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November 19, 2009

Superior
Brule River State Forest - With just a quick glance when driving down the roads one could almost believe that we have skipped the summer season and autumn is now upon us. Dry conditions have the roadsides and fields looking more golden than green. Even the large vegetation such as trees are showing signs of stress. The Bois Brule River is feeling the effect of the dry spell with low water flow. As of July 9, the Bois Brule River was flowing at 100 cfs (cubic feet per second)...a record low for July 9, the previous record low was 111 set in 1963. The 64 year average is 149 cfs. Even though the river may not be at ideal levels, people are still able to paddle the river...there may just be more rocks to paddle around or times where paddlers may need to get out to move their canoe. With the dry fuels such as grasses and other vegetation land owners are reminded to be extra cautious with burning. Burning is allowed with a permit from 6pm to midnight. It is very important to make sure the fire is entirely out with no chance of restarting. Another thing to keep in mind is that with the lower lake levels more lake beds have been exposed giving the area time to grow vegetation. There was a recent fire in Burnett County that have involved a exposed lakebed...just another thing to be cautious about. Something else to be cautious about is use of ATVs during this dry spell. When riding on the trails the ATVs are kicking up a lot of dust making visibility difficult, making for potentially dangerous conditions.

Park Falls
Upper Chippewa Basin fisheries report (Price, Rusk, Sawyer Taylor and inland Ashland and Iron counties) - The pleasant weather of the July Fourth weekend made for increased recreational and fishing activity on most local waters. Water temperatures on many lakes had dropped into the upper 60s with the previous cold snap, but they did climb into the 70s over the weekend. This increase did spur on bass activity and anglers have continued to see pretty good action. Quite a few largemouth bass are still relating to weeds and lily pads, but many have moved to more ‘firm' overhead cover such as wood, brush and bog edges. Smallmouth bass are also becoming more wood oriented and look for this to increase as the water further warms into the summer. Plastics worked slowly around this cover have produced the best success for bass in the past few days. Musky action has also improved with the warmer weather and many anglers have reported a lot of follows. Some decent catches are also being made, with most fish in the mid 30-inch range and a few up to 44 inches being reported. Many different types of baits have been successful, but top-waters and jerk baits seem to be the favorites in the past week. With the cool water temperatures, northern pike action continues to be good. Good numbers of pike are still being found along and in the weed edges and spinner baits have been the hottest lure. Walleye action has been a bit erratic with some fair catches being made in and around the mid-depth weed beds. The best success continues to come on a leech or piece of night crawler fished on a slip bobber or small leadhead jig (1/32 or 1/16 oz) and dropped into pockets in the weeds. This pattern should hold up for the next several weeks for mid-summer walleye on many northern waters. Panfish success has also been good and crappie have been found on deep weed edges or suspended near any mid-depth cover. Some bigger bluegill were still being caught in shallower water and some even have been noted to still have eggs. It appears that with the cold spring and late warm-up of the water, some of our panfish and bass may have foregone their spawning period this year.

Woodruff
Fluctuating weather patterns has led to fluctuating fish patterns as well. Some catches of panfish continue to be the savior for many of this week’s anglers. The bluegills are done spawning and can be found along shallow weed edges. Crappies are now being found along the deeper weed edges. There are numerous reports of active bass; however most are sub-legal in length. Musky anglers have reported fairly good action over mud flats on area flowages. Weed growth and water temperatures are still behind for this time of year. Be sure to check your boats and trailers for any types of weeds that may be attached prior to launching. Playing your part by removing this aquatic vegetation could be the difference between keeping a lake free of invasives and infesting the water. In addition there are some restrictions on transporting fish, bait and water. Please check with a DNR representative for details. Antler development on the bucks is now very visible. There have been numerous reports of turkey and grouse broods seen in the area. As you travel the area be cautious of deer crossing the roads, more often than not the fawns are close behind.

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