North Shore Fishing Report: May 27th - June 1st

Lower Shore: Duluth to Two Harbors

Surface water temperatures outside of the immediate Duluth area were 35-37 °F, limiting the range of the surface bite to the warmer areas near Duluth and along the South Shore. Bright colored stickbaits in the top 20 feet of water worked well for Lake Trout, Coho, and Chinook Salmon. Flasher/fly rigs 30-50ft down also picked up a few Lake Trout and Chinooks. Productive colors were orange, pink, and green. In the cold water, anglers did best for Lake Trout jigging or trolling near bottom structure in 90-180 feet of water. Adding meat proved more effective, although the cold-water bite was slow in general. Lake Trout were 18-23 inches, Cohos were18-22 inches, and Chinooks were 23-25 inches on average. Angling pressure was highest near Duluth over the weekend.

Upper Shore: Twin Points to Hovland

Upper shore anglers reported cold surface water temps in the 34-36°F range. Surface waters have been cold enough to form ice during cold nights and several reports were received of substantial skim ice forming, causing morning anglers trouble while trolling. Anglers reported that Lake Trout fishing has been fairly good with fish holding close to bottom structure in 120-220 feet of water. Lake Trout have been 18-22 inches on average. The rivers continue to warm into the mid to upper 50's and while the water levels continue to drop, flows remain moderate in the larger rivers. Angling pressure remains low but reports indicate that fair numbers of Steelhead remain in the Devil Track and other larger tributaries.