The Driftless Area is a region of the upper Midwest that was not
flattened by the last
glacial period. The term driftless means that the glacier NOT drift
over the area.
The area is an outdoor paradise. It has many rolling hills with
secluded valleys with meandering
streams. These streams are teeming with trout.
Kickapoo River Valley
The Driftless Area is the term that scientists use for this
beautiful area. Four states have
portions of the Driftless Area. Southeatern Minnesota and Southwestern
Wisconsin have the
biggest portions of the Driftless Area. Northwestern Illinois and
Northeastern Iowa have small
portions of the Driftless Area.
Joe Chadwick with football sized brookie from Spring Coulee Creek
The "Heart" of The Driftless Area is located in a small 4 county
area in Southwestern Wisconsin.
The counties in the area are Crawford, Grant, Vernon, and Richland
Counties. This area is
"Trout Central" for the Driftless Area.
Joe Chadwick with male brown from Crooked Creek
The streams in this area have had a noticeable decline in the stream
temperatures. This has caused
a boom in the brook trout (native species) population. A typical brook
trout in this area ranges in size from
6 inches to 18 inches. A twelve inch brook trout from this area is a
very nice trout.
Joe Chadwick with 20 inch brookie from Big Springs Creek
The streams have
a 6 to 8 degree decline in the last three years. The water table has
also gone up and there are springs in
places where there has been none in 20 years.
Nederloe Creek
The "Heart" of the driftless area is also known for it's extra large
brown trout. The browns prefer a little
warmer water than the native brook trout. Browns were brought to the
Midwest by European settlers from
Germany and Scotland. Browns vary in size from fingerlings to very
large like the trout shown below. This
trout was caught in 2008 in a tiny stream in The Heart Of The Driftless Area.
Joe Chadwick with his Knapp's Creek 30 incher.
The brown trout and the brook trout are now sharing spawning
grounds. Because of the mutual grounds,
there has been a rise in the number of "Tiger Trout" being born. A
tiger trout is the product of a wayward
male brook trout finding some browns trout eggs and fertilizing them.
This hybrid is very colorful and is known
for its ferocity. If all three species are in a hole, the tiger will
be the first to bite. Tigers are typically smaller than
browns. They are the mules of the trout world. They are sterile and
can not reproduce. Tigers were stocked in
the Great Lakes in the 70s but it was discontinued in 1977 due to poor
hatching rate in the hatchery.
Weister Creek
Some stocking of rainbow trout is done. Most of the rainbows are
brooders that have been spawned out at the hatcheries
and are released in the Class Two water for the sports anglers.
Joe Chadwick with his Castle Rock Creek brooder.
The Wisconsin Department Of Natural Resources has made three
classifications of Trout Streams
in Wisconsin.
Class One: High quality trout stream that has a self-sustaining
population of wild trout.. These streams are not stocked.
Sections of these streams may be small and the trout grow at a slower
rate. There are 4,136 miles of Class 1 trout streams in Wisconsin
Tainter Creek
Class Two: Streams have some natural reproduction. Stocking is done
to maintain a sport fishery. These streams have
good survival of adult trout. Some of the adult fish may grow to large
sizes.There are 4,644 miles of Class 2 trout streams in Wisconsin.
Mill Creek
Class Three: These waters have no natural reproduction occurring.
Annual stocking of trout is required. There is no carryover of trout .
There are 1,591 miles of Class 3 trout streams in Wisconsin.
Pine River
This area is relatively unknown. You can find many areas that do not
have another angler's footprint on the banks. Solitude and
the beauty of nature abound in "The Heart Of The Driftless Area."
Tainter Creek
