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Leo66
distinguished member (158)distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
  
02/19/2019 03:33PM   (Thread Older Than 3 Years)
*I realize this is not in the actual BWCA so I hope this post is OK*

Fellow BWCA fisher folks and members... I need some advice.

I am a pretty avid angler but don't go trout fishing like this much... I want to take my Boy Scouts up to the North Shore possibly and hit some of the Rivers connecting into Superior. It would be a fun time experiencing this type of fishing with them. However, I don't have a ton of experience in that style... I am looking for any guidance that someone with more experience can share with me.

I am considering a one day excursion going up in April (I think that is when it opens?) and could use your help. I will take any info on the way to go about this. Do I hit the rivers or go right to the mouth and fish in Superior? Do you need pretty big gear for this (I assume so).

Very open request, but I appreciate any feedback. And thank you!

-Leo66
 
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02/20/2019 08:37AM  
I would mandate at least 20' separation between boys at all times!
 
02/20/2019 09:34AM  
Depending on water levels, it is imperative that caution be taken when fishing those streams that empty into Superior.
 
tonyyarusso
distinguished member(1403)distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
  
02/20/2019 10:18AM  
I don't have any experience to share on methods or locations, but will say this bit of advice: When you go, make sure to explain to anyone over 18 that they need the extra "trout stamp" on their license, AND explain to the people UNDER 18 that while they don't now, if they decide they like this and want to try it again later, they'll need to get that once they're over 18 - a lot of people probably don't even realize that requirement exists, and the transition from youth license requirements to adult ones have bitten people before.
 
02/20/2019 11:10AM  
i assume that the species you will catch will be trout of some kind. Take various types of trout spinners. Throw in a number 4 mepps and a couple of silver cast masters. Also split shots with small hooks and a worm works well. Look for breaks in the current like eddies, rocks, logs, etc. Use the mepps for smallmouth bass and the cast master for casting from shore at
lake Superior for salmon.
 
Maxus
member (16)member
  
02/20/2019 01:23PM  
Hi,

While I haven't fished up north for trout yet, I have spent the last two years actively fishing and catching a lot of trout in Western, New York.

Here are some of the tactics I have found that have really worked well for me there and ones that I plan to try here as well. I have 0 experience and advice for fly fishing.

Spinners - Spinners are one the most used trout lures. For me, I have found that larger sized spinners, size 6 work great in low water clarity. Pretty much any color combination that I have used worked, I think it's has more to do with the movement rather than any specific color attracting the trout. In cleaner water I would stick to more natural colors, another good color combo I have found is a yellow body with black spots, silver blade, and black or yellow tail. This works wonders for me in clean water. With clean water you need to stay on the smaller sizes usually, size 4 would be best. One of my favorite spinners is a silver blade, silver body, with a red feather tail in a size 4. The other is a Johnson Min-O-Spin in black and gold, any size for that worked well. These two spinners have helped me produce in pretty much any situation and are usually my go-to spinners for trout. Don't worry about buying the $5-7 panther martins that many people talk about, cheap $2-4 in-line spinners work just as well in my opinion.

With my spinners I always run a swivel and leader, my main line is monofilament, usually 6-8 lbs. I attach a fluorocarbon leader of about 8-12 inches, usually 4-6 lbs.

Jigs - If spinners aren't working as well as I want or the fish are bed down, I switch to little hair jigs. You know the little starter fishing lure box you get buying some rods? The little cheap plastics and jigs that come in those? Yeah, those little hair jigs. I found they worked extremely well for me. If I'm sight fishing and see that the trout are ignoring my spinner I will put a hair jig on and just "bounce" it in front of their face until they take it. It helps me slow down. I fish these in primarily clear water, pulling up stream, down stream, in a pool, wherever honestly. For the sizes I have always stuck with the smallest I can, 1/16 oz - 1/8 oz. For some reason pure white has worked the best for me, white tail, body, head, however I have caught trout with other colors as well. There are some jigs that have little spinners on the underside that work as well. If you find these pick-up a pack they're pretty cheap. Again, the white color as worked best for me. The technique to fish these is a little hard to get a handle on but once you do they work great, you need to very very lightly bounce jig your rod, just to get the tail end of the jig to flutter enough. Best to cast it out and try the technique where you can still see it and get the feel of it.

Rig these up the same as spinners, on a leader to a swivel to main line or just tie right to the main line.

For trout, they have excellent eyesight and will be able to see your line and you if you're not careful. That's why you often cast upstream of them, makes sight fishing for trout a little difficult. Just try and find the eddys, behind boulders, holes, anywhere where they can get out of the main current but still grab food as it comes down that way.

