Is this really what it is like to fish the Driftless?

[myt1]

A buddy of mine just returned from a guided trip to the Driftless region last week. I'm not really sure exactly where, but I think it was in Wisconsin somewhere.

It this really what it is like?

 

[silver creek]

The fishing is so good we teach our Holsteins to be guides.......

 

[Redbrook]

I was there this spring for the first time and fished for 3 days. There are a lot of cows in the Driftless! We never ran into any of them face to face and on the streams we fished it seems like they were fenced off from much of the river. However, I don't doubt at some point people have close encounters with them. My suggestion is pay attention but just go and have fun, lot of good fishing to be had.

 

[mtbright]

I have with many cows in the sierras, biggest issue is avoiding the cowpatties.

 

[sjkirkpa]

I have with many cows in the sierras, biggest issue is avoiding the cowpatties.

When I was a kid, we had cow patty fights. The key is to find the ones that are dry on the outside, but still moist on the inside.

 

[weiliwen]

I've wandered many a Driftless stream with cows nearby. It's the bulls you need to worry about, at least more than the cows. Farmers I've spoken with tell me the cows are often curious to see folks; maybe they think they're going to get a handout. I've only occasionally seen a cow in the stream, but they obviously are in it from time to time. Hey, it's agricultural land.

 

[driftless22]

I've wandered many a Driftless stream with cows nearby. It's the bulls you need to worry about, at least more than the cows. Farmers I've spoken with tell me the cows are often curious to see folks; maybe they think they're going to get a handout. I've only occasionally seen a cow in the stream, but they obviously are in it from time to time. Hey, it's agricultural land.

You're definitely right about the bulls. Before you cross the pasture, make sure that there aren't any Ferdinands in there with the Bossies.

 

[mikew1959]

The first thing that popped into my mind when I saw that picture wasn’t the cows it was all the garb those guys are wearing.

I grew up fishing the Sierras and in most places there are cows present.

 

[ontheflymn]

There are plenty of cows across the Driftless. You mainly run into beef cattle in MN, and there are some bulls mixed in. My experience is that they are typically not very interested in anglers. I've yet to have an aggressive bull encounter.

 

[driftless22]

There are plenty of cows across the Driftless. You mainly run into beef cattle in MN, and there are some bulls mixed in. My experience is that they are typically not very interested in anglers. I've yet to have an aggressive bull encounter.

You do need to be cautious around Holstein bulls...some of them definitely have a mean streak.

 

[ia_trouter]

Yep, that is fairly typical. Less so in Iowa than it was when I was a kid. DNR has convinced the farmers to fence them away from decent stretches of public access water. (I think convinced means bribed) I don't care how they do it because they destroy the banks if there are too many on a tiny stream.

Ted4887 used to post here a lot before he moved to Hayward, WI. A Driftless bull helped Ted find religion a few years back.

 

[troutslayer3373]

You have to be careful down there. Most of the time they won't even acknowledge you but if there is a bull out there they can be dangerous. And for god sakes don't go and try to pet one.

 

[ontheflymn]

I'd argue that anglers in the Driftless have to contend more with the ills of wild parsnip than killer bovine.

 

[huntschool]

I must admit I find these discussions interesting.

In this day and age, I find it hard to believe any dairy farmer would run a full blown Holstein bull free range with his cows. Most dairy cows I know of get bred AI.... Holstein bulls are huge and could break the back of, or at the very least injure a cow. I say this because even back in the early 60's my uncle was breeding his cows AI for the above reasons as well as record registration control.

Even the Angus and poled Short horns my FIL used were like big baby's because they had been handled so much. The last thing a good livestock operator wants is a mean bull, sow or boar around.

Just some thoughts.

 

[silver creek]

A buddy of mine just returned from a guided trip to the Driftless region last week. I'm not really sure exactly where, but I think it was in Wisconsin somewhere.

It this really what it is like?

Instead of camo, this is what our wardens wear in the driftless......

 

[myt1]

I have with many cows in the sierras, biggest issue is avoiding the cowpatties.

Where in the Sierras?

I'm guessing somewhere on the west side.

 

[karstopo]

I like fishing with grazing cattle nearby. There’s something picturesque and peaceful about cattle, to me anyway. In the cowless wilderness, there’s always that little extra alertness of is there a bear or cougar about to slip up on you or stumble into. I’ve definitely bumped into a few bears in the wilds of Colorado and it’s hard to see that happening with a herd of milk cows nearby. Cows are sort of an early warning system to danger. I think they are a lot more fun to look at than own though, lol. Dairy cows in good shape like those Holsteins are especially good looking.

I wonder where else in the trout world one might see cattle grazing and watering at the stream-side? England, Vermont, France?

Cattle, but not trout, are just part of many landscapes here where I fish. I’ve fished a couple of private trout water places in Colorado and New Mexico with cattle and liked their company.

 

[Flyfisher for men]

I've wandered many a Driftless stream with cows nearby.... Farmers I've spoken with tell me the cows are often curious to see folks;

Cows are part of the experience in Kansas, especially if you're in a farm pond which is a large part of our fishing.


We have a version of the San Juan shuffle here. I was on one of our ponds last a summer when a cow that was wading in the water decided to barrel past to get to the other side. Apparently, Bessie kicked up a bunch of nymphs, because suddenly I was seeing swirls and started nailing bluegills on a hare's ear.

 

[mtbright]

Where in the Sierras?

I'm guessing somewhere on the west side.

on the Owens, i have fished it since the mid 70s. I have not fished much of the western slope.

 

[myt1]

on the Owens, i have fished it since the mid 70s. I have not fished much of the western slope.

I didn't know that.

I've fished the Owens a few times, with various amounts of luck, but usually not so much.

It's always been in the spring, apparently the cows aren't out then.