Freestone · Sand Gravel · Wisconsin, US

Bois Brule River

The Bois Brule River, a tea-colored, clear stream flanked by boreal forest and a red-clay bank in Wisconsin.

The Brule is a cold, spring-fed Lake Superior river with a long history — runs of steelhead and lake-run browns up a tea-stained, ledge-rock river through deep north woods.

Today · Slow going — pick your moments
Stonefly Nymph
Forecast · Today
Slow going — pick your moments
Slow going — pick your moments and do not force it.
45% projected
Today's fly
Stonefly Nymph
Stonefly Nymph
Conditions on the water · Today
Live gauge
Level
Rising
0.48 m
Lifting fast
Water temp11.2°C
ClarityVery coloured
Weather8°C
WindN 23 km/h
Pressure1027 hPa
Rain · recent11.8 mm
Rain · ahead0.0 mm

The nearest gauge doesn't record temperatures, so we've estimated it — defer to the river keeper's advice.

Water temperature for Steelhead
Ideal
11°C est.ideal 4–13°C
0°14°28°
How to fish it · for Steelhead
When
Steelhead spring (Apr–May) and fall (Sep–Oct); lake-run browns fall
Where
The Brule is a cold, spring-fed Lake Superior river with a long history — runs of steelhead and lake-run browns up a tea-stained, ledge-rock river through…
Why this works
Excellent — water temperature is right today, though insect activity could be better.
Likely species
Mayflies
Chironomids
Gammarids
Hatch timeline · todayPeak at 9pm

12pm(now) — Eastern Blue-Winged Olive

Stage: On emergersApproach: Emerger or dryActivity: 36%
Peak emergence window3 food groups active

Peak activity at 9pm — Brown Dun (Brown Dun, 3 food groups active)

Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey(1)

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Evidence
Records-basedModerate confidence

Based on species-occurrence records, not local invertebrate surveys.

Through the year
0–3 scale · October highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Brown DunHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
Quill GordonHatch
2
2
Blue QuillHatch
2
3
2
HendricksonHatch
2
2

Numbers are intensity 0 (none) to 3 (peak) — a guide, not a guarantee.

Ranked for today
Steelhead fly box
Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • Wisconsin licence with a Great Lakes trout/salmon stamp; verify WI DNR reach rules
  • Introduced/wild sport fishery.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 3
Sucker River
40 km
79
Steelhead
Knife River
41 km
83
Steelhead
Lester River
41 km
30
Steelhead
Gallery · 2
  1. The Bois Brule River, a tea-colored, clear stream flanked by boreal forest and a red-clay bank in Wisconsin.
    Bois Brule River
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

The Brule is a cold, spring-fed Lake Superior river with a long history — runs of steelhead and lake-run browns up a tea-stained, ledge-rock river through deep north woods. Wilder and colder than the Michigan rivers, with a smaller but genuinely wild run.

  • Sand gravel
Water quality · US Clean Water Act
  • Aquatic life: Supporting
What this classification means

EPA ATTAINS assessment unit 'Bois Brule River' (WI10026479), 2024 Integrated Report. Aquatic Life use: Fully Supporting. This is a Clean Water Act assessment-unit classification (the US analogue of WFD), not a live reading.

Status is for the Clean Water Act assessment unit covering this reach.

EPA ATTAINS (Clean Water Act) · WI10026479

Why this score · for Steelhead
  • Temperature10028% weight
  • Flow8022% weight
  • Clarity9518% weight
  • Feeding Time8013% weight
  • Pressure757% weight
  • Insect activity6412% weight
Related guides
Euro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Booking & contacts