The fishing opportunities in this area are endless. We have been on Lake Superior, the St. Louis River, inland lakes and stream fishing. The diverse fisheries we have around here are nothing short of awesome. With that said, let's all continue to take care of our natural resources.
Reading the recent DNR report, I am disappointed in the amount of tickets that have been written for fishing violations. Honestly, many of us live, eat and breathe fishing, and it is disheartening to know selfish people out there break the rules.
On another point, we have been witness to much overharvesting happening in and around our local waters. Last week we found some fantastic panfish bites but elected to leave the active shallow spawning fish alone and concentrate more on other opportunities.
Maybe it's just me, but I don't see the sport in fishing spawn beds for vulnerable fish. We should leave these fish alone so they contribute to the resource. If anyone has questions about this, please feel free to contact me.
One more point I want to touch on: with the closing of the Canadian border, many are flocking to northern Minnesota and Wisconsin to fish, which of course is great. However, it is also important to take this into consideration before taking a limit of mature-aged fish. There’s extra pressure on the resource right now, so maybe leave some fish in the lake.
On to our fishing report, and yes, it's another good one.
Lake Superior has seen huge numbers of anglers take to all the boat access points. Success rates have been up and down, but for the most part, anglers are finding some good catches.
This last week we had a school of king salmon hanging around. This brought much attention to the waters in and around both entries of the Twin Ports. Best baits were bright colored purples, pinks and oranges. Best profiles were a mix of stick baits and spoons, however stick baits seemed to be more popular.
It is important to try and track down your own troll lanes and not piggyback off others. Depths from 40 to 100 feet of water have produced fish, but around 60 feet has been best. It been important to be in the more clear water, the sort of tea-stained stuff — not in the muddiest water.
Most hauls have included lake trout but some lucky anglers are boxing a few browns and the occasional king (chinook) salmon. The best part of fishing the Gitch last week is that the weather cooperated. The bad part, one may argue, would be the recent bug hatches.
Stream fishing has remained pretty consistent for anglers. We are still hearing of some steelhead being caught swinging flies.
The St. Louis River (like Lake Superior) has had unusual super-busy traffic as well. The bite has been up and down, but we have been able to find some consistency.
We have been looking to the areas that are showing signs of fresh vegetation. Finding yourself fishing in crowds is not ideal, as you are usually now playing the fish lottery. Best to try and hone in on your own sections and keep them to yourself.
It's hard to believe, but we have been fishing waters as shallow as 2 feet to 5 feet and finding good bites. And not just good bites for walleyes, but also some dandy catfish, pike, perch and crappies, especially on the days where we get a little breeze to help hide the boat. Worms have been the staple, but we are seeing some fish start to scarf down #5 crankbaits as well. We also got bites on live fatheads drifting over deeper holes on shallow basins.
This last week we got to net a 31-inch walleye for one of our lucky customers. After a quick picture and release, she's still swimming and I hope someone else gets to experience such a trophy.
Inland lakes have been the most inconsistent bite as of late. As mentioned before, we support and encourage anglers not to target panfish and bass on beds. However, it is very cool to watch them work.
Walleyes have transitioned into some deeper waters. We are still tangling with a few near old spawning grounds but the inland lake walleye bite has kind of gone into a funk. Best tactic has been slip bobbers off drop-offs in the 12-22 feet of water.
Pike were very active this past week. Casting spinner baits and stick baits up toward shorelines has boated several slime rockets this last week. Also getting some dandy smallies and largemouths using this same casting tactic. Waters will start to spike in temperature now that we are moving into June, so look for things to continue to transition into new types of bites.
Jarrid Houston of South Range is a fishing guide (houstonsguideservice.com) on Minnesota and Wisconsin inland waters, the St. Louis River and, in winter, on Lake Superior.
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