Jarrid Houston Column: Rain-clouded St. Louis River slows walleye bite, lakes continue to produce – Duluth News Tribune

Hopefully everyone had a great holiday weekend and enjoyed some time with family, friends and fish. I’m sure we weren’t the only ones balancing all the weekend activities.

At the time of this report, water temperatures continue to slowly rise. We always expect quality fishing, but don’t think we’re not partial to a few bites. With the heavy rains we experienced last week, we had a slight slowdown on many area waters. We are looking at water temperatures in the upper 50s and a little above 60s.

Of course, these change depending on the bodies of water you are on. Smaller, shallower lakes will be warmer than larger, deeper lakes. The one constant that continues to show is that insects and vegetation are really starting to be noticed.

Last weekend, mosquitoes were with us on the water unless we managed to find windy areas to fish. Now that we are entering June, optimism is in full swing. I still believe the best fishing is ahead of us, so buckle up, we’re getting closer.

Let’s move on to this week’s reports:

Lake Superior offers charter boats that access the North Shore and South Shore offshore areas. Many captains are reporting good salmon and lake trout bites outside of Duluth. Water depths vary, but most find fish in 120 to 150 feet of water.

Stick baits are still attracting good fish. The best color from last week seems to be a bright orange mixed with some near green or blue accents. Spoon fishing is certainly also a must-do activity. The great thing about fishing the Gitch is that you can use different lures with multiple lines. Finding your own model of success is therefore one thing.

With the rains we’ve had, we have somewhat of a mud line in the lake, especially near the river mouths, and many boats will be heading toward those areas. Good fishing can also be done in clear waters, as long as you trust your electronics, water temperature and your gut.

For anglers who frequent Chequamegon Bay, good smallmouth bass fishing takes shape with hair jigs fishing over 14 to 25 feet of water. Blacks and dark browns are the best color choices, but as usual, don’t be afraid to change colors if the fishing is slow.

The walleye bite on the south shore is still a long way off, but anglers continue to frequent some rivers and are finding a few trout and occasional salmon. As we move into June, and if the rains stop, some good resident stream fish will become prime targets.

The Saint-Louis River estuary is one of the waters that experienced a slight slowdown due to the rain. Many parts of the system turned brown and debris flowed in the fast-moving current. Most debris consists of aspen and poplar down, which can resemble snow depending on location. It sticks to everything, including our fishing lines and reels. Oh, well, that’s part of the game this time of year.

For the most part, the fish we marked were perch and walleyes in the flat areas, using noisier baits. Even a few catfish responded to the slow-rolled, large-profile baits. Colors were not as important as size. The bigger the size, the bigger the sound. Live bait is still relevant.

Like the streams mentioned above, the river should experience a nice run over the next few weeks. Fish locations are found everywhere from the upstream to the lower sections.

Crappie and other bluegills were doing well up until this time last week, then we lost them (for now). Pike are still active on weed lines, or if you like, it’s always fun to dip a few worms for a rough bottom feeding fish. We have several river trips in the next few weeks so it will be interesting to see how things go. Believe me, it’s different every year.

Inland lakes were the most popular fisheries last week. Memorial Day weekend is always a busy start to summer for lake owners who need to finish installing docks and launching boats. Things should get back into the usual summer routine now that the big rush has slowed down. This is good news for boat ramps.

When it comes to fishing, most anglers get good bites of crappie and walleye in similar areas using similar techniques. Slowly pulling crawler harnesses or trolling a fathead minnow will get fish. I wouldn’t be surprised if things improve for prime crappie fishing next week, given the current water temperature situation.

That said, and I know I always say this, but let’s be responsible when determining what is right to harvest crappies and bluegills. Small and largemouth bass can cast spinner baits or crankbaits over shallow structure. The best depths are between 4 and 16 feet. Shallower vegetative water is better for largemouths and harder rocks and sand for smaller ones. Pike can be found in both types.

We’re off and running in the summer rush. Stay safe, be courteous to each other and we’ll see you on the water again.

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