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Ap

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OVER 500 MEMBERS DEDICATED TO THE IMPROVEMENT AND PRESERVATION OF THE BRULE

Brule RiverBrule River Sportsmen’s Club, Inc.Sportsmen’s Club, Inc.

BRSC Calendar: The next two regularly meetings will be

April 23 and May 21 at 6:00 p.m. at Round Up North Restaurant in Brule.

Brule River Early Season Opener by Ken Lundberg

The steelhead opener was greeted with less enthusiasm than the past sev-eral years. There had been few signs that spring was on its way and the weather forecast for the opening weekend kept getting poorer. My son and grandson de-cided to stay home after look-ing at the weekend storm fore-cast. The 250 mile drive here and back was too much to risk. I may have stayed home, but one of my oldest sons was here and ready to fish. Our desire to be on the river early was dampened by the weather, and the plan was to be there by legal fishing time. The drive to the river was slowed by the snow-covered roads. When we arrived, there were already four cars in the lot, two covered by snow, and the smell of a fire coming from the valley. The hike to the river took an unexpected turn when we lost the trail that I had walked many times over the years. A quarter mile hike turned into a mile as we followed a few meandering deer trails. It was daylight by the time we reached the river, exhausted and well above the planned destination. To our surprise, no other fishermen were to be seen. We stayed comfortably warm for the first hour as our bodies cooled from the extended hike. Just being on the river for the opener is wonderful; catching fish is a plus. We each hooked and landed a steelhead on spawn in the first few min-utes. The only downer was not having

the eager face of a grandchild present and knowing there will not be the ex-cited cry, “Grandpa, I got one on.” The gloves, hand warmers and hot coffee came out after an hour of dealing

with iced rod eyes and reels. The bite of the wind, which always seems to blow up or down the valley, became more notice-able with passing time. About 10 a.m. the first snow-covered fisherman wandered by. There were the usual comments about fishing and the challenging weather conditions. As the day wore on, nymph fishing became more productive. If someone had told me 15 years ago that nymphs would be my go-to bait, I would have laughed them out of the room. The wind kept blowing, the tempera-ture remained in the mid-twenties, and trips to the pack sack for hot coffee in-creased. The plan was to fish all day re-gardless of the weather conditions.

A few fish appeared in the shallower runs as the afternoon shadows crossed the river. We caught more jacks than usual, and other fishermen reported do-ing the same. Some of 12-16 inch fish

could be carry-overs that never left the river. Whatever may be, it is a good sign for the fish-ery. It’s great to catch the big ones, but a healthy distribution of year classes bodes well for the future. My 11 year-old grandson Russell did not fish opening day but wanted to fish with me once the weather improved. We headed to the river Thurs-day afternoon once the temps reached the low thirties. He enjoys fishing but also enjoys having lots of food with as well as time to just explore. Rule number one when

fishing with kids: it must be enjoyable for them. The last thing that you want to do it kill their interest. I don't know if any of you follow golf, but if you do, you saw great golfer Jack Nicklaus at the par three part of Masters with tears in his eye as his 15 year-old grandson got a hole in one. That's the kind of special moments grand kids can give you. Russell landed two nice steelhead. The only time he complained was while holding the cold fish for the appropriate photographs before releasing them. What a wonderful river: it has provided my family with a lifetime of memories. Tears came to my eyes when he said, “I really like fishing with you.” What a special day.

Ken’s grandson Russell Hill caught two nice steelhead

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BRULE RIVER SPORTSMEN’S CLUB, APRIL 2018

President Dennis Pratt called the meeting to order at 6:03 p.m. at Round-Up North in Brule.

Officers and Directors: Present - Ron Gaare, Bill Gobin, Paul Helbach, Courtney Johnson, Ken Lundberg, Ron Pearson, Dennis

Pratt, Dennis Smet, Jeff Stollenwerk, Walt Swanson, Dean Wellman and Mike Zicus.

Minutes of the February 26th Meeting: The minutes as written in the March newsletter were approved following a motion by Bill

Gobin and a second by Courtney Johnson and unanimous approval by voice vote.

