Spring Creek · Limestone · Wisconsin, US

Willow Creek

Willow Creek venue image
Poor · Brown Trout
Blue Winged Olive · 18-22
Closed season
Out of season. Try elsewhere.
Closed — confidence not applicable today.
What moved it
  • LevelProxyvia West Fork Kickapoo River
  • Water temp12.5°C
  • ClarityClear
Today's fly
Blue Winged Olive
Blue Winged Olive18-22
Proven pattern for this period
Conditions on the water
Proxy gauge
Level
Steady
Proxy
via West Fork Kickapoo River
Water temp12.5°C
ClarityClear
Weather2°C
WindSW 10 km/h
Pressure1034 hPa
Rain · recent22.2 mm
Rain · ahead0.0 mm

No gauge on this water — conditions are inferred from West Fork Kickapoo River. The trend transfers, the absolute level does not.

Water temperature for Brown Trout
Ideal
13°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.
Likely species
Mayflies
Chironomids
Gammarids
Hatch timeline · todayQuiet day

Hatch predictions

Today's headline hatch shown — see all 4 active hatches hour by hour as a supporter.

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Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

Supporters see the full sub-surface read.

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey(1)

Hatch predictions

Top prey shown — see all 2 as a supporter.

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Evidence
Records-basedModerate confidence

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

Through the year
0–3 scale · October 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
Fly box · Brown Trout
PL
Pass Lake
8-12 · Pattern
Proven pattern for this period
Local fly shops: Driftless Angler
Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • WI DNR — verify reach regulations.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 5
Blue River
32 km
0
Brown trout · Rainbow trout
Castle Rock Creek
38 km
0
Brown trout
West Fork Kickapoo River
44 km
0
Brown trout · Brook trout
Tainter Creek
48 km
0
Brown trout · Brook trout
Black Earth Creek
52 km
0
Brown trout · Rainbow trout
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 'Willow Creek' (WI10008124), 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) · WI10008124

The full read · show the working · for Brown Trout · confidence 90%
How the 0 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature100 × 28%28.0
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time55 × 13%7.2
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity63 × 12%7.6
Conditions total= 83
Can you trust it?
Water temperatureair-to-water estimateestimated
Level / flowproxy via West Fork Kickapoo Riverproxy
Prey activitymodelled from regional profilemodelled
What would change the calculation
The dawn and dusk windows score higher than the midday lull.
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Trout Erster Saturday in January (early catch-and-release, artificial only) → October 15 (regular harvest season from erster Saturday in May)
Related guides
Euro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Booking & contacts