Currently browsing… Driftless
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Sculpin Study
Prior to meeting Evan Sirianni, my knowledge of sculpin consisted of occasionally looking at Muddler Minnows in a fly shop fly bin and wondering if they work. Sirianni, a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, recently held a field demonstration day on Maple Dale Creek near Viroqua, Wisc., to introduce his master's degree…
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The Unknown Driftless—Fishing Unimproved Water
Because fishing time is so precious, I am a reluctant explorer. I know fishing is supposed to be about more than catching fish, but let’s face it, I like to catch fish. And so I tend to go to spots that have been good to me in the past. I am an especially reluctant explorer…
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Driftless Area Restoration Effort Update
The Driftless Area team has been hard at work preparing for a very busy summer. With support from the Wisconsin Council of Trout Unlimited, the Capital Area Regional Planning Commission and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, we have a technician crew collecting culvert assessment data in the Driftless portion of Dane County this summer. …
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Seed Savers Exchange celebration to feature a trout tour
Seed Savers Exchange stewards America’s culturally diverse and endangered garden and food crop legacy for present and future generations. They educate and connect people through collecting, regenerating, and sharing heirloom seeds, plants, and stories. Seed Savers Exchange has been saving and sharing seeds with gardeners since 1975. To commemorate the Seed Savers Exchange network—and all…
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Spring is a great time to fish the “bunny hatch”
It's Easter season, so I thought it would be appropriate to mention the “bunny hatch.” No, this isn’t about the eggs that the Easter Bunny leaves. This is about flies that use rabbit or squirrel Zonker strips. Bennett's Lunch Now that I’ve done my best attempt at a pun, let’s talk about patterns. Leeches, Slump…
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Want bigger trout in the Driftless? Eat some smaller ones
When I first joined Trout Unlimited and became engaged in environmentalism in the early 90s, the catch and release ethic was so much a part of our ethos that it took on a moral, almost religious quality. Today, I believe it is still an important management tool and absolutely critical in some situations (obviously where we…
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Driftless symposium goes in-person again
Over 135 people attended the 2025 Driftless Symposium hosted by the Trout Unlimited Driftless Area Restoration Effort and the Wisconsin Wetlands Association on Tuesday February 25 in La Crosse, Wisc. Several common threads emerged among this year’s presentations, highlighting both threats to watershed health and the countermeasures being developed to face those threats. Threats to…