A70_Comments: I am just filing this report, nearly a week after the outing, but on Wednesday I caught three terrific brown trout, each larger than the next. All were over a foot long, and the last was 17".
They all took the same bait: a size 16 bead-head nymph with a size 18 hare-wing dropper. I caught (and released) all three within the first 40 minutes. I hope you don't find the spot, but will hint that it was at the head of a pool under a large chestnut tree. The bottom is rocky there and it's a bit farther downstream than most people fish.
I stayed for a long time that day, but the only thing I caught after the browns was a small rough fish; the kind that makes choking noises when you pull the hook out.
Towards dusk, I saw a lot of insects hatching. I wrote in an earlier report that I believed these to be caddis, but they may in fact be a variety of moth. They have tent-shaped wings, are fairly small, and flit about the surface of the water. Trout do not seem to take them, but were rising on something during the hour or so of their hatch.
The other insects that were hatching were a light spattering of cream, size-16 mayflies and what looked like midges. I had no luck with dry flies, though, and suspect the rises I saw were from trout eating something just below the surface.
I see that we will be able to post pictures here soon, and will share photos of the trout when possible. Please feel free to e-mail me about Black Earth or other southwestern Wisconsin streams.
Lee Sensenbrenner ljsense01@msn.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------