Brule Fall 2015

[Pescador Suave]

Figured it was time to get this forum started. I won't be able to fish for a few weeks, so I'll need your reports to keep me engaged with what is going on. I've been out a handful of times for limited sessions and have hooked into a few lake run fish - all steelhead. The earliest came on September 11th and another one came yesterday. All fish have come out of the guts of deep pools that have a history of holding fish. Nothing has come out of the riffles or broken water slots I often like to target. All fish have come on an egg imitation under a float. They've all been pretty colored up as well. The fish from the 11th had a deep olive hue to it and a feisty buck from Friday was already rocking the double red stripe. I think some fish came in when the river came up and river and lake temps dropped around the start of September. Water has been pretty low and clear the last couple times out, but closer to the lake the water takes on that silty hue - which I think helps a bit. I won't be back on the water until the end of the month, but will be able to put in some serious multi-day sessions then. Best of luck to all. Keep the reports coming in!

early season fish

 

[Paulie Maclean]

Nice fish, and thanks for the report.

I was up the weekend of 9/25.  No steelhead or coho but I caught a LOT more smolts than I typically catch.  Hoping that's a good sign for future numbers.

Keep the reports coming. 

[Garett Svir]

Water is low and clear but we are finding some fish. It seems like the fish are running large this fall. Fishing early and late has been key for us. Good luck to everyone on the river this weekend!

Edited October 15, 2015 by Garett Svir

[Garett Svir]

The cooler temps have really started to get the run going. We've been fishing deep tail outs in the morning hours and running and gunning through deeper "broken" water in the afternoon hours and finding some success. Who's been out?

[Odonata]

Fishing has been good this fall, the current rains are going to help.  We have had better catching in the AM, but if the clouds provide a low ceiling, it has been good all day.  

[Pescador Suave]

I fished Monday through mid-day Friday and hooked a pretty decent number of fish. Things were hot when the river was dropping between the rain events. It then slowed when on the rise, but I was still able to consistently find some players.

When the water was high I was getting take downs way up high in the riffles. A few other high water lies that have produced in the past gave up fish once again. Everything came on an egg imitation.

The fish were pretty big. The majority landed were 25"+, largest was probably 28" or so. The girth was very impressive. These fish have been eating well out in the big lake and have shoulders like you see on BC fish. Despite using 11.5 lb. tippet when the water was up, the fish were still very much in control.

Traffic was light, even on Friday in popular landings. 

This was going to be it for the year, but I've made a few things happen work wise and will be back next week...can't wait!

Not many pics as I was going at it solo most days.

 

[Garett Svir]

Great report and beautiful pics guys. I am so happy that we finally got the rain we've been waiting for. Friday was really good and Saturday got a little tougher as the water rose and colored up. Now that the water is dropping and clarity is improving the entire river should be fishing well. As most of you know I'm a center pinner. One key in the high water for me was to over weight the float slightly and run a little longer lead than normal. I would then "trot" or hold back on the float slightly to slow my presentation. When you think of the hydrology the current on the surface is actually moving faster than the water below where the fish are. I believe that doing this allowed me to better match the current speed. Here are a few from my most recent outing.

Edited November 3, 2015 by Garett Svir

[Garett Svir]

River got pretty muddy today, so I think I'm done until Spring. I haven't been able to get fish to hit eggs or egg patterns the past week so we switched to dual nymph rigs and had some success. I assume this is due to a small coho run and the browns being done spawning. We've been running a big black stone fly with 25" or so tied off the shank of the hook to a smaller spring wiggler (hex) imitation. Setting the rig 1 1/2 times as deep as the run and adding 2 bb split shot to get down has been the ticket for me. The centerpin really allows for some long drifts using this rig and doesn't call for any stack mending. Good luck to those finishing out their seasons this weekend, see you in the Spring.

Edited November 12, 2015 by Garett Svir

[Pescador Suave]

I fished mid afternoon through Friday this past week with good success - 4 to 6 shots at fish each day. Weather was beautiful Monday through Wednesday with sunny skies and temps that crept into the mid 50s. Water was a little low and clear, but the fish were plenty willing. I returned to some water I hadn't fished since trading in my switch rod for the centerpin last fall. As in every place I fish now, I felt like I could attack it so much better, and I was able to pull fish out of several new lies. 

Wednesday night the rains came and the typical steelhead stretches we all fish blew out rather quickly. I was able to hook-up on two decent fish though, a first for me in chocolate milk. I retreated up into tagalder heaven for the afternoon and found water with decent clarity and rolled a couple but couldn't bring any to hand.

My friends and I didn't get out until mid-day on Friday due to an ol' fashioned drinking contest at the Kro-Bar the night before, but when we finally did, the crisp air and winter wonderland that enveloped the river valley made for the perfect hangover cure. The water was high, but clarity was very fishable and we each got into some fish. I was able to put a friend with no trout fishing experience on to a couple fish and he was able to land one in just his second day out. He was pretty happy to get one after hearing all the stories about people taking years to get a Brule River steelhead and will definitely be back.

All our fish came on egg imitations in the riffle or guts of the pools, as have all of my fish all year. I didn't pull a single fish out of a tailout all fall, which is strange, but I'm not complaining! Afternoons seemed to produce most fish as well. Not getting a takedown until 11 and then having consistent action the rest of the day was par for the course most days.

The fish were large this year and many stayed hot right through the end of the season. On Wednesday, November 11th I landed a fresh 26" hen that attempted to run the rapids above me before ultimately taking me down river to the next pool! All of my experiences with fellow anglers were pleasant. Most guys seemed happy to be out whether they were catching fish or not, and most also seemed very respectful of how and where someone was fishing. 

I'll probably get out a few times in Michigan this winter while visiting the in-laws, but spring is what I'll be thinking about. Since my mother lives in Bayfield now, I'm gonna try and figure this ice-fishing for browns, steel, and lakers thing out as well....more gear to buy, the wife will be happy!

A few pics from Friday

https://goo.gl/photos/hBuLNB46uEQYHZReA

 

[snowguy]

Had a great end to the season over the weekend.  Saturday was so good it made up for only catching a smolt on Sunday :-)  Hooked four big steelhead Saturday and landed three of them.  The fish were definitely big... everything landed was in the 26-27 inch range and the one I lost in a wood pile had some shoulders as well.  Looking forward to Spring!

[BigHitter]

That olive colored fish might have been a coho salmon like the one I caught this Fall.