Where are the fish biting?

Doug Rodell from North Carolina caught this beauty while bobber fishing with a sucker minnow off the dock at Hungry Jack Lodge.

Rain, rain, and more rain have made fishing an interesting endeavor lately. Not that the rain has slowed or stopped the bite, but it has slowed and stopped some fishermen from being able to get out, especially when there is some free time to chase the fish. Oh well. To those who have the free time, the water is warming up and the fish are hungry. Happy angling!

Captain Kelly Shepard of North Shore Outdoors Lake Superior Charters reports that lake trout are moving up a little into the 150-foot depth. Lake Superior cooled down to 42 degrees, and was 50 degrees last week. A few king salmon are being caught. Walleyes are biting everywhere using leeches, jigs, and bobbers. Best luck can be had if you fish late afternoons and evenings.

Forrest Parson, owner of Hungry Jack Lodge called to say that decent size walleyes were being caught in the evenings out on the lake and off the lodge dock.

The smallmouth bass bite is good, he said, with anglers having the best luck using artificial baits and sight fishing.

Leo Lake is also producing rainbow trout either by trolling or still fishing with a crawler.

Tyson at the Beaver House said the lake trout and salmon are biting in 80 to 130 feet of water in Lake Superior.

Inland, Mink, Trestle, Trout and Kimball lakes are giving up rainbow and splake, while Devil Track, Elbow, Two Island, and Crescent are great places to ply the waters for walleye, bass and northerns.

Stream fishing for brook trout is also good, noted Tyson. Area streams are yielding nice catches of what is maybe the best tasting fish in northern Minnesota. Fish just before or during a light rain. Upper portions of the Cascade River, and smaller streams like Kimball, Elbow, Devil Track, Junco, and Bally creek are good venues to try. Tyson said Beaver Flicks work well for catching walleye, bass, and trout.