Hundreds of cold-water streams await!
When you first enter the Driftless Area in southwestern Wisconsin, it doesn’t seem like Trout country. Rolling hills, forested ridges, dairy herds, mixed crops of corn and beans… It’s nothing like the steep country we associate with fly fishing – nothing like what we find out West.
The country roads cross the Kickapoo River, a winding body of water that seems unable to make up its mind. In late September, the current is languid and the channels are choked with downed trees. It’s not uncommon to see Amish farmers working a field of chest-high corn.
Yet, in the creases and folds in the landscape, spring-fed creeks hold Brown Trout, the occasional Rainbow, and a strain of Brook Trout that scientists say might have survived the Ice Age! According to Trout Unlimited, there are over 4,500 miles of Trout streams in the Wisconsin Driftless Area. Even more if you include parts of Minnesota, Iowa, and Illinois.
These states bring to mind industrial agriculture and flat horizons. But when you experience the Driftless Area, you see where the glaciers missed a large swath of land. It’s untouched.
Glaciation didn’t occur here as it did in the rest of the Midwest. The region dodged the flattening and homogenizing forces of glaciers. So you find ancient limestone bluffs, coulees, steep forested ridges, and a landscape laced with tiny springs. Most of the creeks are so narrow you can step over them. Fed by groundwater that holds steady at 50 degrees, these rills are perfect refuges for Trout.
But you’ll have to work for them. Casting has to be incredibly accurate, and you should be prepared to spook more fish than you catch. A 7’4″ weight is perfect for casting dry flies in these tiny creeks. Still, it’s tight. Your back cast might snag on a stalk of Supersweet Bicolor corn. And if you put too much “umph” into the front end, you might end up in the beans!
Viroqua and Beyond
After stopping by the Driftless Angler Fly Shop in Viroqua for some hopper patterns and a bit of advice, I went to Weister Creek. Here, you’ll find over 2 miles of restored creek that holds an astonishing 2,000 fish per mile – mostly wild Browns.
Mark Taylor of Trout Unlimited talked about some of the work his organization has done to this creek and others in the area. “This is a perfect example of the type of work we do in the Driftless Area. These streams are great in that they are all spring-fed and have this amazing cold, fertile water coming out of the ground. The bad news is there’s been heavy agriculture here for centuries.”
The banks are often incised and erosion turns these creeks into torrents of muddy water. With heavy equipment, TU and other organizations work to restore the banks and riparian habitat so that these rivers and streams work as they should.
I fished Warner and Weister Creeks the first morning, catching a few Brook Trout and some native creek Chubs that rose to the hopper pattern. The casting was tight, to say the least. The spring water was cold and clear. Many times, I crept up through the goldenrod and volunteer corn, only to flush a pod of sulking Trout! I saw them zoom away. When I entered the creek to cast upstream, I invariably chased some lunkers out from the overhanging grass where they hid themselves. I’m almost certain they were big Brown Trout.
After a tough day on the rivers, I checked into the Fortney Hotel in Viroqua, WI – a town of 4,000. This 1899 hotel seems to be the center of prairie culture renewal. It’s a gorgeous boutique hotel that caters to visiting anglers, bikers, birders, and river rats.
Just a few doors down from the stately Fortney, the Driftless Café was at capacity on a Tuesday night. Luke and Ruthie Zahm opened the farm-to-table café in 2013. Capitalizing on Vernon County’s many organic farms, the Zahms created a dining experience that attracts enthusiastic gourmands from Chicago and beyond. To fuel myself for the next few days on the creeks, I ordered a charcuterie board featuring four local cheeses and three cured meats. The restaurant was packed. Laughter and conversations filled the space, as expertly trained waitstaff buzzed through the room. You could easily see how this little restaurant in the middle of a farming community had distinguished itself enough to win a James Beard Award.
Early next morning, as the sun crept up over the bean fields, a heavy fog clung to the treetops. I was exploring Mormon Coulee Creek with local school teacher and fishing guide, Dalton Yokum. Dalton warned that the fishing would be tough. Low water and sparse bug activity make late-summer fishing difficult. He said it’s better to come in the spring. But he led me to the access point and offered me a choice of either direction. I went upstream.
My pants were wet with dew, and I got even more doused as I crawled through the streamside vegetation. But I was rewarded with a gorgeous Brown Trout that rose exquisitely to a beetle pattern. For such a small fish, I was shocked by its heroic fight. When I finally held it in my hands, I felt the cold that comes from underground springs. I felt that draw of the Driftless Area.
La Crosse and a Can of Spotted Cow
A college town nestled on the banks of the Mississippi River, La Crosse is surrounded by rivers, lakes, and creeks. Like some bedroom communities in the lush farmland, La Crosse gives traveling anglers access to the Driftless Area’s Trout streams. But it also puts you squarely in the center of Bass, Pike, and Walleye country. The Largemouth fishing is so incredible here that several national tournaments take place in the spring and summer. This is big water that often comes with big expectations…
By driving 20 minutes from downtown La Crosse, I found myself bushwhacking with a few fellow anglers along the steep banks of the Bad Axe River – a short, 4.5-mile tributary of the Mississippi. Dalton told us that we could expect large Brown Trout, Smallmouth, Walleye, and even a shot at a Musky in the Bad Axe.
The riverbank was awfully steep, and once you worked your way down to the river, it seemed it was best to stay down there. In Wisconsin, you access it by entering at bridges. As long as you “stay wet”, you’re free to roam upstream to the next river access. I saw juvenile Smallmouths chasing my streamer fly. Once a larger fish – a Brown Trout, perhaps – took a swipe at it. But my friend Tim had all the luck. He coaxed several chunky Smallies out of the submerged logjams. The problem was, he often couldn’t keep the powerful fish from taking his line back into the awful deadfall and snapping it!
He hooked up four times in just an hour, but landed only one. Wading on the Bad Axe wasn’t easy. By the time we crawled out, we were all ready for a nice restaurant in La Crosse where we could watch the Mississippi glide by and recount the past few days.
Before we headed back to town, our group sat by the roadside and talked about the wildness of the Bad Axe. Most of us had struck out, but we were all intrigued. Dalton supplied us with a cooler of Spotted Cow, a local farmhouse ale that has gained a dedicated following in Wisconsin.
We stripped off our wading boots and wet socks, and talked about fish and streams – our bare feet in the grass as the afternoon slipped away. We were in no hurry. In fact, we decided to hang out on the country road and enjoy the cooling air. We told stories, laughed, and said over and over that we would be back to the Driftless. We were all coming back.
Have you ever been fly fishing in the Driftless Area? Where did you stay? Share your stories in the comments below!
The post Wisconsin’s Driftless Area Fly Fishing: An Expert Guide for 2026 appeared first on FishingBooker Blog.
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