Big Ball Champ
For those of you who own cell phones, are tweeters or prefer short summaries, scroll to the highlights section of this post. The names have been changed to protect the guilty.
Gianormous Ball
The second bachelor party/Men of Big Balls meeting on the Brule river completed the final outing on the season. The group of anglers included a number of veteran Big Ball holders as well as 5 new members testing their wills against the water, the trout and the evening festivities. A splendid time was had by all,,,,,,I think.
The Crew Minus 2 Hardcores
I arrived Thursday morning to fish with my high school friend Kurtis who had driven from Des Moines to fish his first and only steelhead outing of the year. Kurtis was hot and landed 3 fish on his first day. I had one strike and was done. Must have been chewing my cud. On Friday the roles reversed and I landed 3 with a nice brown to complete the fishing for the day. I know the Steelhead are our targets, but I still love to see the brown bellies on the end of my line. Over the years they have been responsible for some of my best battles on this great river. To the steelheads credit I have never experienced a turtle fight with their species, so they will remain a notch above on the overall fight ratings. Kurtis pulled the old 0 for 3 on Saturday but was perfectly happy with this year’s success. He was back on the road Friday evening for the long drive back to Iowa. There was happiness in his heart.
The Boy Wonder
The Bulk of the crew began to arrive Friday evening and the chemistry/energy level went through the roof. Meeting new friends, seeing old friends and sharing stories about our friend who is soon to be married ramped up the group. This night took its toll on the some of the new arrivals. Their gills were a bit green when they hit the river on Saturday morning. They fought through the pain and preformed admirably on the river on Saturday. The rest of the weekend was somewhat of a blurr. The fishing prowess was incredible. The fun was priceless.
Headless? come on Ralph!
Summary Of Weekend
– Ralph lost his tip to my rod on a tired walk out on Friday night. He was bummed out. The search turned up nada.
-Shem broke the tip of his rod off before ever making a cast. The leader/line connection caught in the tip top. He kept pulling. Pop goes the weasel.
-Cuba Libre drinks made by John Wayne caused glee and sorrow among the group.
-Ralph and Ralph Jr. took a safe approach to the weekend. Thumbs up guys for keeping the couch warm.
-Ramper-up Bachelor found the lost rod tip on Saturday, Ralph was happy.
-Ralph was lured into the woods by a local man who offer to show him a new fishing spot. Problem was we were nowhere near the river. After a head count we were able to extract him from the situation without incident. Beware of strangers!
-Fish were caught, fish were lost. Big Brother reedemed himself by catching a steelhead on the opposite side of the hole. Great job on moving your feet!
-Newlywed made a much needed, kick ass, pulled pork “on stream” lunch for the group. Warm food on the Brule in November was like Mothers milk.
-John Wayne and Wayne John were steady as rocks. They released top secret information about the bachelor, proved to be solid additions to the group, solved mathematical equations and held their balls in high regard.
-Ball checks were not stricktly enforced
-Youth Movement stunned the crowd by winning the Big Balls Contest in a controversial decision with his first Brule steelhead. Congrats!
-Big Brother had the Biggest Balls of all. They provided the gateway to a new late night game of “touch-n- toss” which provided its own measure of chaos and uncontrollable laughter.
-A group of Birthday girls on Saturday night accused us of being “Outsiders” and proceeded with a brutal tongue lashing stating that the only reason we were there was to “steal their resources”. Reason, was beyond the scope of their drunken communication skills. After 30 minutes of standing in the rain attempting to convince them through both economic and conservation argument some of them had a change of heart. They got on their party bus and headed to “The Gopher Hole”. We thought that the “Shut Your Pie Hole” would have been more appropriate for the way that they had treated us but it was time for us to head home. For the first time since they were born, Shem and Ramper-up Bachelor had nothing to say to drunken women.
-Sunday it snowed a bit but the weather was reasonable. I stood next to a guy in a popular hole who was “float fishing” with a spinning rod. He caught 7 steelhead while I was standing across from him. I caught 1 brown. Some methods are more effective sometimes. The anglers name was Kim. I had met him before a number of times on the Brule. He loves to catch fish.He is a hell of a fishermen. He uses all methods. The addition of just a small piece of night crawler to his egg yarn was the ticket on this day.
-Shem, in a late night toast, proclaimed that the Bachelor only surrounded himself with quality individuals. Hard to disagree.
