Seeking Trout   Fishing the Driftless Landscape

On Saturday Stephen Rose and I went up to Lodi to check out the Spring Creek that runs through town. The creek starts in the Lodi Marsh and terminates in Lake Wisconsin. While doing some “Blue-Lining” looking for streams close to home it became apparent that this was one we had overlooked.

Our experience Saturday was 3 fish in 15 minutes, along with sightings of lots and lots more trout and some really great water for trout to live in. Much of the creek, where it runs through town, is fast-moving and turbulent, running over small rapids and falls into plunge pools. It was clear this would be a place to revisit when we had more time.

Yesterday Stephen took his older son back to Lodi to give it a shot. They waded upstream from one end of town to the other and had lots of success. The biggest fish landed was twenty inches!

Stephen gave me a call around noon on his way home and told me about their experience. I’d been looking for something to do with my two oldest boys (eight and five) so I convinced them to take a trip to Lodi.

Bode fishing Lodi Spring Creek

We started out at the confluence of Spring Creek and Bohlman Branch where there is a really nice pool. But, no luck. I thought this might be a repeat of the last trout fishing outing Bode and I had taken, in which we were skunked. I talked them into a little more fishing, and we drove upstream to Veteran’s Park. Downstream just a hair is a foot bridge over the creek.

Sawyer on the foot bridge over Lodi Spring Creek

We put in below the bridge and Bode hooked a chub. He didn’t really care that it wasn’t a trout, he was just happy to have caught a fish out of a stream.

Bode with his first creek fish

I did some fishing and had a  trout on. I handed the rod to Bode to reel it in.

Bode with his first Trout

Sawyer kept himself entertained by throwing walnuts into the creek, much to the dismay of Bode who was concerned that they would scare away the fish.

Bode working the creek

We worked our way downstream and ended up behind the Police Station. There were some three-foot holes along this stretch of the creek. Bode waited for a hit. We got two more trout on!

Another Lodi Brown Trout

We finally headed back up to Veteran’s Park and tried the deep plunge pool there some more. I got one on the hook for Sawyer to reel in. I handed him the rod and he started cranking away at it but the fish shook the hook. Sawyer didn’t seem too upset.

The last fish of the day was this twelve inch beauty that Bode brought in.

Bode with a twelve-inch Lodi Spring Creek Brown

We’ll be back to try above and below town to see what else this creek has to offer. The scenery upstream from Lodi is very pretty, with lots of rolling hills and marsh habitat. There are sure to be Brookies waiting there. And downstream perhaps we’ll find a large Brown in the bigger water toward Lake Wisconsin.

Go up to Lodi and check out this great piece of water. Stop in and have lunch at one of the restaurants. Perhaps an increased presence of fishermen will invite more habitat improvement work above and below the town for even better fishing just 30 minutes from downtown Madison.