Slow Fall on the Brule

Brandon fishes the Brule

In 2011, the author and friend, Brandon McCafferty, made two attempts at fishing for steelhead on the mighty Brule in Wisconsin.  On October 9th, the men packed up their gear and set off to fish the unseasonably warm and dry fall run.  We camped at Brule river campground and woke up before sunrise each morn to make it to the river before the sun.

Brandon fishing a hole that produced the only steelie

The waters were extremely shallow as not much rain had fallen in the past month. To add to the confusion for us new steelheaders,  the temperatures rose to the 80's during our trip on the 9th of October.  After exhausting ourselves hiking to many holes, Brandon produced the only steelhead for the trip.

Brandon and his steelhead

Utilizing a dead-drift with a large strike indicator and an electric blue copper John, Brandon landed a nice chrome steelie.  This skip-jack (or one-salt for you coasties) put up a heck of a fight and exploded out of the water multiple times.  After some crafty net-work by yours truly, the fish was landed.

Chrome

A water color of the above shot I painted that winter

We fished many other holes on this trip, but failed to catch anything other than a couple of small browns.

Great back-cast

The undaunted-duo returned to the river on Halloween weekend.  There had not been any rain since their last trip, but being bull-headed and not easily discouraged they tried their luck again.

A beautiful bend on the Brule

The temps continued to drop along with the water and flow data, and we opted for a cheap hotel in place of our usual tent.

Pink salmon caught by author

Again, we woke up before the sun, and headed to some new spots.  The author managed to land one straggler humpie before noon.

A skate fly

A selection of steelhead flies

Although many more holes, and attempts were made, our casts were futile and we left empty-handed.  The waters had become too low and fish were not entering the tributaries.  No one knows if the fish were going to hold out for rain (which never came), or hold on and make a spring run.

This brown seemed dead...but came to life!

This picture of the author with a large brown is a bit misleading.  This brown was seen dead in the water, and we (being skunked for the most part) wanted to pose with the massive fish. Upon grabbing the trout, some residual life-force re-entered the fish and I grappled with it before the shot was taken.

Caddis fly

Completed caddis fly

I have seen this pattern numerous times now, and finally decided to give tying it a try.

The caddis fly belongs to the order Tichoptera (latin for hairy wing).  Caddis flies are available to trout at all times of the year, so this is a good go-to fly to add to the box.

Actual, live caddis flies ©Frank Greenaway/Dorling Kindersley

Materials: Size 8, 3X nymph hook, black 6/0 thread, black tungsten bead, lead wire, green dubbing, black saddle feather, sand, silicone.

Anchor your tungsten bead at the bend of the hook using the thread, then wrap the shank with lead wire. Tie in your dubbing behind the bead and then tie in the saddle feather making one complete wrap.  Coat the lead-wrapped shank with silicone and roll the fly in sand.  I also added a clear coat of shiny nail polish to the shell for that extra gleam.

Knife River, Two Harbors

The Knife river is fairly shallow

The Knife River is a small river that feeds into Lake Superior.  It is decent for trout fishing, and can be accessed by following highway 61 out of Duluth, and then going west on county road 11 till you cross the river.

I was the only person fishing on this Sunday

You can park on the side of the road and walk upstream.  Waders were not necessary as the majority of the river is less than a foot deep.  As you walk the river, you will encounter several shallow pools that hold fish.

A Wulff tied by the author

My fly of choice for the day was the Royal Wulff (as described in the previous blog entry).  As soon as this fly hit the water, a trout would take it.  By the end of the day, this fly was too chewed up to be used.

The Knife River is beautiful and quiet

A rainbow caught with a Wulff

The majority of fish caught were small rainbow trout.  Although small, it was fun watching these fish leap to take the fly as it hit the water.

A nice brookie caught on a hopper

The catch of the day was a brook trout caught in a very long and deep pool.  This trout was caught by casting to the mouth of the pool and skating the fly off to the side of the pool where large rocks were located.

A green frog sits on a rock in the river

All in all it was a nice day;  A lot of trout and a beautiful river.  I would recommend wearing shoes or wading boots even though you will not need waders.  I opted for sandals, and my feet are pretty beat up from slipping off of algae covered rocks.

Fly Tying: Royal Wulff

A classic pattern that has been on fire the last couple weeks on the river is the Royal Wulff.  This pattern is named after Lee Wulff, the iconic fly fisherman who made many contributions to the sport, including fishing vests and left-handed reels.  His best known contribution may be the perfection of the Royal Coachman, a fly which was notorious for catching fish, but did not sit well upon the water.  Lee took the fly and replaced the feathers for the tail and wings with the more robust hair of calf, deer, moose or elk.

To tie the fly:

Hook:	Dry fly, #10-16
Thread:	8/0
Tail:	Moose body hairs
Body:	Peacock herl
Waist:	Floss, red
Wings:	Kip tail
Hackle:	Rooster, brown

Tip: While the original fly had two individual wings, Lee preferred tying one wing.  This is both faster when tying and more buoyant when fishing.

Kinnie, August 13th 2011

Brown caught on a 'fly' pattern

Returned to the Kinnie Saturday morning.  Water was cloudy due to some overnight rain, and few fish were rising.  No luck in the usual spots with nymphs, and no luck in the usual spots where trout rise with dry flies.  I used the imitation 'fly' pattern that Rev. Aadland gave me and began to catch fish.  I was casting upstream into a seam and caught two nice trout within ten minutes.  It seems that atypical patterns have their place when no other usual presentations will work.

Tying the 'Deer Fly' Fly

Reverend Aadland drifting a dry fly

This Sunday I had the opportunity to fish with my girlfriend, Brigitta's father, Reverend Thomas Aadland.  He showed me a new fly he had picked up that was litterally a black 'fly'.  Tonight, I decided to tie my own version, and created the deer fly pattern.

Deer flies are very common in Minnesota and can be quite a nuscience.  If this fly is succesful at catching trout, then it may be the fly's only redeeming quality. I have yet to fish the fly, but will report back after doing so later this week.

The 'deer fly' fly

Materials: 1mm black sheet foam, thin-skin, rubber legs, brown rabbit dubbing, flashabou.

Underside of the fly 

You can see the flashabou on the underside of the fly here to add a glimmer when sitting on the water.  I also used the excess flashabou to segregate the foam on the head to create the appearance of eyes.

Best Fishes!

Name change: The Polyphemus Pariah overthrows the Water Wulff

After some flak, the name of the blog has been changed to The Polyphemus Pariah.  Within 5 mins of searching I came across a variety of other water wolf sites, and variations on the term.  The Polyphemus moth is a great moth of the North, and a pariah is of course, an outcast.  This name fits this blog as I am usually both, up-north, and trying to escape monotony when I refer to events in this blog.