Fly Fishing the Kickapoo River West Fork

The Kickapoo River starts near Wilton Wisconsin and follows a crooked path for about 125 miles before meeting with the Wisconsin River near Wauzeka. The Kickapoo River is not very wide, reaching 50 feet wide.  It gets its novel name form the Kickapoo Indian Tribe who is famous for the Kickapoo Joy Juice. Although it starts in wooded areas, most of the stream lies in pasture lands.

The Kickapoo River was once the best river in the state but due to poor farming and land management practices, the river declined. Now, however, with the help of several concerned individuals including the West Fork Sportsman Club it has been restored as a great trout habitat.

 The Kickapoo is fed from limestone springs that provide the most beneficial pH level to support an abundance of aquatic insect populations, making it an excellent river for fly fishing. Indeed some of the browns can reach can reach eighteen inches of more.

There is a nine mile of “catch and release” fishing starting at the bridge at Bloomingdale and going downstream to the Rt. 82 bridge. The small town of Avalanche being a good starting point for anglers since it is near the middle of this section. Patience is a virtue for this section as the trout have little cover and combined with the flat flowing water, they are easily spooked. It is very similar in many respects to Abrams Creek in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee.

Fly Fishing the Kickapoo West Fork:

The Kickapoo River can be waded easily but many anglers prefer the stealth approach from the banks. Use long leaders with long light tippets as well as your best presentation so the trout are not spooked. Also, since these trout have a good chance to see the fly before taking it, use good imitations of the insects that are hatching and available for the trout at the time. For that reason we suggest the Perfect Fly series of flies from Trout University. The standard generic flies will definitely not be as productive in this difficult and challenging stream.

Dry fly fishing will be the most fun and will be productive the entire year since the water does not freeze over in the winter and does not get too hot in the summer due to the inflow from the many springs. Some current reports are available here.

Fly fishing the KIckapoo in the spring:

Start in April with the March Browns and the Blue Winged Olive imitation flies in hook sizes of 18 and 20. The Sulphurs will start hatching about the middle of May and a hook size of 16 would be appropriate. In the faster waters you may occasionally find a hatch of March Browns. Caddis flies will also be hatching in the spring as well.

Fly fishing in summer:

As the days fade into July and August, the Tricos will be hatching along with the Cinnamon Caddis and a few Little Yellow Stoneflies. Of course, being pasture land, there will be several terrestrial insects available for the trout to consume. These consist of hoppers, ants and beetles. For the streamers, use imitations of sculpins as they are plentiful and readily available for the trout.

Fly fishing in the fall and winter:

The fall season is especially good for the browns and the larger browns may be found in the lower sections of the Kickapoo. September will still have good hatches of the Cinnamon Caddis and the second hatches of the BWOs will be productive as well as the Sculpin imitations.