When I arrived in Stevens Point in the early 1930s, I met men and women who were fly rod experts, fishing dry and wet flies for Tomorrow River trout. I was invited to join this elite group and was taught the art of fly-fishing.
The Tomorrow was my favorite stream. Lurking in its icy, cold, spring waters that tumbled over polished stones were brook trout up to 20 inches in length. These large trout were caught only after dusk and early mornings.
In the 1950’s brown trout were stocked in the Tomorrow. Many caught during the mayfly hatches weighed three to six pounds. The Hendrickson hatch was the first mayfly to show.
Weber and Frost, fly manufacturers, made excellent imitations of all the hatched flies that appeared on our streams. Popular fly patterns were Cahill, Mosquito, Gray Wulff, Adams, Blue Dun, Black Ant, Royal Coachman, Quill Gordon, Black Gnat, Grasshopper, Muddlers and the Hornberg Special.
Many trouters tied their own flies. When Mrs. Pagel retired from tying flies for local tackle firms, she set up her own shop in a small cottage in back of her home on Water Street. She charged $1.20 per dozen and one always got a baker’s dozen. The current price is about $1.50 per fly.
The Spanish silkworm gut leaders we used were available in 7.5 and 9-foot lengths and cost 60 cents each, a high price during the Depression. Before using a gut leader, it was placed between two wet cloth pads to make it soft and pliable. I liked this leader, because when it was cast with a fly attached, it would sink slightly beneath the surface of the water, making it invisible.
Nylon leaders replaced gut leaders in 1939. Nylon was stronger than gut, but being highly impervious to water, floated, denting the surface of the water so trout could see a connection to floating fly, rejecting the offering.
Trout for stocking local streams came from the federal government hatchery at La Crosse, the Wild Rose Hatchery and Nevin Hatchery, Madison. Trout hold and rearing tanks were in the basement of the bowling alleys on the northeast corner of Clark and Third streets. The narrow, stone-lined streams were used to hold and grow trout. Bill Cook was in charge of this operation.
When an aerated tank truck arrived in Portage County with trout to be planted in local streams, Warden Frank Hornberg assigned one of our club members to direct the truck driver to selected streams for planting. Trout were placed in large milk cans, which were loaded aboard flat-bottom boats. As the boat drifted downstream, trout were distributed along the entire length of the stream.
Homberg was the Portage County game warden from 1920 to 1950. He was an interesting man and dedicated to his job of keeping game violators in check. There are still a few old-timers around whom Homberg picked up for various violations who tremble and shake at the mere mention of his name.
He pounded around the county in a black 1929 Model A Ford, which was equipped with sleeping bag, cooking utensils, boots and rain gear. He would camp on a violator’s trail until he got him.
Hornberg stood six feet, three inches and when decked out in his forest green uniform, Smokey bear hat, shined leather puttees and shoes, one stood at attention. He created the Hornberg trout fly which many tackle stores, coast-to-coast, still carry.
He had a big voice, like rolling thunder. If he were conversing with someone in front of the Sport Shop on Main Street, he could be heard clearly on the Public Square a block-and-a-half away.
The gathering places for sportsmen were the Sport Shop, Badger Paint Store, which I managed, and Otto Meyer’s Drug Store, later to become Gwidt’s Drug Store.
One spring a tank truck came from the Wild Rose Fish Hatchery with a load of rainbow trout to be placed in local trout streams. Upon arriving in Portage County, the truck driver picked up Chet Jakusz, our man, who would show him where the trout were to be planted.
An emergency developed when the tank aerator malfunctioned. The trout were “bellying up” and about to die. Chet and the driver drove hurriedly to Sunset Lake, where they emptied all the tanks. They then drove to Gwidt’s Drug Store, on the Square, and called Hornberg.
When a call was made to Hornberg, Leo Gwidt would always set the receiver on the counter so all persons in the store could hear Hornberg’s voice. On this particular call the conversation was opened in his usual manner.
Hornberg: ”Who is this and what do you want?”
Jakusz: “This is Chet. We had to dump all those trout in Sunset Lake because the aerator on the truck went out.”
Hornberg: “How large were the trout?”
Jakusz: “Three to four pounds each.”
Hornberg: “Who knows about this?”
Jakusz: “Only two of us.”
Hornberg: “Well, keep your mouths shut. If those Norwegians from Rosholt get wind of this, they will come down and clean out the lake. I want you and the truck driver to come to my house right now.
We learned later from Jakusz that Hornberg made them lay hands on his Bible and swear an oath not to tell anyone. However, after the telephone call by Jakusz from Gwidt’s Drug Store, there was a stampede to Sunset Lake. When Frank arrived at Sunset Lake with his fly rod and saw the crowd, he was hoppin’ mad.
The Tomorrow River is made up of three sections. We called the river from the Nelsonville Dam up to its source the upper. From Nelsonville to Amherst was the middle. From Amherst to Waupaca was the lower.
During the ‘30s and ‘40s the land bordering the Tomorrow from Nelsonville to Polonia was mostly open meadows and woods.
