Deep snow makes for challenging steelhead opener on Wisconsin’s Brule River

The Brule River looked seductive from the cabin porch as it slipped by in the early morning light. Better yet, her soft murmurs were unlike the enraged rants of years past when melting snow pushed her out of her banks. Or worse yet, the stony silence from a covering sheet of ice. Yes, on this opening day the river looked and sounded good. The problem was the snow – lots of snow – making access to the river not impossible, but challenging.