Where are the fish biting?

As the days grow longer, the urge to go fishing grows stronger. With that, several area fishermen have been happy to supply the Cook County News-Herald with a fish report.

Captain Kelly Shepard of North Shore Outdoors Lake Superior Charters said that lake trout are still deep and those that are hooked are being caught in the 180-foot depths. No salmon yet, said Shepard, who added that walleye have begun to bite. Walleye can be caught bobber fishing or with a jig and leeches and pulling raps.

Forrest Parsons from Hungry Jack Lake reported that groups of fishermen are catching some nice walleye. One walleye recently weighed somewhere in the 5-pound range. For the best results, use trolling raps and leeches and fish in the evening.

Rainbow trout are being caught in Leo Lake, in the 18- to 20-inch range.

Bass are still slow due to cold water and they are still spawning.

Tyson at the Beaver House said the walleyes are starting to bite on Two Island, Elbow, and Devil Track lakes. Tyson noted that area lakes are still cold, so as the temperature warms, the fishing should continue to pick up.

Limits of rainbow trout are being taken on Mink, Kimball, and Trout lakes using crawlers and Beaver Flicks, Little Cleo’s and floats with a crawler. The trout were found in 14 to 16 feet of water on Kimball Lake.

Lake Superior lake trout, said Tyson, are biting well when fishing in 130 to 180 feet of water.

Stream report

The water is still high, fast, and cold in area streams, but the brook trout have started to bite. Sometimes, anyway. Catches have been reported in Elbow, Kimball, Junco, Cascade and Devil’s Track. For the best results use a worm or night crawler attached to a gold or silver spinner. When fishing in heavy overgrowth, a tangle of living and dead brush that hangs over and on the water, use a crawler with hardly any weight and float it into the debris and wait for a quick strike. Careful or the fish will tangle and twist your line around a limb and you will be out of luck–and fish–when your line breaks. As the mosquitos continue to hum-buzz, and whine their way into our soon to be itchy existence, the fishing will continue to get better and better.