Field of streams
FLY FISHING | Anglers won't be disappointed in the Driftless Area, five hours from Chicago
VIROQUA, Wis. -- I learned some interesting things about trout on a recent fly-fishing outing in the Driftless Area of southwest Wisconsin.
I discovered that trout can't hear, but they can sense vibrations in the water. So tread lightly.
(Courtesy)
LICENSE: You can get a fishing license before you leave home by logging onto the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Web site at www.dnr.state.wi.us/. Or you can pick one up at the Driftless Angler. The cost for a four-day, out-of-state license is $24, plus $10 for a required trout stamp. The stamp is good for the entire year.
WHERE TO STAY: Wagner rents a two-bedroom apartment -- complete with fly-tying bench -- above his shop for $90 a night. Other lodging options include the Super 8 Motel in Viroqua, (608) 637-3100; the Midway Motel in Viroqua, (608) 637-2929, and the Old Towne Inn in nearby Westby, (608) 634-3991. Those who prefer B&Bs should check out Heritage Inn in Viroqua, (608) 637-3306, www.herinn.com; and Westby House in Westby, (800) 434-7493, www.westbyhouse.com.
WHERE TO EAT: Driftless Cafe natural foods restaurant, (608) 637-7778; the Viking Inn for Midwest comfort food, (608) 637-7398; the Firehouse for steaks, fish and pasta, (608) 637-3000; the Chilito Lindo restaurant for Mexican food, (608) 637-7005; the Organic Food Coop for soups and sandwiches, (608) 637-7551; and the Great Wall Restaurant for Chinese food, (608) 637-7715.
BIKES: Blue Dog Cycles has information on trail and road riding, (608) 637-6993, www.bluedogcycles.com. They have a few bikes for rent.
TOURIST INFO: (608) 637-2575, www.viroqua-wisconsin.com.
They have no eyelids, which means they can't squint. This makes it difficult for them to spot flies in the bright sun.
And thanks to a blind spot directly behind them, you can sneak up if you're crafty and drop a faux midge, caddis, scud, mayfly or tiny cricket right in front of their snouts.
I learned that when brown trout grow to about 18-inches long, they expand their diet beyond bugs and start eating their smaller brethren.
I also found out that some serious anglers don't like anyone writing about their fly-fishing wonderland, and I can see why.
Less than a five-hour drive from Chicago, this relatively undiscovered region of wrinkled valleys and limestone bluffs contains 63 spring-fed creeks running 220-plus miles. Called the Driftless Area because glaciers advancing from the north 10,000 years ago didn't manage to flatten the landscape, it boasts some of the best fly-fishing in the Midwest. And it's surrounded by some equally impressive scenery.
Any fly-fishing outing to Vernon County -- near the center of the Badger State's Driftless Area -- should start with a visit to the Driftless Angler. This shop is on Main Street in the tiny town of Viroqua (population 4,400). It's brimming with waders, flies, rods, beautiful fishing artwork and other angling paraphernalia, and they can set you up with experienced guides ready to take visitors to some of the best creeks in the county.
Mat Wagner, who's been angling for trout for more than two decades, opened the Driftless Angler several years ago after pulling up stakes in Taos, N.M., and moving back to the Midwest, where he wanted to raise his children.
Wagner's Western fishing friends thought he was nuts for leaving New Mexico. But when he told them about the abundance of trout in the many spring-fed creeks, at least a couple wanted to know when they could come visit.
"Mostly we draw Midwesterners," said Wagner, a native of Michigan. "But it's nice to get people from the Rocky Mountain states so we can show off what we have here. I've even guided fishermen here from as far away as Japan and England."
Chicagoan Jeff Hoffmann said he's made five fishing trips to the Driftless Area in the past two years.
"Every time I come up here it gets better," said Hoffmann, who was shopping for flies at Wagner's shop and chewing the fat with local anglers.
"I usually catch browns and brookies in the 10- to 12-inch range but sometimes bigger," Hoffmann said. "They put up a great fight."
The Wicker Park resident has fished from Alaska and Wyoming to the Bahamas, but he considers the Driftless Area -- also called the Coulee region -- something special.
"What I like best is that there aren't big crowds," he said. "If I get up early, I can be up here in four hours and fish a creek pretty much all to myself. That's not too shabby."
Patrick Strickler liked the fishing in Vernon County so much that he and his wife, Joya, bought a home outside Viroqua a few years ago when he was nearing retirement from the University of Wisconsin in Madison. Strickler, a fly fisherman for half a century, said he's encountered a few city-dwelling retirees who were lured to the area by the rural surroundings -- and the angling.
"We came here primarily because of the trout fishing and because we had come across a unique Norwegian-style log home on 40 acres in a small hollow near one of the nation's top wild trout streams: the West Fork of the Kickapoo River," Strickler said.
"It really is a kind of heaven here on earth for a fly fisherman or for anyone who loves being outdoors," he added. "The spring creeks out here are cold and clear and full of trout -- nice fat browns and feisty brookies that can really test your ability to fool them with a fly. But fool them you can."
Strickler had just come back from two hours of fishing in the West Fork. He'd caught and released eight browns, including a 15-incher, and two brook trout.
"They jumped all over the place," said Strickler, a former Chicago marketing executive. "It made the old heart go bam-bam-bam!"
As far as sports go, fishing doesn't rank too high on the danger scale. But it can be perilous. I wasn't injured when I went out to try my luck on Reads Creek. But Wagner, who was my guide, managed to bloody his upper lip when a fly popped out of a fish's mouth and struck him in the face.
Wagner pointed out that Strickler's catch of eight browns was more the exception than the rule. Unlike some streams in the West, where the tail waters below dams make the fishing a near slam-dunk, the creeks of the Driftless Area make anglers work.
"There are some secrets to unlock in these parts," Wagner said. "We have clear water and spooky fish, so that will always make things more difficult. But we still take beginners out who have success."
The Driftless Area stretches into eastern Minnesota, northeast Iowa and northwest Illinois, but Wagner said the best fishing is found in Wisconsin.
That wasn't always the case. Much of the credit for restoring the county's streams and its now abundant fishery goes to the late Roger Widner Jr., a heavy equipment operator and member of the West Fork Sportsman's Club.
"He saw the fishing potential and also viewed it as a way to draw people to this area," Wagner said.
As many as 125,000 fly fishers visit the four-state Driftless Area along the Upper Mississippi each year, pumping $650 million into local economies, according to a study by Trout Unlimited.
But Wagner doesn't worry too much about the region being overrun with anglers.
"I think we'll always be a bit off the beaten path," he mused. "And really, that's a good thing."
Brian E. Clark is a Madison, Wis.-based free-lance writer.