11-08-03 -The Milwaukee River is still very high.

Brennon braves the flows of the Milwaukee in the hopes of connecting...

Oak Creek was pretty much crystal clear...you only had to fish those areas that you could "clear" by sight.

The first wild brown in a bit of nightfishing. The fish were jumping, thrashing, great fights. All real quick photos and back in the water.

The stocker brown goes for the frying pan!

WOW, a chunky wild brown over 14". What a great "last fish" of the weekend!

11-9-03 - The WI Tribs are FROZEN so B & I leave early and nightfish IOWA!

Waters Fished: Milwaukee River, Oak Creek, Sny Magill, MP's Secret Stream
Fish Caught: 5
Outing Date: 11-09-03
Weather: Overcast with brief breaks of sun
Air Temp: started at 15F, got up to the 40's
Water Temp: Milwaukee - 36F, Oak Creek - 37F
Water Level: Milwaukee - STILL UP, Oak Creek - Low
Water Color: Milwaukee was remarkably clear yet stained, Oak Creek was almost crystal clear.
Fish Species: Chinook, Browns, Inland Browns, Inland Rainbows
Pattern Fished: Tucker Nymph
Pattern Color: original gold BH pattern
Fishing Quality: Wisconsin Sucked, Iowa was slow but fun.

Brennon and Tim made it to the Milwaukee well before I did and started scouting. As Tim put it, the Estabrook area was flowing so fast that he wouldn't even float a kayak through it! I arrived somewhere around 9:00 AM just as they were finally getting in the water to fish.

It's nice to see the spey guys out; always a treat to watch them cast those two-handed rods. Overall there were maybe 9 of us in the visible range including ourselves. Early on I watched a guy pull out some fresh fish with spinning gear, but after taking a temperature reading I knew we were kind of wasting our time; the Milwaukee was flowing at 36F!

On to Oak Creek. We hiked the entire stream, the only thing I sighted was a Crusty King. Tim stayed upstream and fished it while Brennon and I covered the hike downstream to the mouth. Tim was witness to a snagging of the king by some kids....folks I've warned you before, Oak Creek sees a LOT of kids.

As Brennon and I made our way downstream a group of 6 anglers came up; one had a stringer with 3 browns. Now I can tell you that from what we had seen by this point, we kind of figured those were probably the only three browns in the river! Brennon and I fished some areas of deep water & cover, but didn't turn a thing! Tim met us at the mouth by the time we made it downstream, totally frustrated. I suggested that Tim score some bonus points and head home early; Brennon and I should go chase trout in Iowa (it's on his way home!).

We left South Milwaukee around 12:30, and by 4:00 pm had made our way to the Sny Magill. We spent some time before finding any fish, and fished through dusk. Only 4 rainbows sighted; I hooked up with one on a Glowing Tucker size #12, but overall it was a bust. Brennon and I were itching for better fishing.

Well, Brennon made the call, MP's Secret Stream. Yeah, it's a drive, but well worth it. Upon arriving the moon was coming up in the fork of the valley, the skies were clear, the stream was steaming, it was BEAUTIFUL. I'm guessing the temperature had dropped dramatically; it felt like 16F or so.

No glowing indicators, just a good old-fashioned wet fly swing to keep in contact with the Tucker Nymph. I ended up whacking 5 trout within the hour, it consisted of 2 Wild Browns (including the 14"+ one), one stocker brown and 2 smaller rainbows. Granted, these were those same put & grow rainbows we encountered last month, but some of them had put on 2 or more INCHES of growth! Brennon didn't fair quite as well...he was floating a Pheasant Tail Nymph, about size #10 and for whatever reason didn't hook up with anything. I swear man, it's the fly...you should have taken the Tucker Nymph when I offered it ;)

Well, we froze our butts off but had a great time under the moonlight. After about an hour we called it quits...our rods were FROZEN SOLID in the guides as were our fingers, hands and feet. On our way out a pickup truck flew by and backed up...the guy rolls down his window, "You guys hunting?".

"Nope, we're nightfishing" as I hold up the one stocker brown I've kept.

"FISHING?!" the guy replied. Yes my friend, NIGHT FISHIN'!!!!!

  MP