Great Outdoors: Late Fly Fishing on the Brule

The Brule River is one of the most popular spots in the Northland for fly fishing

The serene, flowing waters of the Brule River in Wisconsin are a popular spot for fly fishermen to try and land their next big catch.

“There’s multiple landings on the Brule where you can park,” explains Phil Johnson, who works at Superior Fly Anglers.

Johnson’s shop, as the name would imply, specializes in fly fishing.

The weather for the past few weeks has been unseasonably warm, even breaking temperature records across the Northland.

“The weather is fantastic for staying warm, but unfortunately the fishing hasn’t been that great,” Johnson said.

Johnson also says that the rumors of difficult fishing haven’t really done much to deter droves of optimistic men and women to the banks of the Brule each weekend.

“At one of the landings – it’s called High Landing actually – there were about 15 cars there on Saturday morning,” he recalls.

That’s at least 15-20 anglers all on just a small stretch of the river.

It’s even tougher to explain why the fish aren’t really biting.

“Everybody has different theories, from water temperature to low water – the water is low now and very clear,” John said.

No one knows exactly why it’s so tough to land a fish this late in the season.

Listening to the few folks sitting around Superior Fly Anglers, deer hunting isn’t going that great out in Minnesota so far either. 

But if this mild weather continues, you’ll probably still catch a few hopefuls testing their luck in the flowing waters of the Brule River, until Mother Nature says otherwise.