Treasurer’s and Financial Secretary’s Reports: Financial Secretary Bill Gobin reported that there were two deposits: one late Feb-

ruary for $571.00; one in March for $1957.00 into general fund. The Club had three new members. The Financial Secretary’s Re-

port was approved following a motion by Dean Wellman and a second by Mike Zicus. Treasurer Jeff Stollenwerk reported that

March’s beginning balance was $10,385.69, and the ending balance was $12,250.76 with the following expenses: Katie Thompson

(March newsletter) $200; March 21 deposit adjustment $85.00; Joe Scaccia (February meeting) $50; Shannon Leef (Snowmobile

Club adjustment) $40; Feb. 26 transfer to savings (scholarship donation) $10; Feb. 26 transfer to savings (S. Shore Grade Dona-

tions) $85.00. Outstanding checks and scheduled payments: Arrowhead Printing (February newsletter) $182.93; Joe Scaccia (March

meeting) $50. The Treasurer’s Report was approved following a motion by Bill Gobin, a second by Ken Lundberg, and unanimous

approval by voice vote.

Committee Reports

Habitat: Ron Gaare – Appreciation for the habitat volunteers will be held at the April meeting. Ron Gaare and Ron Pearson will

work with others to pick dates for the 2018 habitat project. Dennis Pratt will show a habitat video after the meeting.

Legislative: Ken Lundberg – wolf delisting was removed again this year.

Scholarship: Paul Helbach – reminder emails that the deadline is approaching have been sent out. Paul believes that applications

will all come in at the last minute, he reminded those present that the process is very simple, and we have five weeks to go. High

school scholarship will start next year. Ron Gaare sent an email to the Northwestern High School counselor, to ask if the school

would administer it. Thought of displaying club awards and plaques.

Education: Dennis Smet – Dennis Smet and Dennis Pratt presented to eleven classes of students on Tuesday, Wednesday and

Thursday in sessions that ranged between 45 and 80 minutes. About 200 students attended these sessions. Carey Edwards is man-

aging the aquarium in Hayward, and someone from Iron River Hatchery will give the presentation in Hayward. At the end of the

project, the fish will be euthanized. This is the club’s 18th year of providing aquariums.

Membership: Bill Gobin – the club now has 358 members. The information will be changed on our website and the newsletter

banner. The idea of having Honorary Members, members that have helped the club year after year was mentioned including DNR

offices and other clubs in the area. This was approved following a motion by Dean Wellman, a second by Paul Helbach, and unani-

mous approval by voice vote.

Budget: Annual Budget Report - Ron Pearson, Jeff Stollenwerk and Bill Gobin. Ron thanked the guys for all their hard work. Ron

reported that 2017 had more revenue than expenses and recommended Mike Zicus get rewarded for his work on the website.

Ron also mentioned that the club’s biggest expense is the newsletter and moving to an electronic newsletter has helped as printing

and mailing costs have gone up. The club’s balance looks good because we have purchased many items such as hats and maps last

fiscal year and in bulk, thus reducing costs this year. A discussion about the history of the scholarship came up and what it would

take to continue to fund the scholarship for the long term.

Social Media: Mike Zicus, Dennis Pratt - Social media to include the events from other clubs, including dates for the calendar. A

discussion about website usage and how often to report the data took place — Mike would research the best way to do this. Mike

brought up handling the questions received through the website. Dennis Pratt suggested that Mike forward these to the appropri-

ate board member and reminded the board members to be sure to respond to the questions

Brule River Sportsmen’s Club

Regular Meeting Minutes

March 26, 2018

“March Minutes” continued on pg. 3

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BRULE RIVER SPORTSMEN’S CLUB, APRIL 2018

and CC Mike in the responses. A future topic of how we should be showcasing our past scholarship winners including a where

they are now section. Facebook has >1100 followers, and Dennis Pratt posted 10 new items last month. Re-sharing our informa-

tion by the Brule River Rats Stewardship Council really increased our Facebook visits. We had 5417 visits in one day and our best

week total was over 10K.

Other Business

Brule River Rats Stewardship Council and their GoFundMe page contributed $11,092 to our account for the South Shore Grade

Removal Project.

Spring Clean-up: Dennis Smet – The date is set for April 28; May 12 is the back-up date.

South Shore Grade Update: Pratt - The club is continuing to raise funds to help cover the cost of removing the abandoned South

Shore & Atlantic railroad grade. Donations continue to come in, view our website for the most current data. As of the meeting we

were at $48,032 in non-governmental pledges; $45,000 in DNR funds for a total confirmed $93,032. At this time the DNR has a

pending grant application for $38,000 through the National Fish Passage Program, which is sourced from GLRI. We would still

need $36,968 if the grant is not received.

