Milwaukee River Smallies

Water on the Milwaukee River has been flowing above average for almost the last three months, and at times it was so high it wasn’t all that practical to fish.  The last couple weeks however we’ve seen some warmer weather and a little less rain.  Finally, the river is within its banks and has a good three to four feet of visibility.  A couple friends and I took advantage of the ideal flows and went for a float and had pretty good results.  The water was swift and the fishy lies were coming and going quick so hitting all the spots was tough, but since there were three of us it allowed for everyone to get a shot at fresh spots as we drifted by.  Most fish were lying in froggy water in large eddy’s where sometimes the water was only a foot or two deep.  One large northern exploded on my fly but I didn’t get a good hook set and it vanished as fast as it came.   I had good luck with a Dahlberg Diver while my friend did well on a white spinner bait.  Both presentations produced exciting visual takes right below the surface.