UTERJanuary
Ice on Chequamegon Bay: lake trout, whitefish and perch
Jig tubes and spoons for lakers in 30–80 feet off Bayfield; whitefish on a wax-worm teardrop.
Duluth to the Soo — Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan's Upper Peninsula
Lake Superior fishing
What's biting in Lake Superior in October: Coho (silver) salmon, steelhead and northern pike at their peak, with Chinook (king) salmon, smallmouth bass and yellow perch around too. Fish Scouter's season calendar follows 9 fish here month by month, from Duluth to Munising.
Fall steelhead and coho in the tributaries; lakers spawn on the reefs
The biggest, coldest, clearest of the lakes: rocky shores dropping straight to 600 feet, lake trout on the offshore reefs, steelhead and salmon in the short, steep North Shore and UP tributaries, and the sheltered warm-water bays — Chequamegon, the St. Louis River estuary, Keweenaw Bay — where the smallmouth, walleye, pike and the ice fishing live.
DuluthGrand MaraisBayfieldAshlandMarquetteMunising
Updated
Now · October
Fall steelhead and coho in the tributaries; lakers spawn on the reefs
Leave the spawning reefs alone; swing flies and drift spawn in the river pools.
Lake trout (mackinaw, togue)Coho (silver) salmonSteelheadNorthern pike
This month here
From the season calendar, best firstSpawningPeakPeakSpawningLeavingAroundAroundAroundAround
Coho (silver) salmon
Fall coho in the North Shore tributaries
Steelhead
Fall steelhead on the UP and Wisconsin tribs
Northern pike
Lake trout (mackinaw, togue)
Spawning on the reefs; some zones close through the spawn
Chinook (king) salmon
Smallmouth bass
Yellow perch
Walleye
Lake whitefish
The water
Structure that matters
LakeRiverFishing pierBoat rampCreek / stream
After a cold front
Superior barely warms — 40s for half the year. A northeast blow piles cold water on the North Shore and turns the fish off; a southwest wind pushes warm surface water and the salmon to the Minnesota side.
Month by month
What's happening, and what to throwFebruary
Deep winter — the bays' ice is the fishery
Lakers through the ice off Madeline Island and Keweenaw Bay when it's safe; check the ice reports.
March
Last ice; coho show off Duluth as the shore opens
Cast spoons from the Duluth piers and the harbor mouths; lakers still on the ice where it holds.
April
Steelhead wait for 40°F water, then run the North Shore
Spawn sacs and yarn in the river mouths; follow them up once the rivers open. Shore-cast coho and lakers.
May
Peak spring steelhead; St. Louis River walleye
Wild steelhead are catch-and-release in Minnesota. Jig the St. Louis River for walleye after the opener.
June
Lake trout shallow; Chequamegon smallmouth on the beds
Troll the near-shore reefs for lakers; sight-fish Chequamegon Bay's giant smallies — release them.
July
Lakers drop deep; coho and kings on the warm-water breaks
Downriggers at the thermocline off the Apostle Islands and Grand Marais.
August
Summer trolling and the first kings staging
Lakers on the reefs, salmon on the warm southwest-wind days off Duluth and the Wisconsin shore.
September
Fall run: kings, coho and pinks up the rivers
The St. Louis, the Brule and the UP rivers; steelhead start following them in.
October · now
Fall steelhead and coho in the tributaries; lakers spawn on the reefs
Leave the spawning reefs alone; swing flies and drift spawn in the river pools.
November
Late steelhead before the rivers freeze
The UP and Wisconsin tribs on mild days; the North Shore streams lock up first.
December
Freeze-up — wait for safe ice on the bays
Nothing safe yet on the open lake; the warm bays freeze first.
Fish guides for Lake Superior
When, where and what to use, fish by fishChinook (king) salmonCoho (silver) salmonLake trout (mackinaw, togue)Lake whitefishNorthern pikeSmallmouth bassSteelheadWalleyeYellow perch
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