Make sure the line going to your lure is as light as your comfortable with. For any trout, as long as your drag is set right, you can get away with less than 8 lbs, often lower. I recommend polarized sunglasses as well, this can help you get an idea of the bottom of the body of water and help see where the trout are/where they might like to be.

Finally, I strongly recommend practicing catch and release, especially with the big trout/good breeders. Help keep the population large and healthy. For any fish you should minimize the time out of the water and be respectful with your handling of them. Especially trout, they are extremely sensitive and you need to have wet hands before handling them. Best if you can net them and keep them in the water (in the net) while you're removing the hook. Avoid having them come in contact with the ground, any towels, gloves, etc. They have a coating on them that helps them stay alive. Additionally, support the fish, especially the larger ones, in the water until they swim off on their own.

Sorry for the walls of text, I got a little carried away. Let me know if you have any more questions. Again, I haven't used these techniques up north yet but they worked EXTREMELY well for me in New York. Have fun, good luck!

 
Maxus
member (16)member
  
02/20/2019 04:24PM  
Here is a site I just found with more information on streams and their access level..

https://files.dnr.state.mn.us/maps/trout_streams/ns_fishing_guide02.pdf

Sorry I don't have more advice on which specific streams and their level of access.
 
marsonite
distinguished member(2468)distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
  
02/21/2019 06:29AM  
Leo66: "*I realize this is not in the actual BWCA so I hope this post is OK*

Fellow BWCA fisher folks and members... I need some advice.

I am a pretty avid angler but don't go trout fishing like this much... I want to take my Boy Scouts up to the North Shore possibly and hit some of the Rivers connecting into Superior. It would be a fun time experiencing this type of fishing with them. However, I don't have a ton of experience in that style... I am looking for any guidance that someone with more experience can share with me.

I am considering a one day excursion going up in April (I think that is when it opens?) and could use your help. I will take any info on the way to go about this. Do I hit the rivers or go right to the mouth and fish in Superior? Do you need pretty big gear for this (I assume so).

Very open request, but I appreciate any feedback. And thank you!

-Leo66"


You never know what is going to happen between now and then, but I think stream trout fishing inland from Lake Superior is pretty unlikely in April this year, given the amount of snow in the woods.

It will be possible to fish the big lake, though that is a whole different ball game. Note that the mid April stream trout opener doesn't apply to Lake Superior and its tributaries below the posted boundary (usually the first waterfall). That is open year round. Check the regs though. Most of the action then will be near the river mouths fishing for Kamloops rainbows. Most people fish them with bait like nightcrawlers although I think casting a spoon is also an option. Forget spinners. You need something you can fling a country mile out there. It's best to have a long rod but it's not really necessary for kids to get a taste of it. Not sure how the Kamloops fishing has been lately. The other thing going on is steelhead fishing in the rivers. That's a specialty sport. No harm in flinging a spinner or whatever into the river just for fun, but don't plan on fish for dinner.

Anyway, good luck. It's worth it just to take in the scenery.
 
02/21/2019 09:34AM  
April fishing might be a tall order up here due to high water levels and ice. The water will be very cold, for sure. Sheltered river shorelines will likely still have plenty of deep snow as well.

Shore-casting is certainly a possibility near some river mouths, but don't expect the action to keep the casual angler interested.

 
Speck
Guest Paddler
  
02/21/2019 10:27AM  
There are two very different types of trout fishing that happen on the north shore. The first being fishing the spring run of steelhead. Make sure you are up on all the regs for this.

Any of the larger rivers, with public access will have other fisherman along the banks and shore during peak run times. There are not alot of fish caught. With this type of fishing you're drifting salmon eggs or crawlers, casting from shore out into the open lake is also an option.

The other type of fishing is brook trout fishing. Looking at a map - the middle 1/3 of any river running into Superior typically holds the best brookie fishing. If you've got a group and are camping - you could stay at Temperance, Little Isabella, Poplar - all of those campgrounds offer brook trout fishing. Here you're either throwing flies, crawlers or spinners. April is early for this as the rivers will be running strong and full of shelf ice. June is good time to go. The brookies are normally about 8-10 inches. A 12 inch brookie is a nice fish.

 
GunflintTrailAngler
distinguished member (126)distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
  
02/21/2019 03:14PM  
Keep in mind, in April all the streams will probably be raging torrents of flood water, due to rain and melting snow. Could be pretty dangerous for a group of kids, especially since the rocky shorelines could still be covered in ice. Also, only single hooks are allowed in the streams. Steelhead is catch and release only, and brook trout minimum length is 20 inches I think (basically it’s also catch and release). If you want them to catch fish, I would personally would take them to the streams in southeast Minnesota. If you want to take in the scenery, I’d wait a few weeks later when weather and conditions are nicer.
 
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