Root River, Pike River, Milwaukee River

Rivers Fished: Root River, Pike River, Milwaukee River
Fish Caught: 0
Outing Date: 4-05-03
Weather: Mostly Cloudy with brief periods of sun
Air Temp: 20's & 30's
Water Temp: 33-34F
Water Level: Up
Water Color: Root River -> pretty clear , Pike -> MUDDY , Milwaukee -> a bit cloudy but mostly clear.
Fish Species: Steelhead
Pattern Fished: MP's Antron Bug, MP's Egg Sucking Steely Stone, MP's Jewel, Gumbo's Kletzsch Clutch, Olive Caddis
Pattern Color: varied
Fishing Quality: :P

Finally made it out at a reasonable time on Saturday; got to the Root at 7:00. Ice was everywhere on the roads...dangerous driving! Took a quick look at Lincoln Park; 18 cars already lined up with anglers in the water. Lots of fish were in the sanctuary below the wier; this was not the type of fishing I was looking for so I went downstream to Island Park. A quick temp check showed 34F.

By 8:00 I was already fed up with the number of angler's out, so I left the Root and headed to the Pike. I arrived at 8:15; it started snowing and the water was only 32F (well, probably 32.5F). Walked all around checking various holes, but the big deal for the day was that the water was simply HIGH AND MUDDY. I tried swinging Gumbo's Kletzsch Clutch Spey in the hopes that such a large fly would produce a large shadow in this murky water. By 9:45 I had exhausted all the possibilities of the Pike, the water was still at the very BOTTOM of my thermometer at 32F, so I went back to the Root.

10:00, got back to the Root. I decided I wanted a bit of peace and quiet so I opted not to fish Lincoln Park...which by this time had over 40 cars parked! Insane...but still not quite as bad as the Chinook Run by my estimation. Knowing that 163 steelhead had been passed upstream, I tried there.

The water was STILL 34F! I dropped in and worked downstream, focusing mostly on pockets of deeper, slower water. I found a few fresh redds, and at one point even had sighted a fish...when a group of guys came walking across a bridge and SPOOKED IT. Then a huge LOG came floating downstream...I figured by that point this fish was not coming back out to play anytime soon. 11:15 I pulled out as more anglers had shown up and decided to try Lincoln Park.

Got there to find that most of the park had emptied out...so I was able to drop in just below the weir and work my magic...or so I thought. By this point the amount of fish in the Sanctuary had doubled...my guess is that all these anglers going out simply scare the fish up there, as there is NO legal fishing in that small section.

By 12:00 I had seen one fish taken on spawn, and had not faired well, so I decided that the Milwaukee would be the place to go.

Got there at 1:00 and again found that the water was COLD; 34F! Switched up to a rig of a Olive Caddis and Chartreuse Egg Sucking Steely Stone below and indicator. Again I worked the deeper channels and slower water, but didn't sight any fish. I did see one guy take a steelie (or at least it LOOKED like a steelie..he was kinda far away). By 2:30 I was getting frustrated and needed a change of scenery. So I went back to Island Park on the Root.

I had reports of people slamming them on White Tube Jigs below a float, so I went with the closest thing I had; a white PM wiggler. Lost that up in a snag, so I switched to another pattern that's heavy in white; MP's Jewel. I did see one rather beat up female sitting the shallows...at one point she threw a fit and was jumping and thrashing in the water, but other than that I saw no fish and didn't see anyone take them. A check of the water temp, STILL 34F.

So mother nature got me again (so much for payback); at 4:45 I left Island Park, went back up to Lincoln Park to shoot the weir for you all, and closed out my trip early! I figured I'd be better doing taxes and writing this report on Sunday, so there ya go! Gotta wait for things to "heat back up", literally!