Spring Creek · Limestone · Wisconsin, US

Black Earth Creek

Black Earth Creek venue image
Today · Not the day for it
Scud
Forecast · Today
Not the day for it
Not much stacked in your favour today. Worth an hour if you are nearby, not worth the special trip.
45% projected
Today's fly
Scud
Scud
Conditions on the water · Today
Live gauge
Level
Rising
0.65 m
Lifting fast
Water temp17.8°C
ClarityUnfishable
Weather26°C
WindN 9 km/h
Pressure1013 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm
Rain · ahead16.8 mm

The nearest gauge doesn't record temperatures, so we've estimated it — defer to the river keeper's advice.

Water temperature for Brown Trout
Warm — slow
18°C est.ideal 10–16°C
0°14°28°
How to fish it · for Brown Trout
When
Nymphing can work through most of the day.
Where
Cover mixed depths.
Method
Start with tight-line nymphs and adjust if fish rise or drift higher.
Kit
9 ft #4 rod, floating line, 12 ft tapered leader to 4–5 lb fluoro tippet.
Why this works
Water at 18.5°C — above the brown trout caution line (18°C). Fish dawn or dusk only. Land it fast, wet hands, no air shots.
Likely species
Mayflies
Caddisflies
terrestrials
Hatch timeline · todayPeak at 7am

12pm(now) — Grasshopper (Eastern)

Stage: Terrestrials on topApproach: Dry flyActivity: 39%
Also:Trico (Eastern)36%Reed Smut31%
Peak emergence windowWeather boostEmergence building5 food groups active

Peak activity at 7am — Trico (Eastern) (Trico (Eastern), Weather boost)

Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

Top nymph shown — see all 2 guilds with Pro.

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey(1)

Hatch predictions

Top prey shown — see all 5 with Pro.

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Evidence
Records-basedModerate confidence

Based on species-occurrence records, not local invertebrate surveys.

Through the year
0–3 scale · September highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Trout seasonSeason
1
2
2
2
1
SulphurHatch
2
3
2
Trico (Eastern)Hatch
2
3
3
2
Eastern Blue-Winged OliveHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
Eastern Summer BWO (Drunella)Hatch
2
3
3
2

Numbers are intensity 0 (none) to 3 (peak) — a guide, not a guarantee.

Ranked for today
Brown Trout fly box
Local fly shops: Driftless Angler
Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • WI DNR — portions are Class I with special regs; verify.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Water here around 19°C. Nothing cooler within range — carry a thermometer.
Gallery · 1
  1. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
Water quality · US Clean Water Act
  • Aquatic life: Supporting
What this classification means

EPA ATTAINS assessment unit 'Black Earth Creek' (WI10002690), 2024 Integrated Report. Aquatic Life use: Fully Supporting. This is a Clean Water Act assessment-unit classification (the US analogue of WFD), not a live reading.

Status is for the Clean Water Act assessment unit covering this reach.

EPA ATTAINS (Clean Water Act) · WI10002690

The full read · show the working · for Brown Trout · confidence 80%
How the 37 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature32 × 28%9.0
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time80 × 13%10.4
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity62 × 12%7.4
Conditions total= 67
Can you trust it?
Water temperatureair-to-water estimateestimated
Level / flowon-river gaugeobserved
Prey activitymodelled from regional profilemodelled
What would change the calculation
Cooler water — back toward the 10–16 °C ideal band — would lift the score and ease welfare.
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Trout First Saturday in January (early catch-and-release, artificial only) → October 15 (regular harvest season from first Saturday in May)
Related guides
Euro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Booking & contacts