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Quacker1
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07/10/2018 09:38PM   (Thread Older Than 3 Years)
This isn't a BW question but close. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to fish the big lake for Lake trout and Salmon in the July - August time frame? What works and how to locate fish in this huge body of water.
 
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thegildedgopher
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07/11/2018 10:05AM  
This is second-hand, but I've read things are starting to pick up around the 2 harbors area. I think folks are still catching fish in the top 20' of the water column.

FYI, the DNR publishes a pretty solid weekly fishing report / creel survey for Superior. Click the link for 2018 weekly summer report, that PDF is updated weekly. The most recent report suggests "Anglers continue to catch fish on longlines and dipsey divers with bright colored stickbaits, but now sometimes a spoon or a flasher and fly combination. Green is also becoming a productive color. "
 
brantlars
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07/12/2018 06:42AM  
For salmon look for 50-55 degree water..lakers will be deep..try submerged humps. And talk to other fishermen/ baitshops before you go. Good luck
 
07/12/2018 06:51AM  
I've never been, but hear that Stannard Rock is a consistent hot spot
.
 
thegildedgopher
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07/12/2018 09:12AM  
brantlars: "For salmon look for 50-55 degree water..lakers will be deep..try submerged humps. And talk to other fishermen/ baitshops before you go. Good luck"


Marine General in Duluth is a good place to stop.
 
manmountain8
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07/12/2018 02:06PM  
I'll tell you what I know from planning a couple trips there. The Salmon and Steehead are near Duluth in the early season and as the summer goes on they gradually move north. They typically reach Grand Marais by the heat of the summer in July and August. Lake Trout can be caught anywhere year round but they are only shallow at the times that Salmon are there, otherwise downriggers are required. The way Lake Superior works is strange. The spring pattern in Grand Marais actually starts in July and the warmest water in Duluth / Superior is September. I don't fully understand it but this is how it breaks down for Salmon and Steelhead.
(May = Duluth / Superior)
(June till mid July = Mid lake, Two Harbors, Silver Bay, Tofte, Lutsen)
(Mid July thru August = Grand Marais)
Obviously this schedule varies from year to year so I'd check with people who are fishing them to pinpoint their location.
 
manmountain8
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07/12/2018 02:32PM  
Once you find them trolling spoons or plugs is the preferred method. Go for crazy bright colors. I've had good luck with pink, purple, and orange. Dipsy divers are good way to get down if you don't have a downrigger but if you're in the right place at the right time you shouldn't have to go real deep.
 
Quacker1
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07/12/2018 03:10PM  
DNR reports for the North shore says things are slow but picking up. Water temp is pretty cold, still in the 40's in most areas up around Tofte.

I was just starting to figure out how to fish the big lake a few years ago, then I sold my boat but kept my down riggers. I how have another boat that came with down riggers! Now I have more down riggers than I could ever manage or ever want. Looking forward to getting back out there fighting to keep my lines from releasing when I lower the ball, keeping the thing from snagging on the bottom and generally acting like a rookie again.

Thought I would see if anyone has had any success out there this year.
 
old_salt
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07/13/2018 07:13AM  
What are some good Shore fishing spots? For those of us without a boat?
 
07/13/2018 09:33AM  
We caught a few coho salmon and lake trout out from Two Harbors a couple of weeks ago. Most folks will have at least SOME action whenever they go out.
 
manmountain8
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07/13/2018 01:43PM  
old_salt: "What are some good Shore fishing spots? For those of us without a boat?"


In the Spring the mouths of all the Rivers are a good spot. In the summer they'll be around the mouths in the North. If the water is still cold the warmer water of the river will attract fish. I've caught a fish at the mouth of the Cascade river every time I've fished it. Literally never been skunked there. Mostly Lake Trout but I did catch a Steelhead there once. Use a long rod and a spoon that can be cast a mile. I use an 8' 6" med heavy steelhead rod with 20 lb braid and Flouro leader. The Little Cleo spoon is the best long distance caster I know of. Anything with some pink on it has worked the best for me.
 
manmountain8
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07/13/2018 01:51PM  
Quacker1: "DNR reports for the North shore says things are slow but picking up. Water temp is pretty cold, still in the 40's in most areas up around Tofte.


I was just starting to figure out how to fish the big lake a few years ago, then I sold my boat but kept my down riggers. I how have another boat that came with down riggers! Now I have more down riggers than I could ever manage or ever want. Looking forward to getting back out there fighting to keep my lines from releasing when I lower the ball, keeping the thing from snagging on the bottom and generally acting like a rookie again.


Thought I would see if anyone has had any success out there this year. "


It seems like this year is running behind the average schedule. It's still early July but I'd expect them to be further North by now in an normal year.
 
