Lake Superior Fishing Reports

[Jack Stasney]

Nice job. I wouldn't be disappointed with that! Not everybody catches a 39in Laker or a 29.5in king out there for that matter.

[Shane Z]

Awesome Pics Jimmy! We went out yesterday and caught a 5lb king and a nice 8lb laker. On friday(same coordinates) my buddy and I got 4 nice lakers on top. Great to see you guys had some prety good fishing out there!

[tacklejunkie]

You don't really need snubbers for your dipsey on Superior. We don't have 20 lb kings slammIng our gear like Lake Michigan.

What if you're not using mono line for the dispey rods?

[2thepointsetters]

I have never put mono on a dipsey a rod because there is to much stretch. I run wire and power pro on mine. With the type of fish in Superior that we have I seriously doubt it is likely your line will get ripped off by a drive by. I run wire no snubber which has zero stretch with a 1 lb ball on the bottom for big lakers and they have yet to break a 6 foot 20lb. mono leader off.

I use snubbers on my dipsey rods, but if I didn't have any avliable at the time I would still run them with no worries.

[Poor Eddy]

This thread really turned quiet after the flood. Has everyone given up on Superior for the year or just waiting for the murkiness to dissipate?

[Jack Stasney]

I've been out a few times since the flood, up the shore. Plenty of fish around, but it has been slow to say the least. Everybody else is saying the same. I haven't really ever fished the north shore before, so with the water being clear there I figured it is time to learn. I finally got a pattern going last time out, but now too busy with work to get out. If I get out this weekend I'll post, but Island lake sounds like I might have to go give a try.

[Jim Almquist]

Got out today and found some clean water. Fishing was good early and slowed as the clouds broke up. Bright spoons trolled at 2.2 - 2.6 down 50-70' seemed to work best. Ended the day with 5 Kings and a Nice Red fin Laker that was released.

[JRS1022]

Got out today and found some clean water. Fishing was good early and slowed as the clouds broke up. Bright spoons trolled at 2.2 - 2.6 down 50-70' seemed to work best. Ended the day with 5 Kings and a Nice Red fin Laker that was released.

Did you run out of Superior or go up the northshore? Going to give a shot tomorrow morning, will report how it goes!

[Jim Almquist]

Went up the North Shore

[Mnfisher]

What is the difference between a red fin laker and a regular laker? Someone told me the red fin wasn't very good eating.

[Jim Almquist]

Siscowet is the Lake Trout that is very fatty and don't make the best table fare when the get really big. The Red Fin are more lean and are good to eat.

[reinhard1]

not an expert on the red fin lake trout but i think they are native or wild lake trout that spawn naturaly. my brother has cought some around Isle Royal. i think there is a good population there although they are caught in various locations. i heard they are good eating with more of the redish flesh. good luck.

[Mnfisher]

Thanks for the answers!

[JRS1022]

Hit the big pond this morning, wow what a scortcher! Put in at mcquad and ran up to the knife river area. Started off real slow, then around 10am things picked up. Found a good temp break in some clear water in 187 ft and the fish where biting. All spoons with crome and pink and black dots caught the majority. Anywhere from 50-100ft down. Came home with two kings and a one laker and lost 3 other fish. All action was was from 10am until noon, even had a double. Then it just got too hot. Fun day on the water.

[diederich06]

I was curious to find out how fishing is during the middle of August, I am scheduled to do a charter with Don Nelson "Lake and river charters" and hoping we will catch some lake trout and salmon possibly... 6 of us scheduled.

[tacklejunkie]

I was curious to find out how fishing is during the middle of August, I am scheduled to do a charter with Don Nelson "Lake and river charters" and hoping we will catch some lake trout and salmon possibly... 6 of us scheduled.

Actually pretty good for both numbers and size in my experience

[Northlander]

Is that with Charlie or Dave Nelson buy any chance?

[diederich06]

The captain is Don Nelson. Looking forward to it, I mainly fish walleyes etc... In central mn.

[fishgutz77]

Hey Jim, I think the siscowet is the one that lives really deep and are super fatty.

they hang in 300 plus feet of water and are different than the laker we catch other than the redfin.

couple of years ago I heard about that fish and had to start doing some research and thats about all I could find. there is some data on netting them and some photos they are a little different. the stuff I read said they have been down as deep as 600ft. my riggers only have 150ft of cable. LOL

[Poor Eddy]

I heard about the Siscowet years ago and I was curious as to whether some of the trout I was catching were them or not. Here is a good article about what to look for.

A Tale of Two Fishes - Bayview Compass

Since then, I have caught a few Siscowet and they are pretty much unmistakeable. They have large eyes, a stumpy nose and huge pectoral fins that they usually flare out like sails when you pull them from the water. It seems to me, that the Siscowet is considerably less fiesty than the leans and usually just lays there, fins flared, in the net. The Siscowet prefers deeper waters and third strain, a cross breed called the Paperbelly, is known to exist in Superior which suggests that some Siscowets share spawning habitat with the lean lakers. In the summer, they prefer the deep dark depths but it is possible to catch them in the fall if you're fishing pre-spawn lakers on the reefs. I have also caught them in the spring following the smelt run which suggests that they come in shallow to feast along with the Salmon, Browns, Walleyes, and other fish known to be caught during that period.

