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.

Tomorrow · Slow going — pick your moments
Stonefly Nymph
Forecast · Tomorrow
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 · Tomorrow
Live gauge
Level
Rising
0.43 m
Lifting fast
Water temp16.6°C
ClarityVery coloured
Weather20°C
WindN 9 km/h
Pressure1013 hPa
Rain · recent0.5 mm
Rain · ahead0.2 mm

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

Water temperature for Brown Trout
Warm — slow
17°C est.ideal 10–16°C
0°14°28°
How to fish it · for Brown Trout
When
Nymphing can work through most of the day.
Where
Cover mixed depths.
Method
Start with tight-line nymphs and adjust if fish rise or drift higher.
Kit
9 ft #4 rod, floating line, 12 ft tapered leader to 4–5 lb fluoro tippet.
Why this works
Excellent — water temperature is right today, though time of day could be better.
Likely species
Mayflies
Caddisflies
terrestrials
Hatch timeline · tomorrowPeak at 7am

12pm(now) — Reed Smut

Stage: On emergersApproach: Emerger or dryActivity: 43%
Also:Flying Ants32%Trico (Eastern)28%
Peak emergence window4 food groups active

Peak activity at 7am — Trico (Eastern) (Trico (Eastern), Degree-days at peak)

Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

Top nymph shown — see all 3 guilds with Pro.

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey(1)

Hatch predictions

Top prey shown — see all 2 with Pro.

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Evidence
Records-basedModerate confidence

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

Through the year
0–3 scale · September 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
Brown Trout 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
Steelhead
Knife River
41 km
Steelhead
Lester River
41 km
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

The full read · show the working · for Brown Trout · confidence 90%
How the 83 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature100 × 28%28.0
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time55 × 13%7.2
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity59 × 12%7.1
Conditions total= 83
Can you trust it?
Water temperatureair-to-water estimateestimated
Level / flowon-river gaugeobserved
Prey activitymodelled from regional profilemodelled
What would change the calculation
The dawn and dusk windows score higher than the midday lull.
Related guides
Euro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Booking & contacts