trout, perhaps with the promise of some brook trout mixed in.
Divide & Conquer
Upon arrival, we decided to split up. Dave and Matt paired off and went upstream, while Anthony & I headed downstream with a plan to meet back at the cars in a few hours. It was really quite a pretty stream and Anthony & I found we were fishing mostly out in the open. Not many trees, and in most places its meander paralleled the highway. The occasional shady section was quite pleasant on this very sunny day.
As for the browns, we certainly found those. Particularly in the deep bend pools we’d encounter every thirty or so yards. The infamous Pink Squirrel proved to be extremely effective in dredging 8 to 12 inch fish out those pools. What a warm welcome to the Minnesota Driftless!
But as for the brook trout, not a one. It didn’t matter much, we were catching fish all the way up until our watches prompted our rendezvous.
Now, we could have continued fishing that stream, as it ran for several more miles both up and downstream, but Dave had a lead on a different location that he was familiar and fairly excited about. So, instead of hanging around, we hopped back in the cars and drove for about twenty minutes to the next destination.
As we pulled into the parking lot, we found there was already another car positioned there. Other anglers? Not quite. There was a small cemetery bordering this parking area, and being that today was Memorial Day, a family was just beyond the stone wall paying respects to a loved one. With all the fishing over the prior few days, it served as a reminder as to the reason I was enjoying a long weekend.
Juicy Water
We eventually geared up and headed down the to stream, one of the smaller creeks bank to bank I was to fish on this trip, but very easy to navigate and extremely well maintained, especially close to the parking area. You could tell there was some habitat work done in and around the water, and the fisherman’s path along the banks was well worn.
Since the stream was on the smaller side, we mostly fished in a “leapfrog” fashion, although Anthony, always the meticulous angler, fell back a bit and out of sight from the faster trio of Dave, Matt, & I. Being familiar with the water, Dave was a gracious guide and always seemed to give Matt or I first shot at the juiciest stretches.
Much like the last stream, beadheads were catching fish the most consistently. Dave was fishing a Brent’s Warbird, I know Matt was fishing some sort of nymph, and I was mostly fishing a Road Kone kebari, although I switched to a Yakoda Purple Reign on a few occasions.
What a Day!
It was really a fun afternoon, and we fished upstream until we got to a bit of a natural stopping point. Dave referred to the land ahead to be “off the reservation”. On the way we each picked up several fish, and almost right before we stopped, Matt went on a nice run of landing 3 or 4 fish in a row consecutively, in almost as many casts! We could have kept on fishing, but we just chose to call it.
It was probably for the best anyway, as I was starting to get to the point where a bit of brain fog set in and one becomes more prone to making careless mistakes such as slow hook sets or sloppy casts. In retrospect, I probably should have gotten some extra sausage with my eggs and toast.
No matter, two Minnesota streams, countless fish between the four of us, and a great time fishing with Dave.
Why Did It Take So Long?
Dave was a great “guide,” quite talkative and humorous on the water, open to giving (and taking) a few playful verbal jabs along the way. Just the kind of fishing partner I enjoy. I’ve been fishing friends with Dave for almost 10 years, yet it took this long to actually fish together. Much like Kaddy’s & the Minnesota Driftless, why did it take so long?
We made sure to snap a few quick group photos before breaking off and heading our own ways.
Time’s Running Out!
With four days now almost done (I did sneak in a quick evening dry fly session at Timber Coulee right before dark once we got back to the rental house), I only had one more day to go before ending my Driftless adventure and heading home.
However, as you’ll find from the next post, perhaps we saved if not the best, certainly the most interesting for last…
Entries to the Driftless 2025 series:
With the Campout starting to rotate between Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin next year everyone will have a chance to explore new streams in the Driftless.
No doubt Dave, which reminds me… I still need to hit Iowa!