Jarrid Houston Column: Wisconsin fishing opener is over, Minnesota is coming – Duluth News Tribune

The “open” sign flashed brightly at Wisconsin’s annual state fishing opener last Saturday, and now it’s Minnesota’s turn.

We think things are looking good. Despite early ice melt this spring, water temperatures were able to remain cooler. A mix of cool days, along with recent occasional showers, kept the water temperatures from soaring. This is good news for anglers, as it should result in a longer than usual bite delay. Still, it’s fishing, and any avid fisherman knows you can be humbled.

That said, let’s all be optimistic and hope for the best fishing start ever. For now, the weather is looking good, so fingers crossed for that. For the Wisconsin opener, we had to fish in cold rain, which was not ideal.

Let’s look at the next big holiday we call the Minnesota Fishing Grand Opening:

Lake Superior fishermen have had holidays and holidays depending on what Mother Nature has provided them. We can report that the marinas are filling up with ships and that maritime traffic is picking up a little. From Ashland to the North Shore, we will start to see more and more big boats trolling. The best fishing continues to be trolling with shallow stick baits of different colors that may change daily.

This week it seems bright orange is the best choice for eating coho bites. The fishing grounds aren’t as concentrated as they were a month ago, but that’s typical as many spring rituals are underway. We just harvested a pretty decent crop of smelt, and the humans weren’t the only ones harvesting some tasty morsels. The best target depths for coho are in and around the 80- to 120-foot zones, but as with changing bait colors, these can also vary often.

For charter captains about to set sail, have a great season and we can’t wait to hear what happens out there.

Stream fishing continues to go well for some anglers. The waterways of Two Harbors on the North Shore are seeing some good fish being caught. Fan fly rods with float indicators on fly lures continue to get a few bites. Water levels have increased and the flow is pretty good at the moment. We expect to see canoeists and kayakers heading to the creeks as we move into May.

The Saint-Louis River estuary will be one of the most frequented places for walleye fishermen in the coming weeks. We expect to see many anglers launching boats throughout the system. Water temperatures, as mentioned, are still cooler, hovering around the 50 degree mark, which should be good. The big girls should head back to Lake Superior, but as usual, a few lucky anglers will have a date with these big, beautiful fish.

Please make the right decision regarding harvesting. I have often heard people say that old walleyes cannot reproduce, which is absolutely incorrect. And, I promise you, if you take a fish out of the water, it won’t have a 100% chance of reproducing. Keeping a few fish is okay, just make sure you know the rules, and please only keep juvenile type fish, say under 18 inches.

For success in the lower river and harbor I would look towards the edges of the channel and use a slow bait. Crankbaits can be ideal, but spring fishing is generally better suited to live bait rigs. Lindy rigs, spinner rigs, dead sticks, or one of my favorites, corking (bobber fishing), will all be good tactics. Your fishing electronics will definitely show a bunch of fish, but not all of them will be active. Once a large group of boats with multiple baits begins to infiltrate the schools of fish, they can move away fairly quickly. The point is, don’t be afraid to find areas of the river with less traffic.

Let’s move on to inland lake fishing. Let’s start with Wisconsin, because we’ve been struggling a bit to start the season. Fishing started slow the opening weekend, but has picked up a bit since then. The water temperature is just over 50 degrees in many areas we fished. The walleyes seem to be better in the morning and more biting later in the evening for some reason. Usually in early May we can get them pretty consistently throughout the day, but not yet this year. The pike have been easy to pick off while working the weed edges around the 10 foot depths. Some strong fish can be attacked this time of year, so if the walleye bite is a little “off,” don’t be afraid to cast stick baits or spinner baits toward the shorelines.

For panfish lovers, we are just starting to enjoy some nice crappie bites near the deeper breaks. Windblown shorelines, cork and split shot, with a crappie minnow, are a good recipe for fishing for crappie. Crappie will go to areas of soft bottom, shallow and warm. Using a bobber and a piece of worm is a good bet.

For Minnesota’s opening morning, if you’re looking for walleyes, don’t overlook the Great Plains near substrate transition zones. From rock to sand, it’s hard to beat. We look forward to hearing about everyone’s success. Man, it’s great to be back fishing! Have a safe and enjoyable week, everyone, and we will definitely see you back on the water.

Jarrid Houston of South Range is a fishing guide (houstonsguideservice.com) on the inland waters of Minnesota and Wisconsin, the St. Louis River and, in winter, Lake Superior.