Three River Otters At Play- So Cool!
A Few Notes On The Brule This Year
-Anglers on the river felt that the catching was much better this year than last. Forethought was that the numbers of the run will be up from last year when they are divulged.
-Our numbers were roughly the same as they have been for the last 5 years. Keep in mind this is a group average. Some individual stats do prop the group stats up.
-This group has not seen first light in a while. The most consistent bite time tends to be towards the warmest part of the day for those who do not get up early.
-large bug size #6-8 was preferred by the fish. Last year we caught more fish on smaller patterns.The year before it was a bit different. Not sure where I am going with this. Eggs worked. Never forget that but you don’t have to embrace it.
Flows were low the entire year. Water was clearer.
The size of the fish was probably a bit smaller overall this year. I did not see any of the true 28’s and above. There was no talk anywhere of 30″ fish like previous years. Normally you hear about them whether they are measured or not. This conversation was absent from anglers this year.
Have fun!
My Mom Made the Hat for Me
A Fine Brown
9 users commented in " A Wrap-Balls Get Bigger on the Brule "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackShem signing “It’s Raining Men” at the Kro Bar would have been the topper of the weekend.
Another observation is that a whole lot more brownies were caught this year compared to previous years. I personally landed 6 over 24 inches. In the past it has been only 1 or 2.
well Shem was willing, but you couldn’t finish the deal
I may always regret that.
Andy,
The 2012 WI migratory season below Hwy B is complete. I saw a handful of 2 handed (spey) “strategists”, but from my view the significant majority remain the traditional one hand cast – dead drift, mend, dead drift, mend players. From my poor Brule catch/release success metric I’ve thought it couldn’t hurt anything but my pocketbook to make a foray into the two handed swing world. I’ve read the opinions on less frequency but more dramatic strikes… would like to hear if its worth my time and $$ to
make a switch.
Hi Andy,
Thanks for the update. I fished the last weekend up there and did well. Time of day didn’t seem to matter much, it was constantly raining. For me, egg patterns seemed to be best. I too think the fishing was better this fall. I will be very interested to see the numbers of fish that the DNR counted. I’m hoping the low numbers of fall 2011 were just an anomaly. When does the DNR release that data?
I miss it already!
Take care,
Greg
Will
I think it is always worth your time to learn a new technique or to just plain learn something new. Switch/spey teaches line/rod manipulation skills that are helpful in understanding current flow, fly presentation, mending and a bevy of other skills that are valuable for any kind of fly rod fishing you do in the future. I do own both a switch and a spey rod but have limited skills with both. I enjoy using them and there are advantages in knowing the ins and outs of this kind of fishing. Like anything else, the key to being effective with these tools is repetition and time with your fly in the water. If your pocketbook allows, I think it is a good venture but it will be up to you to put in the time. Using new tools in fly fishing can be challenging and enjoyable. Judging how pleasurable or effective these tools and techniques are for you is the most important. Anglers fish differently. Fun is my baseline. .
Will,
My friend and I started using switch rods on the Brule this year. Much easier to cast all day. You can swing flies when the fish are more active (early, late, warmer water) and they are great to use with indicator set ups when the fish are in deep pools during midday hours and cold water. Much easier to roll cast and keep line off the water using indicators, shot, and heavy nymphs. I also liked the additional leverage of the longer rod to help land the fish more quickly.
Greg
I too switched to the switch (10’6″) this year. The 9 footer is now the permanent back-up. There is a serious chance that I will get another longer switch or a short 12’6″ spey as well. I originally got it to swing flies with when the water is warmer, but it excels just as much, if not more, indicator fishing. I can now roll cast across sucker and pipeline holes without getting in the water. The extra length gives your mends more oomph and precision. If you like to high-stick, then you can stick higher. Finally, the skagit head will chuck big balls, two flies, and a centerpinner’s amount of shot anywhere you want it to go. Same goes for a t-14 tip and a meat whistle.
I caught more fish than ever before this fall. The switch to the switch was a serious part of it.
Hey Sprjack,
What line are you using for the switch rod? I used a Wulff Ambush 9wt on a 11′ 7wt rod. Pretty much a skagit with an integrated running line. I wonder if something like a Rio Switch or Airflo Speydicator would be better, at least for indicator fishing. Less of a spashdown?
Greg
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