Iowa Doesn't Get Old

We are nearing the end of 2014. It will soon be time to renew fishing licenses, but its not the Wisconsin fishing license that I'm thinking about. It's my Iowa one. I'll of coarse re-up my Wisco privileges just as soon, but it will be in Iowa where I'll likely be wetting my line in the coming months due to their year round trout season and some fantastic creeks.

This year in particular has seen both mild winter days and low gas prices, the later of which is a serious consideration if you need to travel 2 - 3 hours to your favorite Hawkeye spring creeks.

Winter days are short, so I've made it a point in some cases to be on the road by 5 AM. Yet I've somehow spent shorter days, leaving at about 11 AM and have had just as much fun, sometimes catching even more fish.

An ambitious winter morning on the road at 5 AM towards Iowa

Tying The Green Turd

The affectionately named "Green Turd" is a small streamer I tie. I've fished it with much success and more importantly, its been reported to me by other anglers as being very effective for them too.

Fishin' With Sasquatch

Clearly the best way to rekindle a 7 month old stale blog about fly fishing in the driftless area of Wisconsin, is to write a post about spin fishing in the Northwoods.

Brook Trout, Tigers and Beers... With A Fly!

What had started earlier in the week as a trip to Trappers for some dynamic duo trout slaying turned into myself, Brown Beard and Greg the Large Norwegian meeting up with Trap for a four-headed attack on the streams. My good friend Greg, who lives with the monks and ghosts while maintaining the grounds at Durwards Glen, volunteered to be a photographer while the rest of us fished.

Opening Day, Wisconsin Inland Trout Season 2014

Bleak. Desolate. Unforgiving. These are a few words that may be used to describe both the Gobi Desert and the opening day of Wisconsin's inland trout season, 2014. Like most of my fellow trout junkies, I frequently visited weather websites in the days leading up to the opener. At one point it was looking to be at least in the mid-teens both Saturday and Sunday, with Sunday being a bit warmer. When it came to it however, Saturday would be the least frigid, with temps barely breaching 2 digits.

Our Lady Of The Wayside

Sometime during one of the last trout fishing seasons I decided my vehicle would no longer be a car, but a "TUV", or Trout Utility Vehicle. It really only took a couple of bumper stickers to make the transformation complete. However, within a couple of seasons the old TUV had 1000s of trout miles on it and I was due for a replacement. It is with great pleasure that I introduce the new Brauntrutta TUV:

It's red, it's a Jeep but most importantly its a 4x4. Within it's first couple of months at my command, I've confidently navigated though forest roads and snowy conditions that I would have avoided with my last vehicle. Does that mean it's invincible?