Spring Creek · Limestone · Wisconsin, US

Coon Creek

Coon Creek venue image

The crown jewel of Wisconsin spring creeks and the watershed Timber Coulee feeds into — the place where coordinated stream restoration in America more or less began, back in the 1930s.

Today · Closed season
Pink Shrimp
Forecast · Today
Closed season
Out of season. Try elsewhere.
45% projected
Today's fly
Pink Shrimp
Pink Shrimp
Conditions on the water · Today
Proxy gauge
Level
Rising
Proxy
via West Fork Kickapoo River
Water temp13.0°C
ClarityUnfishable
Weather8°C
WindN 12 km/h
Pressure1033 hPa
Rain · recent9.5 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
Hatch timeline · todayPeak at 12pm

12pm(now) — Eastern Blue-Winged Olive

Stage: On emergersApproach: Emerger or dryActivity: 37%
Peak emergence window

Peak activity at 12pm — Eastern Blue-Winged Olive (Eastern Blue-Winged Olive, Peak emergence window)

Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

Supporters see the full sub-surface read.

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14-day free trial. Cancel anytime.

Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey(1)

Hatch predictions

Top prey shown — see all 2 as a supporter.

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14-day free trial. Cancel anytime.

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
Brown Trout fly box
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 Driftless regulations — verify reach class and gear rules.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 5
Gallery · 1
  1. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

The crown jewel of Wisconsin spring creeks and the watershed Timber Coulee feeds into — the place where coordinated stream restoration in America more or less began, back in the 1930s. There's paved, barrier-free access at Veterans Memorial Park in Coon Valley, which is a rare and welcome thing on a trout stream. Wild browns, a few brookies up top, and the whole valley smells of cut hay in summer.

  • Limestone
Water quality · US Clean Water Act
  • Aquatic life: Supporting
What this classification means

EPA ATTAINS assessment unit 'Coon Creek' (WI10010414), 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) · WI10010414

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
Clarity85 × 18%15.3
Feeding Time55 × 13%7.2
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity55 × 12%6.6
Conditions total= 80
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
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
Booking & contacts