Problems on the brule...

[Quickstrike]

problems on the brule would accurately describe my last two trips as well. I predict we'll have some good fishing here very shortly.

[scifisher]

Well, the detours gone and so is my streak of bad luck...

[EatSleepFish]

How big did that one measure?

[trimbelle22]

nice fish sci...

i will be making a trip to the brule the second week in october. hopefully hit the steelhead run and maybe get out on the main lake with the boat if the weather permits. the trip i made at the end of the summer wasnt very successful because of some bad weather...

[Quickstrike]

Cool pics, nice job on the release. I'm done fishing after dark for the year. Things are just starting to pick up on the lower river and it's nice not hitting bats on your backcast!

Well Sci, I think we both agree it's time to start a thread with a new name.

[scifisher]

The cool thing about that night is that as the light was fading, the bats were coming down to hit he topwaters that I was using. It makes me wonder if the trout ever snag a bat. Probably not, but it might be possible...

[thistlekicker]

I hooked a bat about a month ago. It was dark and I suddenly noticed some extra weight on my backcast. Once I figured out what was going on I just cut my leader and it swam to shore. I was waiting for a 20+ brown to come up and suck it down, which would have been cool, but I think it made dry land. I was fishing a small nymph so who knows maybe it ws ok. If not, fox food I guess.

[Quickstrike]

I've heard of big browns hitting flying squirils that find their way onto the surface.

[biff]

Heard a lot of talk about wisconsin closing fishing after dark starting after the 15th last year...so I take it that is just for the michigan tribs?

[scifisher]

As far as I know, fishing at night on the upper brule is fine until the last weekend in september. Speaking of that, we got out fishing this weekend and HAULED in some fish.

The action was slammin' with the fish jumping out of the water left and right. My brother caught the biggest and my father caught the first brown trout he has ever caught.

What a way to set a precedent! All of them went back into the water and released well.

[Northlander]

Sci you will surely have plenty of company now.

[DeathRoe]

Those fish look like they've been laying on the bank for 3 hours. Even if they did swim away, i would venture to say they are not now. Dead givaway is the eyes, centered right out, if they're livin they'll look down.

I've got kitchen shots that look more lively.

[scifisher]

A couple got tangled up pretty badly in the net and it took a while to get them out. We took some pics and released them as fast as we could. They were probably out of the water for five minutes. I'm not sure what else we could have done except not take the time to hold them up. The good news is that all fish swam away strongly. There was no tail flip and float, they swam away nice and steady.

Do you have any advice on better releases?

[scifisher]

The area we were fishing is now closed to fishing, so...

Steve, is posting pics of our trips a faux pas?

[Northlander]

A what?

You Science Guys and your technical terms.

[scifisher]

Faux Pas

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a slip or blunder in etiquette, manners, or conduct; an embarrassing social blunder or indiscretion.

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Sorry man, I've been cramming my nose into books for too long...

[Northlander]

No problems with posting pics Sci as long as they are in the natural environment, not on stringers and in good taste.

As far as is it the smart thing to do? Maybe not. Especially when you give away where you were in one of your posts. That spot wasnt very well known about 10 years ago but now is turning into a community hole of sorts. I wont even fish it on a weekend anymore.

Oh and taking pics or keeping heads lights on for more than netting fish when others are fishing at night doesnt sit real good with some folks. Especially some of the regs down there.

Not blaming ya or pointing fingers just trying to give ya a heads up and maybe it will make your experiences down there more enjoyable.

Whats the tech term for one who catches many many walleyes?

"Northlander" of course.

[scifisher]

Thanks, Steve, I'll take that into account. I removed some of the pics and I looked back, I don't know if I mentioned "the spot" specifically only the Upper Brule...but that is still not that hard to figure out. The good news is that when we were there, it was the weekend and there really wasn't that many fisherman, considering...

[TNFL]

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faux pas

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A what?

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It may sound more familiar when pronounced: Foe-paw

[DeathRoe]

First of all, try and leave the fish in the water. I've started using a plain cotton glove, when wet that sucker will grip like a fish handling glove. Just firmly grab them ahead of the tail and lift. I've gloved fish to 30" and never had a problem.

Glove the fish, lift for photo, pull hook out, back in the water. The whole process takes seconds and the fish never gets to flop around or gets its gills and protective slime messed up from the bank.

When it gets cold, the net makes more sense. Just net the fish and leave it in the water as much as you can. Free the hook first, then lift for photo(camera ready), and back in the water.

That's what i do, think it works well. Hope it helps

[scifisher]

Thanks, DR, one of the bad things about fishing the way we do is that it uses trebles. I'm thinking that replacing hooks needs to be taken more seriously...

[Quickstrike]

I seriously think that I would rather see a ban on trebles rather then a ban on live bait on the special regs section. Trout and Salmon are so much more vunerable to trebles and handling than most warm water species. I know that there are a lot of guys that don't flyfish who have just as much right to fish the river, but I also know there are a lot of fish dying after they are released.

