Trout, smallmouth thrive in streams to the north – Sports | The Columbia Daily Tribune

BY SPENCER E. TURNER Special to the Tribune

I grew up in northern Wisconsin fishing mostly lakes, yet one of my earliest memories is fishing with my parents on one of Wisconsin’s driftless streams southwest of La Crosse. Mom and I fished with cane poles and indigenous wigglers (worms). Dad used a fly rod.

The stream, as my memory recalls 65 years later, was populated with bluegills, bullheads and that occasional largemouth bass — not smallmouth bass or trout.

That’s all changed. Landowners learned better farming practices. Streams cooled and cleaned themselves of silt and soil eroded from nearby hills. Fisheries and wildlife agencies in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa learned the resource’s value, and conservation groups like Trout Unlimited help restore the streams.

The driftless area is located in southwest Wisconsin, northeast Iowa and southeast Minnesota. It’s an area that missed the last two glacial ice epics, 9 million and 12 million years past, leaving the topography intact with rolling hills, deeply dissected valleys and fertile soils. Each valley supports a productive stream with brook trout in the headwaters and smallmouth bass in the main stems.

The streams all flow to the Mississippi River and now support some of the best trout and smallmouth bass fishing in the nation. And they’re all within an easy drive of Columbia. Hook a turn north on Highway 63, and you’re just a few hundred miles away. Leave in the morning, and fishing could be in your plans by late afternoon.  Click Link Below For Full Story!

via Trout, smallmouth thrive in streams to the north – Sports | The Columbia Daily Tribune – Columbia, Missouri.