Walleye6
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07/13/2018 02:40PM  
I got started fishing the big lake a few years ago. I'm by no means an expert but I've learned a few things along the way.

As was mentioned before, cohos and kings are going to be really dependent on time of year as to where on the shore they are. Lake Trout can be caught anywhere at anytime, but their depth will be dependent on water temp. Most of my success has been between Duluth and Split Rock. In Duluth, the bottom is very flat and sandy (and relatively shallow). A lot of lakers are caught dragging bottom with down riggers in mid-summer. Around Two Harbors, there are a lots of nice reefs. Buzz your down riggers as close to them as your comfortable doing.

Temperature breaks are also key. If you have a good fish finder, it should pick up the thermocline easily. It will show up as cloudy line on your graph, maybe 5-10 ft in width somewhere in the water column. Bait tends to congregate at this depth so the fish will be typically feeding there. Target your baits just above and just below this line. Also a good fish finder will show bait clouds which are just big schools of cisco and smelt. Mark these on your GPS and target them especially if you see "hooks" around the cloud.

The other visual cue to look for are scum lines. These will literally be lines of debris on top of the water. This is a sign of a temperature break between warmer and colder water. Target these areas as they cause bait to congregate as well. For everything north of Duluth, fishing after a good south or easterly wind is best. Unlike Michigan, you're usually looking for warm water on Superior. The prevailing west winds usually push the warm top layer of water towards Wisconsin, allowing the cold water to rise to the surface. A south or east wind will push that warm water back towards the north shore.

We've had our best luck with spoons and spin and glos on Superior. We've caught a few fish on flasher fly rigs but those seem to work better on Michigan. It's nice to have a flasher out to bring them into your spread though. For colors, I base it on the depth of the bait. I'll use reds for really shallow and purples deepest. Just imagine the rainbow and work from Red to Purple shallow to deep. It's been shown that red light doesn't penetrate water further than 10 ft or something, purple is something like 40 ft. Glow spoons are great to use too.

My standard SOP for a trolling spread is to use down riggers for my inside two rods. These will be the deepest. The next two lines outside that are dipseys set to 3 so they pull out from the boat. These will be slightly shallower. Then I'll go to lead core behind planer boards. Depending on the depth your targeting, use the appropriate number colors of segmented lead. Snap weights can work well too to get it a little deeper. Early in the morning (like before sunrise), you can even catch salmon on flat lines behind planer boards with stick baits. A lot of times the planer boards are your best lines as they get the bait way from the boat and are the most stealthy. Superior is ridiculously clear so fish get spooked easily.

If you're really interested in fishing the big lake, follow the forums on www.glanglerforum.com. Guys usually post reports on what's working and not plus observed water temps.

Just a word of warning, great lakes fishing can be addicting, especially once you hook your first nice king. It's also not cheap!! You'll start racking up more tackle than you can imagine.

Good luck!
 
Quacker1
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07/17/2018 05:20PM  
Thanks very much for the great information and advice. I have not heard about looking for slicks on the water. I don't recall ever seeing one on Superior, I'll be looking for them now. Your knowledge about wind direction makes sense. Thanks again.
 
Quacker1
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07/17/2018 05:38PM  
I've fished the mouths of Cascade as well as the Popular at Lutsen resort. and have caught fish. We would typically fish them early morning after a good rain, small spoons and Rooster Tails seemed to work for us. Lost a lot of tackle in the rocks. If you fish Lutsen Resort from shore you can also look for agates as you fish then have a beer in the bar when your done.

My friend caught a carp that weighed about 8 pounds on a Rooster Tail in front of the resort one morning. He thought he had a large trout and was running up and down the beach yelling and fighting the thing. When he finally did land it his jaw dropped in disappointment and we laughed our A--es off. Before we could release the fish the bartender from the resort came running down, he had watched the entire comedy from the resort and wanted the carp to smoke.

You may be surprised what you catch from shore.
 
Abbey
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07/23/2018 08:54PM  
For those of you discussing fishing the river outlets, how do you adjust to the single hook requirement within 100’ of the outlet? An old timer had told me to drift a floating rapala as far out as it would go then reel in, specifically on the Brule (MN) that does not have a sandbar at the mouth and has stronger flows.

We made some casts at the mouth of the Brule earlier this month, but I don’t think we were getting far enough out. I was throwing a heavy but small spoon with a single hook. Floating a crankbait out could work, but the hookup rate with a single hook seems like it would be low.

Do you have a preferred adjustment for single hook, or do you move away 100’ and use “regular” spoons or crankbaits with treble hooks? Or is there a bait option to use?
 
Quacker1
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08/12/2018 12:05PM  
Has anyone been out on Superior fishing lately? I'm coming up in about a week and thought I would check on the action.
 
