Brule River Steelhead Opener

[dave12341234]

All you can do is spread the word- Quick photo and the the fish is gone. I'm more than willing to take some time to stop fishing and help with a photo.

PS- If your next to me in the brown cabelas waders, I have a good camera!

[certified jumbo]

Good luck out there. I'll be on the road in 1 hour. Be safe!!

[dave12341234]

lots of people. I got to highland access at 5 and it wasn't early enough, the first 2 holes were well occupied, went really far upstream thought i was the only one there, 3 more people. so i kind of sat in between and just enjoyed the river for a bit. checked out ff and there were guys fishing in every nook and cranny despite all the ice. went to black at around 7 there were 20 vehicles jammed in there so literally nowhere to park. heard of one fish caught. gonna try again tomorrow

[certified jumbo]

Deep deep snow, water is clear. Me, odanoda, and wildernessbob fished all day. Fairly slow, 2 steelhead, 2 browns and a handful of smolts. Those around us had similar tallies. People around us were very respectful and polite. A fun day!

Going to bed, fishing most of day tomorrow.

[dave12341234]

Missed 2 nicer ones. Water was a little darker than yesterday. Will be out again tomorrow.

[Odonata]

Great weekend of fishing. Tough conditions with gin clear water and bluebird skies. Sunday there was a little more color to the water, but it's still very clear. Snow is a four-letter word. Feel sorry for the guys who did not have snowshoes; saw one guy crawl out...literally.

Fish were sparse, but a few were had; released everything. Not an epic opener for catching, but awesome to be fishing! Everyone we ran into was respectful and great to chat with. Lots of great memories with great people.

[Garett Svir]

Well another Brule opener is in the books. We managed to find some browns on Saturday near the ice pack. The snow is deep and getting soft with these warm temps so snowshoes are mandatory. The color is good for now but this could change with the 12" of snow expected tomorrow in the Brule valley. I'll try my best to keep this thread updated with current conditions. Most steelhead action is taking place upstream as I think they are just beginning to make their way from the upstream wintering grounds. The river is solid ice from May's ledges to the mouth. Please take good care of these winter over fish as they are fairly fragile. Keep them in the water and just raise them for a quick photo before releasing them. Tight Lines

[websdown]

Big numbers of Browns yesterday upwards of close to 20 or so 9 Steelhead. One of the best openers in recent that I can remember. Like they said snow in the morning firmed up to walk deer trails by midday breaking through to almost your waist tough on us 60 over guy's. Get out there!

[Poacher's pariah]

Got out Saturday until 1:00 with my son. Fished the meadows. 2 steelies and 2 browns between the 2 of us. Saw more people on the water than in the water(5 in canoes, 4 on the banks). Most were remarkably courteous, except for one canoe full of guys who really didn't know what was going on. Walking was near impossible without the aid of snowshoes.

[certified jumbo]

Some opener pics.....

[Garett Svir]

Great pics certified jumbo! Looks like you guys had a blast. Thanks for sharing.

[Garett Svir]

Not sure how many of you use this but this is a great tool after the ice goes out. http://waterdata.usgs.gov/usa/nwis/uv?site_no=04025500

[certified jumbo]

Thanks to those who shared reports and pictures from opener. Fun to read and look at. I'll be back up on sunday. Can't wait to get back. Any new reports from the week? Sounds like a foot of snow tonight?

[certified jumbo]

We fished really hard on Sunday. The trip into the area we fished was a long walk with the snowshoes. Snowshoeing is getting very difficult with the soft snow. If fact, I think I'm done with the snowshoes till more snow melts. The river was pretty good, slightly colored but not bad. Fishing was about what its been. Enough fish to keep you interested but not lights out. We did have some lengthy battles that the fish won in the end and a few quick hookups as well. In some areas we caught lots of smolts which is always good to see. The best fish of the day was this tanker female. Put up a good battle, took a few pics and let her go. Not sure what this warm weather will do for conditions, but theres a ton of snow.

[MNSlaunch]

Was lucky enough to make my first ever trip to Brule River this weekend for some Steelhead and Brown Trout action. This is something I knew absolutely nothing about, luckily for me I got to go with Garett Svir and learn the ropes! Unbelievable experience. Here's a video that sums up our weekend quite well. Thanks again buddy, you're definitely dialed in!

[Garett Svir]

Such an amazing video Brett, awesome job. It was a blast watching you guys hook your first wild Lake Superior Steelhead. As far as a report I fear with these temps that the river is going to have far too much color to catch fish after the next couple days. The visibility is dropping by the minute. I will try to post an update regarding visibility before the weekend. The ice pack is now below McNeil's Landing and working it's way out to Lake Superior. Once the water clears up we should have a nice long steelhead season ahead of us with some fresh chrome fish making their way up to the spawning grounds.

[bobr]

Thanks for the reports guys! Great video Brett! Certified Jumbo, was your group the guys chucking mono and hogging holes? Nice fish by the way!

[certified jumbo]

Bobr. Of course we were. In fact, I stood in beaver run hole for 13 straight hours. Lol.

On a serious note, sweet video you guys made. Great stuff!!! Fun to watch.

Good luck this week!

[dave12341234]

Nice contribution bobr, guessing you didn't catch any fish...

Ya, that video was pretty sweet, good job guys!

[certified jumbo]

Any updates on water conditions? I gotta believe things got moving today. I saw on sam cook outdoors water was ripping on top of ice on lower shores on Minnesota side......

[dave12341234]

Going to check things out this afternoon. I'm betting a lot of the snow has melted.

[Garett Svir]

Thanks for the reports guys! Great video Brett! Certified Jumbo, was your group the guys chucking mono and hogging holes? Nice fish by the way!

I think Bobr was referring to a report on another site where someone mentioned something of this nature. I am going to take a few days off and let the water clear up a little. Things will flush and clarity will improve in no time. I think we will have a nice long steelhead season this year. Keep the excellent reports and pics coming guys!

[Odonata]

Can anyone tell me what the river visibility is like? I know the USGS site shows increased flow, etc., but water clarity is critical right now. Are we talking tea colored or chocolate milk? I am going to run down tonight and check, but maybe someone could save me 90 miles in V8 gas?

[Poacher's pariah]

It could be cleaner. The further down stream you go, the darker it gets. It's not chocolate milk........yet.

[Nastynate]

Just got home from my first trip on the brule, it was kind of short lived, the snow in the woods is soft and deep. The walk in and out was very bad, think I fell at least a dozen times. Water is fast and dark, had a few hits but nothing hooked. If your into burning calories now's the time hike! hehe May try it again on Sunday or wait until next weekend.