[Catfishunter]

I agree, thoose trebles can rip a fish up. Thoose trout are very sensitive and don't do well out of water very long. Not like my cats, you can play with them for half an hour befor the release. Two people fishing together can get some good pics realy quick and maybe a video if you can get your buddy's camera fast enough. Solo pics are hard, I just net the fish unhook it in the net while still in the water set the rod down and get the camera out fast and lay the fish down next to the reel take two pics and fish goes back in the water, sounds like a lot of steps but if you get a routine it only takes about ten seconds to do.

[BRULEDRIFTER]

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I seriously think that I would rather see a ban on trebles rather then a ban on live bait on the special regs section. Trout and Salmon are so much more vunerable to trebles and handling than most warm water species. I know that there are a lot of guys that don't flyfish who have just as much right to fish the river, but I also know there are a lot of fish dying after they are released.

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What is the beef with fishing with live bait? Are we not all out there to accomplish the same goal? I don't want this to blow up into a huge slam each other thread, but what is up with the anti-bait attitude? I, as you know Quick, tend to fish w/ live bait, hence, why i'm assuming we fished together only once. I do use yarn a lot too, but I LOVE to catch fish; and if they're not biting on yarn, who cares if I throw on a spawn bag, or even a crawler. Of all the years i've fished steelhead I have NEVER, EVER had an adult steelhead swallow a hook. Sure, on occasion a smolt will swallow it, but when this happens I cut the line immediatly! And this does NOT happen very often, otherwise I would have to reconsider my fishing methods.

Here's the deal, It's all about the persons fishing ethic! I care, as much as all die hard steelheaders do about their well being. I have seen the Brule during it's low times (early-mid 90's) and have seen the amazing comeback we all witness today. It's all about the new regulations that were imposed allowing the fish to live long enough to spawn at least once. This is why the fish are on the rebound. I also see no reason to look down on others that decide to keep a legal fish once in a while, as I love to do! (Best tasting fish swimming)

I do agree on the treble hook issue 100%. It's next to impossible to safely release a slimy trout that has it's mouth locked shut by 3 hooks. But I cannot handle the anti-bait issue. I don't generalize "groups" of anglers by thier method of fishing ("Baiters" tend to be looked at as slob fishermen that kill everything they catch, and fly fishermen are above everyone else and elite, according to other posts I've read on multiple other forums). Sure, flyfishing is Kick-a$$, it's the next frontier for me. But at the same time the methods I fish for steelhead have been passed down to me throughout the generations, and if it aint broke, why fix it.

Also, I have fished side by side with other fly fishermen and have been outfish on multiple occasions. So I don't buy the fact that "bait" attracts fish more or make it easier or anything else. Somedays flies are the key, other days orange yarn is the key, other days, a fat juicy night crawler is what it takes, and of course, some days nothing works!

Sorry to get off topic and rant, but the fly fishers out there need to step down off their high horse and realize we are all out there for the same reason, to tangle with the most beautiful, most powerfull and best fighting fish in these parts, the almighty steelhead!

So again, I ask WHY do flyfishermen look down on "baiters"?

[lotalota]

Hey Drifter,

Are you sure Quickstrike was jumping on "baiters" and not "treblers"? Maybe I read that wrong.

I'll speak for myself on this one AND, just to be clear, I'm NOT saying anything that follows applies to you.

So...

I don't often see a pile of fly tying supplies laying on the bank. I do often pick up spent styro boxes laying on the bank. I don't often see a rats nest of fly line wrapped around debris on the river edge. I do often pick up a rats nest of mono complete with shot and hooks. I don't often see a guy flinging a fly in one hand with a beer in the other. I do sometimes see guys parked in holes with a cork rod in one hand and a beer in the other. I also pick up beer cans laying around those holes. If somebody crashes into the water I'm working or pinches me off the drift pattern I'm following, it is more frequently a "baiter" than not. These observations lead me to feel that SOME "baiters" either don't understand or don't care about the resource as much as they could.

More important though (even if it is a digression), is that I've learned to keep the details of the tribs to Superior quiet. Mostly just a report containing water level, clarity, or temp (which is enough to know what's up). I can fish a barbless fly all year long and offset that effort with a post or two detailing my successes on whatever river I fished that day (this thread in itself has around 1,200 hits). I haven't fished the Brule for long, maybe 14 years. I have lately seen some areas that I enjoyed for their relative solitude turn into high traffic areas. Maybe it's the PR brought by the handful of sites that see reports show up. Maybe not, but it is astounding to me that the same report will both note the fantastic day that was had and then lament how others choose to use the resource. The report is an open invitation with no covenants on style or purpose.

The Brule has a wicked learning curve. It sounds like you, Drifter, are familiar with it. maybe it's not the method, but the learning process that brings a steelheader to understand, value, and protect the Brule River.

Lota Lota...