Quacker1
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08/24/2018 07:59PM  
So I finally got up here on Monday. I decided it was about time to take the boat out on the big lake. Thursday I took the cover off the boat, set up my downriggers and rods and went to bed. Today I got up to rain the boat was full of water so I thought it was a wash out. I decided to run in to GM and pick up a couple things I couldn't live without. I just passed cascade and the rain stopped, so I turned around and drove back to the cottage and hooked up the boat. Away we go, now I have a boat that's a bit bigger than the ones I've had in the past but that's not a big deal, right, no wrong.

I backed the boat into the lake, maybe I should have put the plug in!! So out she comes pouring water out the drain hole. No problem, just let it drain and put the damn plug in, no problem. Back it back into the water and motor off the trailer, good so far. Not so fast, I haven't had alot of time behind the wheel to bang, bang, bang we go against the frickin dock. Now we have her tied down pull the trailer out and park it. Off we go!

I wasn't raining when we started, yep now it is. Not to be put out with a little rain off we went into the big water, but wait, it's a bit rougher than the forecast said it would be. When the waves were higher than the windshield on the boat we made haste back to the landing. Here we go again, bang, bang, and a big bang against the dock. Safely back on land, back the trailer into the lake and with the wind and waves 20 minutes later we had her back on the trailer. Out she comes dents and all. During my 1 hour of adventure I managed to put 3 dents in the side of my boat. Now I have to find a body shop that works on boats!

The adventure continues.
 
Zwater
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08/25/2018 08:24PM  
That stinks? Were you by yourself?
 
Zwater
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08/25/2018 08:27PM  
Sorry. That stinks!!
 
Quacker1
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08/25/2018 09:39PM  
Yep, by myself. Had better luck today, didn't catch anything but I didn't put any more dents in my boat.
 
Basspro69
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08/26/2018 01:14PM  
I fish some of the streams for other species but for Lakers I just hire a charter
 
Quacker1
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09/04/2018 10:45AM  
It was a nice day the lake was calm so I decided to head out on the big lake with my fishing partner Buddy, (Black Lab). Off we go up to Horseshoe Bay. The last time I was up there it was overcast and a bit foggy. It was a nice drive up the shore, so nice that I missed the boat launch and ended up in Grand Portage, no problem just turn around. Got to the landing and unhooked everything put the plug in stowed the rods and backed the boat into the lake with the help of a nice guy who had just come in for lunch.

Parked the truck and Buddy and I were off, so to speak. Kicked her in high gear and the boat wouldn't plane out. I looked back to make sure my motor was trimming properly and the boat was filling up with water. Somehow the plug must have come out. With the bilge pumping its guts out and the boat running is circles in the bay I was frantically trying to plug the drain hole to stop the flooding. I managed to jam some foam into the hole to stop the leak and now back to the landing.

The 4 people in the nice big boat that were eating their lunch had been watching this circus for about 20 minutes, great entertainment for lunch I'm sure.

Now safely back on the trailer, I pulled the stricken craft out of the water the bilge still pumping. Starting tying everything down, stowing the rods, water still pouring out of the drain hole and the bilge. As I was getting ready to put my transom saver on the motor I notice the drain plug had been installed, it was just in the wrong hole, the live wells would have never drained but the boat would sink. Sometimes slow is better.

Soooo off comes the tie downs and back in the water we go. Finally on the water, fished for about an hour and caught a limit of Lake Trout. Not a bad day after all.

Always an comic adventure.
 
MackinawTrout
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09/04/2018 06:22PM  
thegildedgopher: "
brantlars: "For salmon look for 50-55 degree water..lakers will be deep..try submerged humps. And talk to other fishermen/ baitshops before you go. Good luck"



Marine General in Duluth is a good place to stop."


100% agree. They know what's going on in the big lake.
Marine General is a great place to stop even for BWCA Fishing needs.
 
09/05/2018 07:01AM  
manmountain8: "
old_salt: "What are some good Shore fishing spots? For those of us without a boat?"



In the Spring the mouths of all the Rivers are a good spot. In the summer they'll be around the mouths in the North. If the water is still cold the warmer water of the river will attract fish. I've caught a fish at the mouth of the Cascade river every time I've fished it. Literally never been skunked there. Mostly Lake Trout but I did catch a Steelhead there once. Use a long rod and a spoon that can be cast a mile. I use an 8' 6" med heavy steelhead rod with 20 lb braid and Flouro leader. The Little Cleo spoon is the best long distance caster I know of. Anything with some pink on it has worked the best for me."


Definitely true. I've had success at the mouth of Cascade too with spoons. I also always head up river above the falls on all the big north shore rivers and pull out a couple brookies or rainbows using Panther Martins early morning for breakfast! Delish.
 
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