We were doing our annual Presidents Day North Shore outing and couldn't help but notice the huge numbers of fishermen out after rainbows at the mouth of the French River. Although we went up for skiing (way too warm) and snowshoeing (fairly decent time), it was tempting to just head to the nearest bait dealer and get rigged up. The (mainly) shore fishing seemed to make it a simple proposition to get in on the action, but my rod/reel arsenal is more aligned with the walleye bite.

I have the trout stamp (for our annual rainbow ice outing in January), but what equipment would I need to have in the trunk next time this sort of opportunity presents itself? I'd be quite the neophyte at first on the proper baits, but it looked like waders, good-sized net, pretty long rod, and you're in the middle of the action...

Duluth NewsTribune article

For some reason it won't let me login...An 8' rod or longer is nice but not necessary, a hook with some spawn or just am inflated crawler, maybe a looper bug..You can also use your walleye rod for bobber fishing and cast a spoon for cohos/loopers. Lots of cohos around this winter.

Yeah, as Brantlarson said, you don't really need the long rod, but it is nice to have. You'll want to have weighted bobbers and marabou jigs at the very least. However, predicting the bite can be tricky. You can catch them off the bottom with spawn or nightcrawlers one day, and then the next they are biting marabous or even flies. I've heard of people catching them with spoons and spinners, but I've never actually seen somebody successful with them out there. I caught a 23.5" last week, but in the few times I've been out, the bite has seemed to be a little slower than last year. Check out Kamloops Advocates online for a ton of good information and fishing reports.

Thanks, guys. Yes, my questions were pretty generic. I'll have to sit down and search the topic in depth some time. I was just so enamored with seeing the buzz of activity; spur of the moment fishing is not usually on our travel itinerary.

How big do the Loopers get?

quote QueticoMike: "How big do the Loopers get?"

I just started last year, but the biggest that I have caught is 27". Some of the old-timers out there claim that they used to catch much larger ones in the past, but I haven't seen any of those.