March 22, 1913 
FOREST AND STREAM 
369 
Fly Fishing in Northern Wisconsin 
H A\*ING lived for the past twenty years in 
the wilds of Northern Wisconsin, I be¬ 
came acquainted early with the habits of 
the speckled and rainbow trout. As far back as 
I can remember, the tremendous attraction of 
the fly-rod has held me in its firm grasp and I 
know no better sport than fly-casting for these 
wary fish. 
The Brule River, flowing through Northern 
Wisconsin into Lake Superior, is about sixty 
miles in length and in width averages one hun¬ 
dred feet. It is the typical home of the trout 
and a paradise to the fisherman. In years gone 
by this stream was alive with speckled trout, 
but with the introduction of the rainbow trout 
into its waters, we have gradually seen a de¬ 
crease, and now practically the extinction of 
the brook trout. The “rainbow,” a larger, 
stronger and gamier fish, is the cause of this 
extinction, destroying the spawn and thousands 
by thousands of the speckled fry. 
To return to the Brule as the ideal home 
of the trout—thirty miles from Superior City, 
it is fished seldom and then only on the upper 
waters, where the feeding springs give new 
life to the mother stream. The lower waters 
are white with rapids and falls, the intervention 
of an occasional pool being the only break to 
this m9notonous tumble of water. 
The rainbow trout, as a general rule, will 
inhabit and hold the same pool year by year. 
I have watched this characteristic of the trout 
for years in several different pools near our 
place on the Brule. To prove this a fact, I 
have caiight a large rainbow from these holes 
and having marked him, allowed him to swim 
back in his former abode. That identical trout 
has risen to my fly in the same place for years. 
He weighs probably four pounds, and 1 am 
very curious to watch and see just how long 
he will be there. There are places on the Brule 
now, pool after pool, where I know large rain¬ 
bow trout to be, some ruling by themselves, 
others in pairs. 
In the northern streams I have found June 
and July the best months to use the fly. The 
rainbow will rise in August, too, but they are 
usually feeding beneath the surface at that time 
and a hard day with the fly results in only small 
fish. Personally, I should prefer to throw my 
flies the day long with only a few strikes than 
fill my creel by bait. On the Brule and streams 
that empty into Lake Superior, the month of 
June brings forth the deer-fly, bee and a bright¬ 
ly-colored insect, which our “Parmacheene- 
Belle” resembles. These flies exist all the sum¬ 
mer, through June and July, and as a result, 
we use the same species of an artificial fly the 
year long. I make it a point to keep a “Royal- 
Coachman” or a “Parmacheene-Belle” on my 
By JOHN L. BANKS 
leader, as lead fly the whole season, not that the 
rainbow continually rises to this special fly, but 
because I believe that one bright fly is an ab¬ 
solute necessity to a leader, if only as an attrac¬ 
tion in dark and deep water. 
It is a very good plan and followed by 
many fishermen, although not a prevalent opin¬ 
ion, to let your flies sink at least a foot beneath 
the surface. In this manner, I mean: Every 
trout fisherman knows that a bright day is 
against him, and as we often want to fly-fish 
on these bright days, this under-water method 
is a good one. Don’t sink your flies with any 
weight whatsoever; let out about a hundred 
feet of line and allow it to wash down with the 
current till your lead fly lies somewhat near 
the head of a pool. Trout feed in the ripple 
and at the heads of pools. If you let enough 
line out, your flies will sink about a foot. On 
these light days I have often filled my basket 
in this manner. It is hard to hook your fish 
under water, but “practice makes perfect,” if 
you will attempt it. I’ve fished alongside of 
many good .fly-fishermen, who have wondered 
why they didn’t make a catch; merely because 
they have scoffed at the idea of underwater fish¬ 
ing with flies. I don’t advise this method in 
the evening or on a cloudy day, but only when 
a bright sun beats down on clear water. 
The day, overcast with clouds and threaten¬ 
ing rain, is the friend of the fly-fisherman— 
that is, if the water is clear and low. It is 
no advantage on a dark day, to make an early 
start. The rainbow will rise all day, sometimes 
better after dark—always better at dusk. On 
these dark days, keep your flies on the surface 
and don’t use too long a line; it’s more diffi¬ 
cult even for the clever caster, and nets you 
no more fish. Use the short line, a length 
suitable to your ability to drop your flies on 
the water, lead fly first and with the slightest 
splash; don’t drop your leader in a coil, so that 
it causes a terrific commotion on the surface; 
that only frightens your fish. Many fly fisher¬ 
men cast continually, allowing their flies no 
time on the water. That’s a poor plan; cast 
up stream and away from your person, letting 
your flies float down on the current, till your 
line is taut below; then draw slowly in, recast¬ 
ing the same ground. Always whip the same 
AN AFTERNOON’S CATCH MUSKALONGE IN PARRY SOUND. 
