Where are the fish biting?

One of Cook County’s best fishermen, Bruce Zimpel, celebrated his 57th birthday by traveling to Manistique, Michigan with his son Brent. Bruce caught these two salmon in the Manistique River, which he estimated to be between 18-20 pounds.

Jon at Buck’s Hardware Hank files this year’s final report:

As the fishing season slowly starts to wind into the hunting season, I am writing the last report. People are starting to winterize their boats while weighing whether or not they should hit the lakes for one last go-around.

Lake Superior lake trout seem to be coming in shallower this week as people are starting to get a few just casting from the shoreline. Out in the lake some are trolling in 60 to 100 feet of water. Salmon still seem to be few and far between.

Above: Wendy Ford of Grand Marais recently traveled to St. Louis County for a weekend of fishing at Lake Kabetogoma. She caught this 25-inch walleye while fishing off the dock with a Beaver House beaver flick and a dead minnow. The big fish was released, but Wendy and her husband, James “Sporto” Ford caught some other nice eating sized walleyes.

People are also hitting a few walleyes with jigs and minnows mostly. Crescent, Cascade, Devilfish, and Elbow lakes all reported fish but a lot were in the smaller ranges.

I’m hearing conflicting stories on the grouse season thus far. Some are limiting out while others haven’t seen a bird yet. I’m seeing a few in my travels but I’m waiting for the leaves to fall a little more before I head out for a nice walk. It’s been a great autumn and if you can get out a couple of more times, it’ll probably be worth it. We haven’t had a lot of really nice days this year, but the past couple of weeks have been pretty darn good.

One last note: Our “Big Buck Contest” will be starting in about a month. Come on in and register for the contest – $10 is all it takes to possibly win a new rifle (heaviest) or half of the money (antler spread). Or possibly win the drawing for the other half of the money. So come on in and register early.