Bois Brule Salmon Run

Will be heading to the South Shore area October 1st & 2nd. Tried to fish the Chequamegan Bay creeks and inlets this time last year and had little luck. This year I am determined to catch fish in moving water and believe the Brule to be the best option.

Looking for a little insight from those with experience. Thanks in advance for any help.

Should I concentrate on the lower reaches and inlet area exclusively?

Is public access easy? My Wisconsin Gazetteer does show the river flowing through The Brule River State Forest.

Do in-line spinners and small spoons work well or is a guy better off drift fishing?

Are both Coho’s and King’s part of the equation? If so what is the average size? Given my limited shore casting experience on the North Shore I would assume Coho’s to be 2-4lbs and King’s 6-8lbs.

Finally is shore casting on the lake a viable option if the river bite is off or I can’t figure out the pattern?

Thanks again

Ice Age

After 9/30, the river is only open to fishing from Hwy 2 downstream (north). Most guys concentrate on the area just north of 2, but people will be fishing in most areas between 2 and the lake.

Public access is easy. Much if not most of the shoreline is public in that stretch, and the private areas are normally well posted and many have signs posted welcoming foot traffic (provided it is along the river and not on their porch).

Spoons and spinners will work. Don’t pass up spawn, or even a crawler. I’ve seen lots of fish taken on a crawler bouncing on the bottom at the tail end of a riffle. Lots of fly guys up there too (myself included), egg-sucking leeches and two-egg patterns are the standards.

Kings are very limited in the Brule. Cohos are available in the sizes you are thinking about.

Shore casting at the mouth is an option too. Access is easy. Lots of space to move about. Real sandy at the mouth, easy wading.

A few notes: it has been very dry up north this year, delaying many of the runs. The lake run browns are trickling in. Fishing has been slow of late becuuse of the lack of rain to bring fresh fish in. The Brule got some rain at the end of this week which pushed the flow up and raised the river level a bit. In the absence of more rain, things should be getting back to normal by the time you are there.

Also, and you may already know this, expect to see a lot of people. Your midweek trip will help a bit, but given the lateness of the runs, guys may be focusing their efforts (fishing days) a little more than normal. Finally, the Brule River Sportsmens Club has a fantastic map that is for sale in the area (check the gas station right on 2 in the town of Brule, that’s where I got mine). The map shows the river in detail, including the names of holes and runs that lots of guys like to fish. Pick up a map, read some of the posts on the Brule River Sportsmens Club webpage, and have fun. Let us know how you did.

BT

wow! Awesome reply.

Wow is right. I knew people are very helpful on this site but that was fantastic.

Brooktrout, thank you for the help and the great information. I absolutely will report back on how it goes.

Ice Age

Anytime. My next trip up there is Oct 3-5. That long weekend will be split among the Brule for steel, a little grouse hunting, and sucker soaking for ‘skis closer to Hayward. I’ll report back here as well after that trip. BT

A little late with my follow up report but here goes anyway.

Fished in the river the first day (10-01-03) and was unable to even muster a bite. Drifted crawlers with a little lead, drifted neon power baits and tossed spinners.

Went to the mouth at dawn on the second day and tossed spinners and spoons. Again no bites, no action.

All help was still appreciated. The Brule is a beautiful river and despite the tough luck this year I will be back next year to give it a go.

By the way on the weekend we hit our usual North Shore spots and action was slow there too.

Ice Age

If anyones interisted in a longer drive my friend Jerry just came back from the Piere Marquete and the big manistee and hooked 80 to 100 fish a day using yarn flies. He said he landed about 15 to 20 fish a day. He drifts a yarn fly right into the salmons mouths that are right in front of him and hooks them this way. I’ve yet to go with him but want to next year, spring or fall. He uses his steelhead rod with 200 yrds of 6 pound, said he has lots of breakoffs but hooks more this way. He said some of his fish had up to 4 flies in thier mouths from breakoffs from other anglers. He says that he dosen’t count on strikes but drifts to visable salmon with drifting a yarn fly into its mouth then hooking it.