Wisconsin friend Matt Norton, better known by his college pals as Howie, and who has been on the blog several times this last year, deserves a reintroduction now that I too live in WI.  Howie and I will be fishing together far more than in the past.

Howie was my Northland College roommate in Ashland for three of my four years.  After college we both went our own ways but stayed in touch.  Howie visited us in Idaho several times.  He retired a few years ago and he, his wife Sue and their two dogs live in Iron River, WI.

Both Howie and Sue were a huge help in getting Granny and I to WI.  They looked at houses for us while we were away.  They stored some of our stuff.  And each time we came out to look around we stayed at their lake cabin.

I reported my Hexagenia Mayfly sighting from two days ago immediately to Howie.  We quickly organized a plan to try and catch the hatch tonight.  I arrived at his house in Iron River midafternoon.  We didn’t rush out by any means because it was 89° and sunny.

At 5 PM we had to go try regardless of the fact the temps didn’t drop.  There were some clouds moving in so there was hope for a cool down and perhaps some hatches.  We looked at several different locations on Howie’s river and settled on fishing this one.  The water moved slow and this particular river always runs slightly off color.

We knew we were at the correct spot because others arrived.  In fact, a dozen or so and they were all regulars.  We were informed by two gents well in their 80’s that last night stunk and tonight didn’t look much better.  That being said, they came out again this evening . . . . just in case!

Howie and I trudged our way upstream.  It was a brutal walk through bog and swamp.  I literally only made it two turns from the bridge.  Howie went to the third and I could see him.  There were no rises.  No mayflies.  And approximately 7 billion mosquitoes.

Thinking practice for Italy next month, I put on a single nymph and crawled it along with a hand retrieve.  It seemed hopeless but I knew if I got one it would build some confidence for the upcoming competition.  Lo and behold, I’d catch two small brown trout.

Eventually I grabbed a seat and retrieved a cold Bell’s Two Hearted Pale from my jacket pocket.  It was delicious and refreshing.  I watched Howie cast working a big mayfly imitation blind along his far bank.  There was a storm brewing overhead and the lightshow was spectacular.

It was that very storm that would knock us off the water in the next hour.  It was late anyhow – about 9:45 PM – and we hadn’t seen a single Hex.  The largest hatch was by far the mosquitoes however the most entertaining were the fireflies.  We loaded up and called it a night along with the regulars.  It was a tough night for all.  In fact, I might have been the only one to catch fish.  Of course, I played a little dirty with my nymph – ha!

Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing