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Home › Waters › Wisconsin › Bois Brule River
River · Lake Superior · Wisconsin

Bois Brule River Fishing Guides

Wisconsin's river of presidents, a spring-fed Lake Superior tributary with resident brook and brown trout up top and migratory steelhead and salmon in the lower canyon.

Mist over a green river between wooded banks

Map of the Bois Brule River

19 numbered points: 9 access points, 3 campsites, 1 outfitter, 3 bridges, 1 park or conservation area, 1 agency office, 1 USGS gauge. Tap a marker for details. Reviewed Sep 25, 2026.

Printable version →
  • Access / boat ramp (9)
  • Campsite (3)
  • Outfitter / canoe rental (1)
  • Bridge crossing (3)
  • Park / conservation area (1)
  • Agency / conservation office (1)
  • USGS gauge (1)
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Points are curated from OpenStreetMap and state agency sources; confirm access and hours before you go.

Print it. Bag it. Bring it.Phones die, screens crack, and most of this water has no signal. Print this map, fold it into a zip-top bag or dry bag with your license, and you have a backup your electronics can’t give you. Every marker is numbered so you can say exactly where you are.

Open the printable map
All 19 points on this map
#PointTypeLat, LonNotes
1Stone Chimney Canoe Launch
WI DNR carry-in · Brule River State Forest		Access / boat ramp46.41691, -91.71201Uppermost public launch on the river, in the bog reach above Stones Bridge. Carry-in only, unimproved.
2Stones Bridge Canoe Launch
WI DNR carry-in · County Road S		Access / boat ramp46.43423, -91.67488The traditional top-of-the-river put-in at the County Road S crossing. Gravel carry-in.
3Cedar Island
Road crossing		Bridge crossing46.46327, -91.61352Crossing at the Cedar Island reach, the private estate stretch between Stones Bridge and Winneboujou.
4Winneboujou Canoe Launch
WI DNR carry-in · County Road B		Access / boat ramp46.51653, -91.60358Gravel carry-in at Winneboujou. Bottom of the classic upper float and top of the Winneboujou-to-Highway-2 run.
5Brule River State Forest Headquarters
Wisconsin DNR · 0.06 km from the river		Agency / conservation office46.53657, -91.59470State forest headquarters beside the river at Brule. Listed for contact and information, not as an access.
6USGS 04025500 · Bois Brule River at Brule
Live stage and discharge		USGS gauge46.53778, -91.59528Placed on the roster gauge coordinate, which falls on the centreline at Brule, 0.05 km off the line.
7Bois Brule Canoe Landing
WI DNR carry-in · Brule River State Forest		Access / boat ramp46.53896, -91.59425Gravel carry-in at Brule, beside the state forest campground.
8Bois Brule Campground
Wisconsin DNR · Brule River State Forest		Campsite46.53955, -91.59161State forest campground on the east bank at Brule, immediately above the landing.
9Highway 2 Canoe Landing
WI DNR carry-in · US Highway 2		Access / boat ramp46.55054, -91.58906Unimproved carry-in at the US 2 crossing. Common take-out for the upper river and put-in for the lower.
10River Adventures
Tagged amenity=boat_rental in OSM		Outfitter / canoe rental46.55019, -91.58147Canoe and kayak rental at the Highway 2 crossing, 0.44 km off the centreline.
11Copper Range Campground Canoe Launch
WI DNR carry-in · Brule River State Forest		Access / boat ramp46.61032, -91.58364Gravel carry-in at Copper Range, top of the lower-river ledge water.
12Copper Range Campground
Wisconsin DNR · Brule River State Forest		Campsite46.61011, -91.58105State forest campground at the launch of the same name.
13Pine Tree Canoe Landing
WI DNR carry-in · Brule River State Forest		Access / boat ramp46.61549, -91.58170Gravel carry-in just below Copper Range.
14County Road FF
Road crossing		Bridge crossing46.63292, -91.59758Lower-river crossing between Pine Tree and the Highway 13 landing.
15Brule River State Forest (hike-in)
Wisconsin DNR · hike-in site		Campsite46.67566, -91.59395Walk-in campsite in the state forest on the lower river.
16Highway 13 Canoe Landing
WI DNR carry-in · State Highway 13		Access / boat ramp46.67796, -91.59536Gravel carry-in at the State Highway 13 crossing, last road-side landing above the ledges.
17McNeils Landing Road
Road crossing		Bridge crossing46.70530, -91.60385Crossing on the lowest reach; the road name records a former landing here.
18Brule River Boreal Forest State Natural Area
Wisconsin DNR state natural area		Park / conservation area46.71944, -91.60222Boreal forest along the lowest river, above the Lake Superior mouth.
19Bois Brule River Mouth Access
WI DNR gravel ramp · Brule River State Forest		Access / boat ramp46.74777, -91.61033Ramp at the Lake Superior mouth. Bottom take-out for the whole river; recorded by the DNR under Lake Superior.

Guides on the Bois Brule River

Claimed profiles take booking requests. Unclaimed profiles are built from public records so the river is never empty; the guide can claim or remove one any time.

About the Bois Brule River

The Bois Brule rises in a bog south of Highway 2 and runs north forty-four miles through the Brule River State Forest to Lake Superior. Five presidents fished it, which is how it got its nickname, and it remains one of the most carefully managed and most beautiful trout rivers in the Midwest.

The river has two halves. Above Highway 2 it is a spring-fed, slow, cedar-lined stream with a stable, cold flow and resident brook trout and browns, fished by canoe and on foot, and it is the reach the fly fishing tradition here was built on. Below Highway 2 the gradient steepens through a series of ledges and rapids in a red clay canyon, and that lower reach is the migratory water, with steelhead running in spring and fall and coho and chinook salmon in the fall.

Wisconsin manages the Brule intensively, with reach-by-reach regulations, seasonal closures and gear restrictions that differ substantially between the upper and lower river. It is one of the rivers where reading the current rules for the specific section really matters.

The Brule gauge reads a spring-fed system, and its most distinctive feature is stability: the flow varies far less than on a typical freestone river because so much of it comes from groundwater. That is why the upper river stays cold in August and clear after rain, and it is also why the fishing here is comparatively reliable. The lower canyon still colors up after heavy rain because of the clay.

The village of Brule and the towns along Highway 2 provide lodging and canoe rental; Superior and Duluth are less than an hour away.

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Reader photo license v1.0 — the short version:

  • You grant Guided Floats, LLC a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to publish, resize and crop your photo on guidedfloats.com and in GuidedFloats’ own social posts and apps. You keep the copyright and can use the photo anywhere else.
  • You confirm that you took the photo yourself, that publishing it does not infringe anyone else’s rights, and that anyone recognisable in it (or a parent or guardian, if they are under 18) is happy for it to appear here.
  • Credit is printed beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, using the credit name you give us. Leave it blank and we use your name; write “Anonymous” for no name. Your email address is never published.
  • Withdrawing is one email to hello@guidedfloats.com naming the photo. It comes off the site within 7 days.
Read the full license

Version 1.0, dated 6 September 2026. Applies to every photograph submitted to GuidedFloats through the contact form, a species page, or the community board.

1. What you give us

By ticking the box on the form you grant Guided Floats, LLC (“GuidedFloats”, “we”) a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to store, copy, resize, crop and display your photograph on guidedfloats.com, in GuidedFloats’ own social media accounts and mobile apps, and in material that promotes the site itself, in connection with the fish, water or community feature you sent it in for. The license lasts until you withdraw it (section 4).

You keep the copyright. The license is not exclusive, so you can use the photo anywhere else and license it to anyone else. We will not sell your photo, license it on to anyone else on its own, or use it in paid advertising for a third party.

2. What you confirm

You confirm that you took the photograph yourself (or otherwise own the rights to it), that you have the right to grant this license, and that publishing the photo does not infringe anyone else’s copyright, privacy or other rights.

If any person is recognisable in the photo, you confirm that they have agreed to its being published here, and that a parent or guardian has agreed on behalf of anyone under 18. Please do not send photographs of other people’s catches, screenshots, or pictures copied from other websites or social media.

3. Credit

We print the credit name you give us beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, and record it as the photo’s creator in the page’s structured data. If you leave the credit blank we use the name you gave us on the form. Write “Anonymous” if you prefer no name at all. Your email address, phone number and the exact spot the photo was taken are never published.

4. Withdrawing the license

You can withdraw the license at any time by emailing hello@guidedfloats.com, or by using the contact form, and telling us which photo you mean. We will remove the photo from guidedfloats.com within 7 days of receiving your message and stop using it in anything new. Copies that are already outside our control — search-engine caches, social posts that have already gone out, printed material already produced — may take longer to disappear or may not be recallable, and we are not responsible for those.

5. What we may do

We choose which photos to publish and may decline any submission without giving a reason. We may crop, resize, sharpen or colour-correct a photo for display, and we may remove a photo at any time. We will not alter a photo in a way that misrepresents the fish, the water or you.

6. Your details

We keep your name, email address, the credit name, the water and date you gave us, and the network address the submission came from, with the submission record, as our evidence of this license. We hold that record for as long as the photo is published and for the retention period described in our privacy policy. Location data that your camera or phone embedded in the file is removed before the photo is published.

7. Versions

The version of this license you accepted is stored with your submission and printed with the photo. A later version does not apply to a photo you have already sent unless you agree to it.

Flow alert

Tell me when the Bois Brule River cfs

Now: 110 cfs, read 4:00 am CDT, Mon Oct 19, 2026 (USGS 04025500, BOIS BRULE RIVER AT BRULE, WI).

We never use this address for anything else and never share it. See the privacy policy.

Access

Stones Bridge: the top of the fly water on the upper river, canoe launch.
Winneboujou: upper river access and the classic canoe stretch.
Brule River State Forest campground and Highway 2: the dividing line between the upper and lower river.
Pine Tree Landing and Highway 13: lower river accesses in the migratory water.
McNeil's Landing and the lower canyon: steelhead and salmon access.
The mouth at Lake Superior: access through the state forest.

Seasons

Late March through May: spring steelhead in the lower river, high water from snowmelt.
May through August: the resident trout season on the upper river, hendricksons through terrestrials.
September through November: fall salmon and steelhead in the lower canyon.
Winter: closed on most reaches; check current Wisconsin rules for the Brule specifically.

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Questions

What is the current flow on the Bois Brule River?

As of Oct 19, 4:00 am, the USGS gauge BOIS BRULE RIVER AT BRULE, WI reads 110 cfs, the 9th percentile for this date. Conditions update every 15 minutes.

What species can you catch on the Bois Brule River?

Anglers target Brook Trout, Brown Trout, Chinook Salmon, Coho Salmon, Rainbow Trout, Steelhead on the Bois Brule River in Wisconsin.

Are there fishing guides on the Bois Brule River?

GuidedFloats lists 1 guide and outfitters on the Bois Brule River. Claimed profiles accept booking requests; unclaimed profiles are built from public records and link to the business.

Where can you access the Bois Brule River?

Stones Bridge: the top of the fly water on the upper river, canoe launch. Winneboujou: upper river access and the classic canoe stretch. Brule River State Forest campground and Highway 2: the dividing line between the upper and lower river. Pine Tree Landing and Highway 13: lower river accesses in the migratory water. McNeil's Landing and the lower canyon: steelhead and salmon access. The mouth at Lake Superior: access through the state forest.

When is the best time to fish the Bois Brule River?

Late March through May: spring steelhead in the lower river, high water from snowmelt. May through August: the resident trout season on the upper river, hendricksons through terrestrials. September through November: fall salmon and steelhead in the lower canyon. Winter: closed on most reaches; check current Wisconsin rules for the Brule specifically.

Where are the fishing regulations for the Bois Brule River?

Regulations change by season and section. Read the current rules on the Wisconsin agency site: https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/fishing/regulations