The Conservation Department, now called the Department of Natural Resources, recommended trout fishermen plant willow shoots along the stream banks to provide more cover for trout. Many of us did and today some of those early plantings have trunks 12 to 16 inches in diameter preventing sunlight from reaching the stream. Aquatic insects, a natural food for trout, need sunlight to grow. The trees also make it difficult to cast a fly.
The early ‘30s were carefree years, especially if one had a job that paid $18 to $20 for a 60-hour week. The Sport Shop sold an adjustable 8.5-foot reversible cork grip steel fly rod with nickeled steel seat and snake guides for $1. A good split bamboo 8-foot rod cost $4.25 and a 25-yard silk-enameled fly line cost 45 cents. For camping trips we purchased good, lean hamburger from Peickert’s Meat Market, Main Street, for 4 cents a pound.
One day four of us trouters piled into my 1930 Model A Ford, drove to Erickson’s Gas Station where we purchased six gallons of gasoline for $1 and headed for the Little Wolf River northeast of Rosholt. One of our favorite places to fish was called the Wigwams. In earlier years, Indian tribes gathered there on the banks of the Little Wolf to fish and hold meetings in a spot where the glacier dug out a large amphitheater. Nearby was an Indian burial ground.
We fished the Little Wolf until late afternoon and then headed for the Tomorrow for evening fishing. Traveling south on Highway 49 at a fast clip of 45 mph, I tried to negotiate a sharp right turn. Realizing I couldn’t make the corner, I drove straight ahead across a farmer’s lawn and smashed head-on into his outdoor privy. The impact moved it slightly off its foundation.
The farmer came out of his barn, sized up the situation and laughed his head off. Banging into the outhouse bent one front fender into the tire so that the car couldn’t be moved. The jolly farmer checked the damage and said he could spring the fender back into place with one properly aimed blow of the sledge hammer.
He marked a spot on the bent fender, took careful aim and let go with a mighty swing, knocking the fender clean off the car. We loaded the fender into the trunk and were on our way to the Tomorrow River. Thinking about this incident later, we all agreed the good-natured farmer may have intentionally knocked off the fender to sort of balance the damage we did to his privy.
Trouting among our group was competitive. When we drove to a parking area where we planned to fish, it was always a race to assemble our rods, string line and waders so one could rush off and claim what each thought was the best part of the stream to fish.
I don’t remember who started this, but we all came in second to Ernie Viertel, who was usually geared up to fish before the car stopped rolling into a parking area, even when he was driving the car.
During those times very little land was posted. However, on one occasion we discovered that “No Trespassing” signs were showing up in several places along the Tomorrow. We did some sleuthing and discovered a couple of Wisconsin Rapids fishermen were invading our territory and had the audacity to tack up those signs.
We caught them in the act and gave them fair warning we would take appropriate action if we caught them in Portage County again. They came back. Our appropriate action was to let air out of their car tires. Since everyone carried tube patches and tire pumps, they were pumped up and on their way in about an hour. We never saw them again. There was absolutely no expression of brotherly love when our trout were being threatened by outsiders from Wood County.
As the years went by, we all grew older and more compassionate toward migrant fly fishermen. However, we still have a slight, perplexing problem with “worm dunkers” and spin fishermen. Our goal was to convert those wayward brothers to the realm of pure fly fishing brotherhood.
Following are the names of persons I knew to be dry and wet fly trout anglers. If I have erred and listed a worm dunker or spin fisherman, heaven help me.
Carrie Frost, Harry Noble, Glen Neale, Ray Schull, Elmer DeBot, Howard Risser, Al Knudtson, Russ Strache, Len Berry, Tony Porter, Les Carney, Walter Springer, Ed Okray, Bernard Wievel, Jim Hull, Al Harvis, George Frost, Merrill and Valerie Baldwin, Fred Schmeeckle, Nick and Jack Zei, Cliff Lund, Frank Hornberg, Palmer Taylor, Dr. A.J. Butler, Bob Andrews, Bessie Bowen, Karl Schenk Jr., Paul Vincent, Ray Gerke, Mike Laskowski, Hassell Vaughn, Harold Sparks, Lyle Jenkins, Oscar Young, Leo Mingenbach, Helen Weber, Casimer Firkus, Vilas Waterman, Dr. Frank Metcalf, Andy Dobbe Sr., Carl Hatch, Les Courtney, Judge W. F. Owen, Luke Banke, Hany Schlottman, Frank Lasecki, Dr. W. E. Quinn, Oscar Weber, Dr. Vein Benn, Jack and Emil Koshollek, Chet Jakusz, Red Altenburg, Red Sherman, Orin Krogwold, Tony Karner, Josh and Walte Normington, Lillian Summers, Al Kurrasch and wife, Had Manske, Irving Hull, Dick Rothman, Bud Konopacki, Herb Leary, Judge Robert Jenkins, Marl Makholm, Tom Leech, Leslie Peterson, Pete Kabat, Bradley Willett, Maurice Willett, Dr. Walter and Alice Wochinski, Len Nohr, Dick Brady, Leo Gwidt, Ferd Viertel, Otto and Lu Viertel, Jack Sokol, Frank Joseph, Gus and Jim Cyran, Don Walker, Bill Cook and Dr. Arthur Cook.
Virgil ‘Pete” Peters