Visiting Wisconsin: the Driftless Tenkara Campout
My first fishing trip to Wisconsin was built around the Wisconsin Driftless Tenkara Campout. This annual event has been around for years and it was my first year attending. The amount of people who attended the 2023 event was the most they’ve ever had and I can only see the attendance growing. I got to meet several of the Daves and many of the people who I only see online in Facebook groups or Instagram.
I ended up thinking about this trip because in my “about me” section of this website I forgot to write in Wisconsin for a state that I’ve caught brook trout in its native range and Zoan, an organizer of the event, reminded me. Thank you, Zoan.
So, I in fact did catch a brook trout and it was a pretty one at that! I ended up catching a bunch with one of the Daves actually and it was a wonderful time. I had actually fished this creek with someone the day before, but hadn’t fished this part of the creek and I am glad I tagged along with Dave since it was a brook trout haven! Rachael ended up being on the water with me for that trip and captured some images of us on the water.
Luckily, Rachael was able to attend the whole campout with me and it was our 16th state that we’ve explored together! Rachael, being a bird nerd, was able to cross off several “lifers” and add several birds to her yearly count as well. I am glad we both got to check off some of our life lists together!
To start, I had been planning this trip for almost a year. I had got the campsite booked nearly as fast as Zoan had told everyone about the dates of the annual campout. It ended up being the first weekend in June. This allowed for Rachael to get some time off before her busy season starts at her job and she was able to join me! How exciting.
So, off to Wisconsin we flew, but not before we visited some of her family in Chicago. Where the campout is in the Driftless region in Wisconsin is relatively far away from most larger airports and it was more logical for me to rent a car than to drive; more on that reasoning and logistics in a future post. We ended up spending a few nights in Chicago with her family and drove Thursday, June 1 to the campout in the driftless region.
Being my first-time fishing in Wisconsin and being in the driftless region, I was already unsure of what to think about the fishing aspect. However, the weather ended up being more of a factor than I realized it would. It was hotter and more humid at this time than it was from where I came from in South Carolina. Also, the area had been without a good stretch of rainfall for weeks. This led to low flows and early/late fishing times during the day to avoid putting strain on the fish. I have heard since then that this was a very unusual year in terms of heat and rainfall for this time of year for the area.
Honestly, it didn’t slow me down much since campout is held right on a lovely spring creek. The campground ended up being right in the middle of all the creeks I would fish and I was even able to catch a nice brown trout one evening that was also caught by AJ the day before!
Speaking of AJ, I had befriended him on social media and ended up getting to fish alongside of him and Jared, also known as TenkaraGenki, for a few days! I felt like I was getting a guided tour of the driftless area by being driven around and getting spoken to about this specific area’s history. Honestly, I am honored and very thankful to have met such nice people who make sure that Rachael and I had a good time and enjoyed ourselves; all while catching fish, taking pictures, and exploring the Wisconsin driftless area.
I also got to hang out one evening and explore a creek with Luong Tam of Tenkara Tanuki. We had a fun time exploring a spring creek I hadn’t fished yet and was able to catch a few with his guidance. He had a prototype rod with him that I was able to cast and catch a fish on which is always a treat! This was also the first time I had cast with a line rigged with two weighted flies on at once.
Speaking of weighted flies, this area was filled with brown trout who loved some weighted flies. Specifically the “pink squirrel”, which is a local fly that I picked up a few dozen from the local fly shop, Driftless Angler. I tie my own flies, but I do enjoy exploring local fly shop joints for their local advice and area specific flies. These shops are so valuable to the area and I am so glad I got to stop into this fly shop a few times to talk tenkara and flies. For being a woman in a man-filled fishing world, this shop was accommodating and welcoming to me even as a tenkara angler. I highly recommend it!
As for the fishing, I am not one to dabble with stats and specifics so I will just say these spring creeks are FILLED and I mean FILLED with wild browns. They were hungry and I was able to catch fish on over six of my own tied flies. I caught and fished more spring fed creeks than I ever even seen in my whole life. This area is filled with interesting rock formations and meandering spring fed creeks that cut through fields of grass, farmer’s crops, cow pastures, forests, and countryside. It most certainly was a memory I will not forget since the terrain was much different that I had ever experienced.
Actually, the terrain and waterways being so different from what I experienced, I was naïve and wore shorts the first day I fished. This was a mistake and I still have the scars from bushwhacking to prove it. Luckily, I didn’t run into the plants that cause burns when exposed to the UV light from the sun, but I definitely have some lifelong scarring from Wisconsin driftless that will leave me remembering my first time fishing this region. They fit right alongside my other scars from other memorable fishing adventures!
Overall, with the dinners being cooked by some of the local attendees for a small fee each night, casting demos and giveaways done for the campers I would say it was a fun and worthwhile event. It definitely was a well planned event and I cant wait to see what is in store for next year! I can see why people come back year after year. This certainly will not be my only trip to Wisconsin for the Driftless Tenkara Campout.
My Tenkara Journey 