School is Out and the Dancing Man is on the Shelves

Date: May 10^th 

Weather: 73, clear, blue skies

Stream: Clear

Hatch: caddis flies but no trout rising

Water Temp: Cold

Beer: New Glarus Dancing Man

Lovely May ferns

            Today I finished my last class of the semester. Good lord, it couldn’t have come soon enough. I’m so sick of homework I was hoping my brain would just turn off. I did manage last night to pack up all my fishing gear so I could take my final and head straight to the Willow. The final was a piece of cake and soon I was cruising the back roads of Washington County into the St. Croix Valley and across to Wisconsin admiring the beautiful, pastoral scenery of the area as farmers were out getting ready for the new season. I stopped in Stillwater for homemade sandwich at Len’s family grocery then headed into Hudson for some coffee and beer.

The Dancing Man

            This time of the year is always special with new life, green growth, opening of the regular trout season and New Glarus’ Dancing Man hitting the shelves. Without question, it is the best beer on the shelf. A beautiful hefe weizen style with some yeast at the bottom for a cloudy appearance, it can’t be beat. The Dancing Man is only out for the summer so its brief appearance makes it that much better. Especially with Summit’s passé, uninspiring new Summer Ale replacing its Hefe Weizen, the Dancing Man is my go to brew. Today, I found it on the shelves for the first time and I had a big smile on my face as I bought a case.

Nice little spot

Big Willow fell over one of my
favorite spots

            It was already a great day and I hadn’t even hit the river yet. I arrived at the Willow around two and the sun was pretty high so I stopped to eat my sandwich and drink my first Dancing Man. It was the best lunch ever. As I finished I set up rod and hit the river. For the most part I was out too early in the afternoon and sun was directly overhead the good spots so the trout were laying low. I hooked a nice rainbow at one run and as it jumped out of the water, it threw my hook and was gone. Few more bites on some spinners I threw but nothing to special.

That is one big, nasty sucker

            Worse than the direct sun was the unbelievable number of suckers cruising through the best spots on the river to spawn. They crowded out entire stretches of the Willow just swimming back and forth splashing up the water as they spawned. I wish I had brought a spear. Too often though I hooked one of those nasty fish, and one was huge. They don’t even fight, they just feel like reeling in a big log.

            As I finished up, I ended up talking with some locals as they were out fishing. A slow day for everyone it sounded. A guy told me the morels were pretty much finished but oysters were still around. No trout but still a good day.