I think it's important to note that these are native fish to Superior and that meat color isn't necessarily a good means to identify them. In personal discussions with marine biologists, meat color is affected mostly by diet. Gender and genetics also a part. Next time you catch a male and female Chinook, compare the flesh color after filleting. A seasoned lake trout fisherman knows well that not all of the leans have that bright orange flesh but those are the ones we all hope to come home with.

[FishinFreak17]

Well, I am new to the big lake this year and have not had great success (flood & mud may take part of the blame). As you will read, I have put some time into this learning process, but now I need some advice!

I did ok in the spring between the Duluth and Superior Entrances from 5-50 FOW. A few Cohos and lakers. Since late June, only a few lakers going out of Mcquade and Knife River (skunked several times and 2 being the highest total caught). Launched at Mcquade on Sunday, caught 2 lakers 40 and 60 ft down in 92 and 170 FOW, respectively. Purple and Pink spoons only popped the releases and one laker lost on the lead-core (purple reef runner) with 200 ft spooled out. Best day since Spring! Most action came after 11am? Different speeds through out the day, 2.4 to 2.6 was working. No luck on 57 and reverse. Green did not have any luck either. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Good news is I am heading to LOW this weekend and down rigging is easy up there I hope to hit the big lake next week and taking 2 weeks off in August and put some serious time on the water. Wish me luck!

[Northlander]

I would head towards Two Harbors or Silver Bay until later in Aug. when the deep meat bite can be very good in the pump house area.

[tacklejunkie]

I've been having decent luck from McQuade on up with dispeys and spoons. Near Duluth is tough this year

[FishinFreak17]

Northlander and Tacklejunkie, Thanks for the advice. I have not tried Dipseys before. Just bought a small dipsey this week. I am going to test it on LOW for walleye (30 fow). I will buy the larger size for the big lake once I get the hang of it. I will also try Two Harbors and further north for a few weeks. I hope to fish every day over the last two weeks of Aug. I should figure things out by then or run out of gas money! Thanks again.

[tacklejunkie]

Northlander and Tacklejunkie, Thanks for the advice. I have not tried Dipseys before. Just bought a small dipsey this week. I am going to test it on LOW for walleye (30 fow). I will buy the larger size for the big lake once I get the hang of it. I will also try Two Harbors and further north for a few weeks. I hope to fish every day over the last two weeks of Aug. I should figure things out by then or run out of gas money! Thanks again.

How many rods do you have?

If you are running dipseys, I run 4. I have the longer two rods right behind me and those dipseys are set to plane down and out. I then have the two towards the transom straight back. I let out anyhere from 150-250 feet of line...PowerPro. I've caught fish from 70-300 feet trolling spoons at 2.2-2.8 mph GPS speed. Hope this sets you on the right path. I've grown fond of the dipsey and many times never get a hit on the riggers but the dipseys have produced

[FishinFreak17]

TackleJunkie,

I am looking forward to trying dipseys now. I normally run 4 down riggers with flashers and spoons at varied depths, plus 2 reef runners (or other divers) off the back 200 ft. That's the most lines I put out without planer boards. I have caught equal amounts on surface vs riggers, but that is not saying much. Hope to test dipseys on the big lake next Tues. Thanks again.

[Big Country]

FF17, others may disagree with me here because of the hook set and release mechanisim, but I personally like to have all my dipsie rod drags set to the point where when you are trolling, they are right on the edge of letting out line. With your clicker on, you will not only see, but sometimes hear the fish taking line out once they are hooked. Gets my heart pumping when I am looking one way then I hear the clicker going off on the opposite side. I used that technique on Michagan years ago and about fell out of the boat when a huge coho made the rod scream. THAT is fun! BC

[tacklejunkie]

FF17, others may disagree with me here because of the hook set and release mechanisim, but I personally like to have all my dipsie rod drags set to the point where when you are trolling, they are right on the edge of letting out line. With your clicker on, you will not only see, but sometimes hear the fish taking line out once they are hooked. Gets my heart pumping when I am looking one way then I hear the clicker going off on the opposite side. I used that technique on Michagan years ago and about fell out of the boat when a huge coho made the rod scream. THAT is fun! BC

I do the same. I'm usually driving the boat and my fishing partners are usually reading or talking to me and that click can get our attention.

And another thing, I like to run just spoons on the dipsey as a flasher with a dipsey, IMO, is alot of hardware on the line

Speaking of GPS's, does anyone elses have certain areas on the lake that's hard to get a signal? Up at Silver Bay, it seems my hand held GPS lost my position as I passed that plant

[Jim Almquist]

I like to have my Dipsy's set up the same way. Great little fish alarm I do not run down riggers so my method to get deep is to run #3 Mags with mag rings next to the boat set on 0 on 8' 6" rods and run #1 with mag rings and set on 3 on my 10' rods for better separation.

TJ I have never lost my GPS signal but I do have a external receiver on my boat.

[tacklejunkie]

It just seems that there are certain points on the lake that I lose the signal. And it's the same spots.

I actually rarely use the mag dipseys. When I do, I will also have them go straight back and down.