duluth BWCA to Duluth Area Fishing Reports

[Down Deep]

We probably only got 1/4 to 1/2" tops in Souptown. Its going to take a lot more than 4 or 5" of rain to get Island Lake back up to normal again. I really dont think it will happen this summer.

I still have hope. We still have early to mid June coming up. I've seen many openers with a fire ban, severe fire warning and low water in the lakes. Then early June arrives and we are all looking for an Ark to ride on.

[reinhard1]

hello, i'm a former duluth resident and would like to know if anything is going on at boulder lake. i have fished boulder since i was a kid but haven't been there for a year. thanks in advance.

[S.S. Fiasco]

boy how horribly low that lake is......stuff barely stickin up all over and where i found fish last year is dry as a bell!!! crazy buisiness, anyone suggest an AREA (not a spot) to try and get a meal or two?

[S.S. Fiasco]

however i did manage to retrieve 2 lures from last year lol yaaaaay

[no_bod]

With the water levels being as low as you guys say they are, are the boat landings accessible on Island Lake? I've never fished the lake before, but plan on it this coming weekend.

[Northlander]

I would use the Mn. Power Landing.

We will be in the Big ALS Tourney up there Sat and Im pretty sure that the Mn. Power landing will be closed to public use. If not you will have a to wait until after the take offs for the contest but Im pretty sure its shut down to the public.

The d a m landing is looking very low and I dont suggest it.

Abbitt is another landing to try.

[no_bod]

Thanks for the heads up Northlander. However, being unfamiliar with the lake, could you point out which landing is where? This will make my navigation process a bit easier, thanks.

[Surface Tension]

Here you go.

http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/maps/water_access/counties/stlouis_southern.pdf

[titelines]

Just got back from 5 days in the BWCA and thought I'd chime in with a report.

Went in at Snowbank, paddled Disappointment, Ahsub, Jitterbug, Adventure etc. all the way to Ima and Thomas. First - Waters levels are very low. Second - Fishing was slow.

Set up camp and decided to go out and try for some lakers on Ima. Trolled a #9 Gold Doctor Spoon in about 60' FOW and got a great strike about 15 minutes in. To my surprise, I reeled up a nice 36" northern. got some shots and released. Thinking this was the beginning of something great, we trolled around for another 2 hours...nothing. Worked everything from 15' to 90'. Baitfish were from 8' to 14', and I saw some fish hugging the bottom, but got no other strikes that night.

Devoted the entire next day to Ima, going after everything. It started fast again. Trolling a Shad Rap in perch pattern, I picked up a couple nice northern in 4' - 12' FOW right away. The rest of the day was spent trying to get a bite. We tried trolling, jigging (leeches and minnows), slip bobbers, Lindy's, crankbaits, spoons, artificials and everything else. We marked fish on the surface, on the bottom and everywhere in-between, but couldn't buy a bite. The wind picked up quite a bit as the day went on, which made jigging and Lindy's more difficult, but nothing worked. Shorelines, deeper water and everything in-between, we worked the entire lake.

We spent the next day on Thomas, looking for lakers and walleye without much luck. Worked structure, shorelines, current areas etc. and got nothing. The highlight was seeing a cow moose with her two babies walking the shoreline, an eagle fighting the gulls for the remains of a very large fish and a great snack break on an island. Lots of fish on the chart, but none landed for the several hours that we spent on the water.

That's about how it went, until our trip out. We decided to take our time and troll/cast on our way out. Pretty slow until we got to Ahsub (designated brook trout lake). My wife had been skunked to this point and I really wanted her to get in the action. I tied on a little spinner and told her that I'd paddle around and she should try for some brookies. She spent the next hour or so catching one after the other. Walked up to the campsite on the hill and had a snack...what a view!! Another highlight - Always love watching the wife catch fish and giggle etc.

Surface water temps all over were 67-68 degrees. Spoke with several people and they all said the same thing..."Slow". A couple guys had gotten a laker or two, or a walleye or two, but the consensus was that it was slow. A couple guys were jealous of the few pike I had gotten.

Great trip nonetheless - It's not all about the fishing. Just wish that we could've been rewarded with a shore lunch for all the time spent researching the lakes ahead of time, getting the "right" lures for the trip and the hours spent on the water. But, just gives us more reason to get back soon!

Hope this helps anyone looking to go to the area.

[panhead]

I just got back from the gunflint trail. Had been up there since 5/15. I got the camping site I wanted so just stayed there until early this morning.Fished on East Bearskin and Aspen lakes.The weather was amazing, consistantly warm and sunny. My ears have turned into leather. On openning day EB lake temp. was 48, after just 10 days the surface temp had risen to 70 degrees. I was told by a local that most inland lakes had dropped about 10 degrees just before openner?It hit 71 and then settled back down a few degrees. Hot bright calm days. One night it was 72 degrees in my camper at 10 pm. Worst fish catching trip I have ever had on the trail.I caught walleye, smb ,northern and perch on EB. Not in good numbers or size.Walleye catching slowed after all the minnows died from the warm surface temps. Drove to town, got more and they all died in a day or two. I keep minnows in a container down a few feet. Laster longer than floating on top but water just got to warm. Walleye just would not take a leech. Fished with crawlers with no luck. Fished as shallow as under 10 feet and as deep as 45 or so. Yes I did catch a few down around 40 feet. Why,they were down there ,I dont know.Trolled with cranks early and late in the day along the shore with limited success.Fished after dark, again with limited success. SMB had just finished spawning a few days before I left. The males were guarding the nests and thus became easy to catch. All were released.Hope the catching improves for all as the season progresses, perhaps for some it already has. So not a great fish catching trip but its always great to be up there. Met fellow campers, fished with a few, ran into others I had met in previous years. Northlander,heard you on the radio when you were prefishing in the rainfor the als tournament. How did you and Jason do?

