Yesterday, I headed up to the Kewaunee River in southern Door County, Wisconsin to fish for Steelhead. My reason for traveling farther north was to try to get away from the crowds and fish a more scenic river than the Milwaukee or Root. The river was definitely more scenic, but as far as the crowds go…. it looked the Root in peak salmon season!…..elbow to elbow. Considering the low water there was little room for any angler actually trying to catch fish. With snaggers wading right through the middle of a small, shallow stream I can’t imagine any fish actually biting. I guess I’m gonna have to put in the time to figure out the Kewaunee to find water with less traffic before it provides me with a quality experience. Headed back south along the lake we passed a number of other tributaries that get steelhead runs: The Twin Rivers, Manitiwoc, and the Sheboygan River. Having spent a lot of time exploring some of the Kewaunee we were anxious to get on familiar water rather than exploring more new rivers. So, off to the Milwaukee we went. I was a little nervous about showing up in the middle of the afternoon on a Sunday, but as usual most of the “anglers” were right near shallow riffles (redds) leaving our group with a wide open run. We waded into position and started swinging away. It wasn’t very long before I heard my brothers drag buzz when a fish aggressively smashed his flesh fly. Unfortunately, a weak knot gave way and the fish took off with his whole leader. We beat up that run for a while and moved on to another park. When we arrived at the next spot I was amazed to see my favorite run wide open. I tied on a variation of a classic steelhead fly (the boss) that I tied the other day and started sweeping the run. I made a particularly nice cast, mended, and I could almost feel the tug I wanted it so bad, and then there it was…. Fish on!! The fish never made any big leaps, but made some nice runs. After a great fight I got the fish to my hand and was surprised by the size. It was a small hen about 3-4 lbs. Though small, it had a big attitude. With conditions the way they are one fish is all you can ask for, so I was very satisfied. Low water does mean less fish, but it doesn’t mean no fish. To me a day on the water is never a wasted day, at worst you learn something and come back knowing more than you did before, and if you get lucky a fish will come to hand.
