Fishing the Brule River

Last weekend I went with the St. Paul Fly Tiers and Fisherman's Club up to the Brule River to catch some Steelhead.  I think it had been a couple years since I had bite, but I was hoping this weekend would be different.  We were staying at a cabin right on the river which allowed for easy access which was good since i did need to study for my Business Ethics class.  So I did have high aspirations but low expectations.

On Friday after cooking breakfast I went with out with another Fly Tier Joe Lucey near the cabin.  I managed to hook and land a 25 incher in the morning.  My first steelhead in years and first over 20 inches.  This allowed me to study in the afternoon and enjoy Bob Feiker's rib dinner in the evening.

Saturday morning after breakfast Joe and I headed out again and i caught another 25 incher from a different hole. What luck, two fish in one weekend.  Again in the afternoon I studied and enjoyed Tony Stifter's grilled steaks in the evening.  We had 18 people show up for dinner.

On Sunday I made the breakfast again for everyone and went out by myself right away.  I found a spot i wanted too try and i caught a 23 incher. Using a little tripod I was able to take some pictures.  I was three for three with a fish each day.   All fish were on a glo-bug.  I will probably never have another weekend like it on the Brule.

New Star Tribune Post

It has been a while since I last posted anything on the Star Tribune Club Outdoors blog.  So I thought I would write about one of my favorite fishing days.  It was March 2, 2002 and I have recorded that it was 11F with a wind chill of -10F.  I have copied the blog here for  you to enjoy with out having to click to go anywhere else.

Winter Trout

When cabin fever has set in and you are looking to do something outside that is not winter related, go hit the trout streams.

About this time of year everybody is beginning to wonder when and if spring will ever arrive. I really do love winter and everything you can do on frozen water or snow, but as a fly fisherman I really like moving water. A good thing about living where we do is that many of the spring fed streams and rivers are actually open in the winter for fishing.

Every year I try to get out at least once sometime in from January to March and fish with ice freezing to the guides and frozen fingers. For me it is a passage into spring knowing that things will get better. Although, that is not to say that fishing is bad in the winter it is really just a lot colder and more work.

I remember back to one trip on the opening weekend in March of the Wisconsin catch and release season a number of years ago. According to my fishing journal it was a very cold day the temp was close to zero with a wind chill well below zero. I headed to my favorite spot on the Rush and was surprised to see two other cars of fisherman in the area. I suited up in layers and headed out walking down the stream.

When I got to the spot I wanted to fish I had to figure out how I was actually going to fish the pool as there was quite a bit of shelf ice. After a few minutes I was able position myself where I could cast and make and drift through the pool. On about my fifth drift through I hooked a nice big brown. Now I had to land it. That meant I had to slide downstream across the ice to open water where I got it in the net, a good hookup, successful landing and release.

During this process I did break off some of the shelf ice, so I figured I would now have to move farther upstream. I also noticed my net was a big block of ice, so I laid it in the water near the bank. I proceeded to cast a few more times and got another good hook up. This one I again played down stream to where I left my net and I was able to land it.

After releasing the second fish I discovered that I had set my reel in the water and it was now frozen solid. At this point I decided that I should probably call it a successful day. I had hooked, landed and released two fish, the first ended up being the biggest brown I caught that year.

Evening Fishing

Last Friday Sue and I decided we would go fishing in the evening after work. We assembled the waders and fly rods and headed over to western Wisconsin. After a quick bite to eat we got to the river around 7:00 allowing us a couple hours of light. I had decided to go to one of my favorite spots, which must be a few other fishermen’s favorite spot as there were a couple cars there when we arrived. I chose this spot since it had been a season or two since Sue last trout fished and I knew it was an easier location to fish than others. She is a novice and enjoys fly fishing, but has only cast to trout a few times so hopes were high for good conditions.

We walked down to the river and watched for a minute or two as the trout were eagerly taking flies off the surface. We decided to try a sulphur dry fly to start. I coached Sue through a few casts to warm up and refreshed her memory on reading the water. Soon enough we were each catching fish. Most fish seemed to like a nice dead drift with no drag on the surface, but there were a couple fish that seemed stimulated by a little drag.

We fished a couple pools working our way up stream slowly. The combination of low light and a strong hatch also seemed to prevent the fish from getting spooked to easily. There was many times that when casting to specific fish a different and unexpected one came up and took a fly right next to the fly line. We also didn’t need to rest the pools after a hooked brown zig-zagged it way through.

The night came to an end when we could no longer see the fly to tie a new one on. This seemed like a sign to call it a night. I probably could have planned better and brought a flashlight, but I will save that fishing for some other night. We both had a lot fun and this evening got us both excited for our upcoming trip to fish for rainbows in California.

Dreaming of Summer

As much as I love winter, I do long to get back out on the streams. A couple summers ago Sue caught her first trout. This isn't her first (actually her second) enough to get the juices flowing.