[S.S. Fiasco]

heading up to island wednesday.... how's fishin and water level doin?

[NoCal]

Just got back from a week on East Bearskin and fishing was actually pretty good for smallies. Only landed a couple walleye (in the evening using leeches). However the smallie action picked up as the week progressed. Slip bobber and a leech worked like a charm near rock piles... best action on East Bearskin for smallies in a few years (i always go memorial week). A couple nice pike thrown in and all and all a good trip.

Word from locals was that the walleye bite really picked up in the evening using lighted slip bobbers (on numerous lakes).

[S.S. Fiasco]

any updates on water level after all this rain?

[Sherpa]

I fished Elbow and Devil Track just outside of Grand Marais this weekend. We could not find the walleye on Elbow but caught tons of perch. On Devil Track we got 4 pretty small walleye. I got my brother his first two walleye so that was a success at least. I also pulled in a bass from under a dock on Devil Track. Great trip though, can't wait to get back up there and try some more lakes.

[walleyehunter80]

I fished Elbow and Devil Track just outside of Grand Marais this weekend. We could not find the walleye on Elbow but caught tons of perch. On Devil Track we got 4 pretty small walleye. I got my brother his first two walleye so that was a success at least. I also pulled in a bass from under a dock on Devil Track. Great trip though, can't wait to get back up there and try some more lakes.

Pike Lake!

[Sherpa]

I really wanted to hit that one but my brothers wife was done with being in the boat so we did not fish on the last day. It was pretty hard for me not to fish but you have to make sacrifices sometimes I guess.

Thanks for the tip. Hopefully next time.

[Down Deep]

A guy I work with has a cabin on Island and was out there yesterday. I asked him the same question today (Tue) and he said that he didn't see any movement in water levels. I'd say that as soon as all that gravel in the area around the lake gets saturated and the Cloquet River upstream gets going the lake has got to start rising.

[Surface Tension]

The bogs up river are low and they absorb a lot of water then release it slowly. Its Natures way of flood control.

Side note: I was on the Cloquet down river from Fish and Island lakes on Memorial weekend. It seemed like there was plenty of flow, more then I expected considering how dry it had been.

[fatfinger]

shorland traditions-water levels

[S.S. Fiasco]

thinking of taking the little girl shoreby fishin, anyone got suggestion other than the stupid bridge (i hate that spot lol) or mn power landing? she's 2 and her dora the explorer pole has yet to be bent, kinda thought she woulda had a wall mounter by now, i mean 2 years on this planet and no fish? i dont know how fatfinger does it at age 30 LOL jk

[Capt.Blaine]

Try the Cloquet river. You should be able to get into a bunch of smallmouth.

[Northlander]

Chub lake.

[JBMasterAngler]

Will be making it up there on friday for year 29! What's the status of the lakes up there? We've gotten alot of rain down here the last couple weeks, has it been raining up there too? Are the bass in the shallows? The last 2 years has been pretty bad with weather and cold water temps, so hopefully things are more normal this year. Also, any road construction going on on hwy 61 or the gunflint trail? Thanks for any updates or info

[tunrevir]

The bass were already in the shallows as of 2 weeks ago, I had surface temps in the low 70's but with the rain and cold the temps dropped back to the low 60's by the end of the trip. The trout were sporadic and we had our best luck out on the lake with the canoe versus casting from shore. Bugs were non existent for the better part of the weekend but the mayfly hatch was in full swing. One small stretch of construction on 61 but otherwise smooth sailing up the shore.

Tunrevir~

[skolfoppa]

JB- We will be hitting DT and Pike this weekend. Possibly a canoe expedition into Benagami or Trestle Pine-Kemo. Maybe we will cross paths. Landcruiser pulling a gray Rebel SS. Skol.

[JBMasterAngler]

We haven't quite mapped out what lakes on which days we'll be at, but if you see a red jimmy with duct tape on backseat door, that's me

[analyzer]

I was on Sag 6/4-6/8. It's as low as I've ever seen it. Becareful if you're running a motor any where up there, there are rocks in places I don't usually see them.

May flies were out in the shallower lakes.

Someone was catching 3lb lakers on sag in 42 fow.

Walleyes were biting for us anytime the Barometer was falling. When it was rising things shut down, but that may have just been a coincidence.

Mosquitos weren't terrible, but there were lots of them in the shade and around the pine trees.

Black flies came out in the sunshine, but they weren't bad either.

There's a little stretch of road construction somewhere between beaver bay and grand marais (I think around tofte maybe), I don't remember exactly where, but it was relatively short, and not too bad. Although there were ruts caused by the rain when we were there, so take it slow through there.

We were catching walleye's and bass with slip bobbers set at 4'-6'. I've read alot of people mentioning the 6' depth.

[JBMasterAngler]

Hmmm, I was hoping to hit sag this year. The fast water spots on the sea gull river are still easy to get through? I haven't been to sag since right after the big forest fire (in '93 I think?), so I'm anxious to see what it looks like with everything grown back.

[S.S. Fiasco]

so i am sure this ? is getting old, BUT...... how's island lookin?

[gunflint]

It's never old. I'd like to know also. I don't care about the bite as much as the hatch. Anyone have a Mayfly report for Island?