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Lower Shore: Duluth to Two Harbors
Surface water temps were 50-60 °F near Duluth and as far north as McQuade temps were 48-50 °F. The combination of east winds and poor weather kept a fair number of anglers from going out. Successful anglers ran spoons, flasher flies, or stickbaits in the top 25 feet of water. Several colors including green, purple, orange, and pink all produced fish. Decent numbers of Lake Trout and 16-20 inch Coho Salmon were reported. It appears that we are in for another good year of Coho Salmon fishing and that Chinooks will be tougher to find but nice fish if you can get one! Further north near Knife River and Two Harbors water temps were closer to 40 °F and fishing was a bit slower. The St. Louis River Estuary was between 50 and 60 °F with decent numbers of smaller walleye in shallow. Worm harnesses and bright stickbaits both produced fish.
Upper Shore: Twin Points to Hovland
Surface water temps were 36-38 °F along the Upper Shore again this week. Anglers concentrated on catching Lake Trout in deep water, close to bottom structure. Jigging and deep-water trolling methods worked the best and anglers leaned on electronics to locate fish. Spoons and flasher fly combos in bright colors including white and glow were best. Most of the Lakers were 19-25 inches and no Salmon were reported. Poor weather including fog, sharp winds and some stormy weather kept pressure light. Few shore anglers were observed, and success was low.
Management Update: A good Smelt Run This Spring!
The excitement around the 2022 Cisco (also known as Lake Herring or Tullibee) boom drowned out another important piece of information and that is Rainbow Smelt abundance in 2023 was the highest it has been since 1986. Rainbow Smelt dip netting in Lake Superior tributaries and seine-netting on Park Point in Duluth was very productive for many people this spring but the peak run occurred a bit later and was of shorter duration than usual based on angler reports. The higher abundance and larger size of smelt reported this spring is likely due to Cisco buffering predation of Rainbow Smelt by the rehabilitated Lake Trout population.
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 Questions?
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Give us a call at 218-302-3277
Fishing report hotline at 218-302-3293
Report suspicious activity at 800-652-9093
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