Dave Zeug: Lessons in civility, etiquette needed on Wisconsin’s Brule River

As the 44-mile-long Brule River’s fame and appeal spreads across the country, pressure on the storied river has increased over the years.

Unfortunately, this popularity and the actions of a few anglers has resulted in the posting of some well-known access points located on private property. Traditionally these owners have been tolerant of anglers – something of a social contract between anglers and property owners.

Unfortunately, that contract has been tested in recent years as a lack of civility descended on the Brule.

To review, Wisconsin’s water law makes it clear the state’s waters are held in public trust. Keeping your feet wet is a simplification of the law, although going around obstacles is also legal, but using posted driveways and the amenities found in yards isn’t.

“This wasn’t an issue a few years ago,” said Dennis Pratt, a retired DNR fish biologist and president of the Brule River Sportsman Club. “Fishing pressure increased when the pandemic hit the country and people had more free time. They wanted to be outdoors and because so much of the river runs through the Brule River State Forest, some made the assumption the entire river is public, but it’s not. Many of these people apparently didn’t know the etiquette of fishing the river and the importance of respecting the private property inholdings within the state forest.”

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The Brule River Sportsman’s Club website has a segment devoted to river etiquette anglers should follow.

One example of this poor behavior was the fisherman who entered a private property owner’s occupied sauna. Or the anglers who walked across a yard with their headlamps flickering through the windows of a guest cabin, scaring some visiting friends.

Yet another example is the group of anglers who set up on the bank of a well-known trout pool on private land the day before the opener. They decorated it with the equivalent of scare crows draped in fluorescent green vests. The strategy was other early morning anglers arriving in the dark would see the vest’s reflections in their headlamps and move on after assuming the hole was already occupied.

Using backless benches as toilets isn’t a good way to impress landowners either.

“In the past the river was primarily fished by locals, but that’s not the case anymore. Nonresident anglers make up a high percentage of fishing pressure,” Pratt said.

An example of this was a vehicle count at a popular parking lot on the first Saturday in November, the traditional opening of the Minnesota deer season. Only one of the seven vehicles had a Wisconsin license.

Another factor in this equation isn’t an unknown.

“Social media is another reason for the increased popularity,” Pratt said. “Cell phone coverage isn’t very good on the river, but when anglers get to the parking lot, they don’t hesitate to post pics of their catch or tell friends a fresh push of fish has moved in.”

Successful anglers documenting their catch with photos increases the river’s popularity and reinforces the concept these fish are easy to come by. Trust me, they aren’t.

One of the benefits of social media is the sharing of information with others, but unfortunately as has been seen on other sites, it can also be a way to deride others from a distance. Some criticisms are related to the mishandling of fish, keeping a legal fish, or even having too much of the shoreline showing. According to some postings, this allows others to figure out where the choice runs are located.

Platooning groups of anglers isn’t an unknown, either. One group rotating through a well-known hole for the morning shift, only to be replaced when their friends show up for the afternoon stint. Besides social media, guides are an accepted way for newbies to shorten their learning curve, but some will tie up a run through private land for as many hours as their clients are booked.

The overwhelming majority of fishermen on the Brule are respectful of these inholdings along the river, appreciative of the easier access offered down driveways and across yards. A thank you is often heard. Many have even become good friends over the years and will always be welcome.

The few who abuse the privilege, like the angler who told a property owner as he pointed out a no-trespassing sign, “Maybe next time.” Those property owners who have limited the public’s access did so for valid reasons. Perhaps signs will come down someday if those few disrespectful anglers realize how to treasure the river and act appropriately.