Brule River trout opener almost here

Mar. 20—The Northland's first opening day of open-water fishing for 2021 will come a half-hour before sunrise on March 27, when trout and salmon become legal game on Wisconsin's Bois Brule River downstream of U.S. Highway 2.

Conditions for anglers should be good. Most of the river opened up — lost its ice — in early March, earlier than usual, after a milder-than-usual winter. Much of the deepest snow and ice has melted away from along the river's banks, although the river valley shades many areas and anglers will run into lingering snow and ice shelves in places.

SEE ALSO: Brule River Sportsmen's Club working on watershed protection

Mitch Pauly, visitor services associate for the Brule River State Forest, said crews have been clearing any remaining snow from parking lots, access points and even campsites along the river (Copper Range Campground) preparing for the fishing opener and the onslaught of anglers.

"Unless we get a last-minute snowstorm everything should be open, no problems," Pauly said.

Even under early pandemic concerns one year ago, the Brule was pretty busy, with many anglers ignoring advice at the time to not to travel far from home. That angler interest is not expected to diminish any this year.

Fall fish count: New numbers out

Paul Piszczek, senior Lake Superior area fisheries biologist for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, said the fall fish survey conducted on the Brule showed continued stable populations.

The DNR uses video taken through a window in the lamprey barrier on the lower river — essentially a dam that blocks parasitic lamprey from spawning but allows fish to move upstream — and then reviews the video over winter. The system has been in place since 1990, offering a rare, accurate survey of how many fish are using a specific river.

Last fall's run of migratory steelhead rainbow trout hit 6,144 fish, down about 300 from 2019's fall run but still up from the long-term average of 5,400. Many of those fall fish will still be in the river this spring for anglers to catch.

Some 4,545 brown trout were recorded last fall, down from 2019 but still above the long-term average of 3,600.

The fall survey also counted 305 chinook salmon, 1,614 coho salmon and a few pink salmon and splake.

Piszczek noted the spring 2020 steelhead run of 1,200 fish also was the highest in five years and well above average.

"We'll have these small variations from year to year, as water conditions change. But, over the long term, Lake Superior and the Brule are allowing for very good trout populations at this point," Piszczek said.

Recent runs have been considerably higher than the 2011-to-2015 period, when annual runs were below 3,000 in some cases. The current period of stability is still below the 2002-2010 period which saw runs above 8,000 and even 9,000 fish per year.

Because of the early ice-out, as in past years, some anglers predict a "spawned and gone" situation where the steelhead rainbow trout finish their swim upriver, finish their spawning ritual and return to the lake before the fishing season opens. But others say that, no matter how early the spring is, some steelhead will stay in the river longer, with ample fish still available to catch into April. While some steelhead that spent the winter in the river may spawn early and leave soon, spring-run, chrome-colored fish that move upriver this time of year have had to wait for the Lake Superior ice at the mouth of the river to clear before they could move upstream. That appears to have happened last week, Piszczek said.

The exception is brown trout, which spawned last fall and spent the winter in the river. They often follow the ice-out downstream and most are likely now in Lake Superior.

Except after the heavy snow and rain event of March 10-11, the Brule's flow has been moderate so far, Piszczek noted, thanks to a very gradual snowmelt.

Go with the flow

You can see constantly updated water-flow levels for the Bois Brule River at the U.S. Geological Survey website at waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv?04025500.

Veteran Brule River steelhead anglers say they like to see the flows between 180 and 250 cubic feet per second.

Any major rainfall event or, when there is still snow on the ground, a very warm day causing rapid snowmelt, can send the Brule spiking to very high water levels quickly. That can make the river too fast and too high, and sometimes too muddy, to fish effectively.

On the other end of the spectrum, extremely low water flows and accompanying low water depths and clear water give fish a big advantage at avoiding angler presentations, vastly lowering the chances for success, although some fly fishers like the lower water.

Rules of the Brule

Downstream from U.S. Highway 2 to Lake Superior

The season begins on the last Saturday in March and continues through Nov. 15. Fishing is prohibited from a half-hour after sunset to a half-hour before sunrise. The daily bag limit is five trout or salmon in total.

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Rainbow (steelhead) trout — minimum size 26" (only one may be kept)

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Brown trout — minimum size 10" (only two may be larger than 15")

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Brook trout — minimum size 8"

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Salmon — minimum size 12"

An inland trout stamp is required to fish for trout and salmon on the river and its tributaries. Brule River State Forest angler parking lots are for day use only; overnight camping is limited to designated campgrounds.

Minnesota North Shore steelhead

Minnesota steelhead trout season is open year-round but generally doesn't get going until North Shore streams lose their ice and the trout start moving upriver to spawn, and that's already starting to happen this year.

Minnesota's streams are catch-and-release only for wild rainbows with an unclipped adipose fin, mostly steelhead rainbows. The limit for hatchery-raised clipped-fin fish, steelhead or any remaining Kamloops rainbow trout, is three daily, minimum size of 16 inches.