Digital Newsletter Project Progress: Ken Lundberg and Bill Gobin have yet to pick a date to clean-up the email addresses. Ken

said that 58% of those receiving newsletter open it within 48 hours.

Lake Superior Fisheries Management Plan Progress – Ken Lundberg expressed the hope that the plan would keep the Splake stock-

ing going as it seems to be working well. Plan committee looking to increase Brook trout stocking. It would be great if it would

work; however, history has shown otherwise. Ken said the meeting closed before the Iron River Dam removal was discussed. He

drafted a note to the committee, so it wouldn’t be dropped. Ron Pearson asked if the mention of season expansion was discussed.

Great Waters Fly Fishing Expo Discussion: Need to get to the electronic age when taking funds at these events, most of the

younger people visiting the booth wanted to use methods of electronic transfer rather than cash. Dennis Pratt made a motion to

investigate this. Jeff Stollenwerk to look into it.

Upcoming Events

Spring Clean-up: April 28, meet 9:00 a.m. at the Brule pavilion to get assignments.

The business meeting adjourned at 7:38 p.m.

Speaker – Phil Brown, Conservation Warden for Bayfield County, introduced himself and said a few words about his new position.

Recorded by Walt Swanson

“March Minutes” from pg. 2

BRSC Scholarship

Application Deadline:

April 30

For complete application details, visit our website at www.bruleriversports

mensclub.com.

to understand anglers’ use of and opinions on wader

cleaning stations designed to prevent the spread of

aquatic invasive species in Wisconsin trout streams.

Participation in this survey is voluntary and you may

exit the survey at any time. No risks are anticipated

with survey completion and your responses are com-

pletely anonymous. The results of this survey will be

used to inform a future strategy for the creation and

placement of wader cleaning stations around Wisconsin .

The survey should take less than 5 minutes to complete

and can be found at this link.

UW-Extension is conducting a survey. . .

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Brule River

Sportsmen’s

Club

P.O. Box 100

Brule, WI 54820

What We Do:

Fisheries Habitat Projects — Club members and others

volunteer during the summer months to restore features

necessary for fish spawning, growing and feeding.

Clean-ups — Keep the Brule clean and beautiful.

Monthly Membership Meetings — Frequently include

guest speakers.

Monthly Newsletter — Helps generate understanding

of fisheries and water quality, and keeps members and

others informed about Club activities.

Scholarship Program — Provides educational support to

students.

Officers

President — Dennis Pratt

Vice President — Ken Lundberg

Financial Secretary — Bill Gobin

Recording Secretary — Walt Swanson

Treasurer — Jeff Stollenwerk

Board of Directors

Tom Bydalek Dennis Smet

Paul Helbach Jim Waletzko

Courtney Johnson Dean Wellman

Mick Killoren Ron Pearson

Mike Zicus Ron Gaare

Newsletter Editor

Katie Thompson -- goirish@cheqnet.net

BRSC Membership Form

Name

Address

City

State Zip Phone

e-mail

Name

Address

City

State Zip Phone

e-mail

Donations

Education Fund $ Habitat Fund $

General Fund $ Scholarship Fund $

Visit us online at www.bruleriversportsmensclub.com

All information contained herein is confidential. All but $1.00 of your membership dues is tax deductible.

Donations are 100 percent tax deductible.

Thank you for your support!

BRSC Gift Store Order Form

Limited edition book trout print

$30 each (members and non-members) - plus $5 shipping

Brule River map (Upper) (same prices as for lower map)

Brule River map (Lower)

$8 each (members) - no shipping charge

$10 each (non-members) - plus $1 shipping

Map poster of lower Brule (36”x24”) - suitable for framing

$25 (members) - plus $5 shipping

$30 (non-members) - plus $5 shipping

BRSC baseball hat

$20 each (members) - plus $4 shipping

$25 each (non-members) - plus $4 shipping

Historical newsletter DVD

$5 each (members) - no shipping charge

$6 each (non-members) - plus $1 shipping

The Brule River Sportsmen’s Club, Inc. is a tax-exempt organization

defined by Chapter 501 (C) (3) of the IRS Tax Code.

Brule River Sportsmen’s Club, Inc.

P.O. Box 100

Brule, WI 54820

Membership Type □ Renewal (due January 1st) □ New Membership

Email newsletter only: □ $20 – Individual □ $25 – Household

Paper newsletter only: □ $30 – Individual □ $35 – Household

□ Gift membership – please send membership to: