Amy and John Chance, Litchfield, Minnesota, celebrated their wedding anniversary by taking a charter fishing trip with Captain Kelly Shepard of North Shore Lake Superior Charters this past week. Shepard said it was one of his best days ever fishing on the big lake. The couple caught and released a 24-pound lake trout, a 21-pounder and 17½-pounder while keeping a limit of smaller, good eaters. Amy caught two of the biggest fish.
When you see vehicles parked along the road next to streams entering into Lake Superior at this time of year you know one thing, the “Pinks” are running.
Some call this salmon species “humpy” salmon. Pinks or humpies or whatever you like to call them like to hit on pink jigs. Their mouths are soft so be careful when you hook them so you won’t rip the hook out of their mouths. They are fun to catch and a good bet for kids because if they are around, they bite frequently. A nice sized Pink runs 2-3 pounds, but they can grow larger.
This fun fish can be found any place a stream or river enters Lake Superior. Remember to use a single hook. Treble hooks aren’t allowed. Keep your game warden happy and follow the fishing rules.
Tyson at the Beaver House said walleyes are still biting in area lakes and he named several hotspots to try: Elbow, Two Island, Devil Track, Ball Club, Seagull, Saganaga and Crescent lakes. If you want to catch your limit, Tyson suggests using Beaver Flicks or Beaver House float rigs, fishing off the bottom. Another good bet is to gear up with pink and chartreuse jigs using leeches, minnows and night crawlers.
In the daytime, the fish are found 19-20 feet deep and evening in 6-8 feet.
Lake Superior continues to be a perfect place to ply the waters for lake trout, said Tyson.
Trout are biting from the surface down to 150 feet on several colors of Beaver Flick spoons. Best bets include Beaver Flicks colored blue and white or blue and silver. Chartreuse and watermelon colored spoons also work well as do silver and gold Sutton spoons.
Some coho are being caught in the big lake, Tyson said. Pink salmon are in the rivers. Head to Cascade, Poplar, or Brule streams and use Beaver Flicks with a piece of night crawler and yarn balls.
Lake trout fishing on inland lakes is picking up, said Tyson. Fish are being caught in 40 feet of water using spoons. He said he’s heard good reports coming from Seagull, Saganaga and Clearwater lakes.
Smallmouth bass action is good on Two Island, Hungry Jack, Bearskin and Devil Track lakes.
As far as angling for rainbows, they are still biting well on Mink and Kimball lakes from shore. Use a crawler with no weight or a slip sinker. Spoons with crawlers also work, but rainbow are traditionally bottom feeders so your best bet is to let your bait sit on the bottom where a hungry fish will swim by and claim it.
Brook and rainbow trout anglers are doing well on all area streams. Both Kadunce and Brule rivers are giving up some nice trout. Tyson suggests using night crawlers and orange or pink Beaver Flicks.
Captain Kelly Shepard of North Shore Outdoors Lake Superior Charters reports that fishing for lake trout on Lake Superior is great right now. Lake trout are scattered anywhere from the surface to 150 feet.
Shepard suggests using lead core line fixed with flat lining spoons or Dipsy Divers. Spoons colored gold, or are purple with pink spots, or glow, or are orange or watermelon work the best.
A few more coho salmon have started to come around and are mixed in with small pink salmon at the mouths of the streams.
Inland, walleye fishing has picked up. Shepard suggests using jigs and minnows or crawlers in an 8-foot depth range. The water is starting to turn over as the cool weather in fall has begun, he noted.
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