Driftless 2026: Track 6 – Cruisin’

Smooth Like Smokey

Track 6. My final day in the Driftless. Some days are so smooth and effortless, just like this Smokey Robinson classic.

The Last Day

The morning started with a series of goodbyes. Dave packed up and left straight from the farmhouse. We all bid the pig adieu. Anthony & I met a few friends for breakfast, but then he departed as well. I was now by myself, which as an only child, is something I’m quite comfortable with. I actually prefer a bit of a decompression day after I spend almost a week’s worth of social currency. But where to fish?

An Audible

As I left the diner, I decided to visit a stream that I had fished a few times before. It always held some nice trout, and a variety as well. Unfortunately, when I arrived to the stretch I wanted to fish, there were early bird anglers already spread out in several roadside pull-offs, visible from the country road. Wasn’t expecting that on a Tuesday morning.

So instead, I audibled, and ended up on another creek I had fished twice before. Up until last year, I had caught my largest Driftless brown there, and it had been a few years since I had last visited. Fortunately, nobody was parked in the gravel by the bridge. I was in the clear.

Umm, Where Are My Rods?

I had fished my tenkara rods all week, but when I reached into the trunk to wader & gear up, the sling with the tenkara rods in it was missing. I had evidently left them back on the dining room table at the farm. No worries, I did bring my Orvis Superfine Carbon 3-weight & Battenkill reel on this trip, and fortunately, it was in the trunk. Rod & reel it was, a nice change of pace to close out this adventure.

Dry / Dropper

As soon as I made it to the stream I could see the fish rising in the first pool I encountered. It was almost too good to be true. After a few minutes of getting my bearings casting a fly rod once again, the first brown came to hand after devouring a Parachute Adams.

From there, I navigated my way upstream, encountering a lot of different types of water. One stretch would be a shallow riffle, the next a pool deep enough to submerge an automobile. I eventually switched to a dry/dropper rig, suspending a small, size 18 nymph beneath the Parachute Adams. It seemed to be the best compromise to handle the varying water types.

Bliss

Sometimes you just get in the zone while you’re casting. I think it’s maybe more pronounced when this happens with a fly rod and reel. The weight of the line, the load of the carbon, the flick of the wrist to perfectly place the fly in a pocket of open water amongst the grass & rocks. And of course, the take. I’m not one to evoke the word “zen” when describing fishing, so let’s say I was cruisin’ instead.

While the day started with brown trout, I eventually encountered a nice patch of brook trout. My first char of the trip. A relief considering their absence in Track 4. After admiring its colorful spots and topographic vermiculation, releasing the brook trout back into the stream was almost a perfect ending to the trip. (But I did catch a few more…)

Relaxed & Restored

Before you knew it, it was almost 4PM. I had some packing and tidying of my own to take care of back at the farmhouse, so I reeled in my line and scaled the muddy bank back up to the road for the walk back to the car. That walk allowed time for a bit of reflection on the past few days. While it was tough to accept, my 2026 Driftless trip was now over, but what a wonderful experience it was, and today was a lovely way to close things out. Relaxed and restored, it was now time to head home.

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Tracks on the Driftless 2026 Album:

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