Strong winds mixed with rain have caused ice to disappear in front of our eyes. To be clear, all remaining ice is now deemed unsafe and should not be tried. Some lakes are already actually ice-free.
It’s too bad it couldn’t hold on any longer as the fish were really starting to fire on all cylinders. Just like every spring we are at the mercy of Mother Nature. And so the question now is, what’s next?
For me, it’s frantically cleaning and organizing gear and prepping for the upcoming week. Just because ice fishing has ended does not mean we don’t have other opportunities to catch fish. Here is what is on our next several weeks’ agenda until we are back into the regular general fishing season.
Fishing Lake Superior has become very popular recently as the coho, lake trout, brown trout and splake are stacking up on near shore areas (more splake and brown trout opportunity on the South Shore.) The only hiccup lately has been the weather, which has been poor at best. As mentioned, strong winds and rain have kept a good outing undoable.
Most boat launches and access points are open and if you don’t mind fishing shore spots, you may find yourself tangling with a few fish. Otherwise the die-hard boat anglers have been harvesting decent mixed bags trolling bright colored stickbaits off of boards. As the cold surface temperatures stick around, these fish will be using the upper part of the water columns. They will also be hovering around smelt balls (bait balls shown on your fish graph), so make sure to utilize your electronics. Speaking of smelt, look for some early reports coming in the next few weeks.
In case you haven’t heard, the Wisconsin Lake Superior tributaries open this coming weekend with special trout regulations. So make sure you’re up to speed on what is what, as far as regs goes. The Brule River will be the most sought after stream in this part of the world, so best to game-plan and arrive very early to find a spot.
Both spinning reel and fly fishermen can find success by seeking out river bends, deeper holes and slack water for frisky playing brown trout, steelhead and the occasional bonus salmon. With the recent rain mixed with typical spring run-off, the river should be bringing in a nice batch of fresh fish from Lake Superior. Baits that will be popular will be spawn bags, a mix of different types of hair/fly and select hardware. Remember to be kind to each other as this surely is one of the busiest weekends of the year for stream fishing.
The St. Louis River in Duluth-Superior is nearly ice-free but remains off-limits for walleyes until May 15. Now we have to wait until we can launch the boat before getting back to the panfish. Until then we will be chasing our other favorite rivers in search of legal walleyes. Rivers like the Rainy, Mississippi, Fox, Wolf, Menominee and Wisconsin all have spectacular spring runs.
Inland lake fishing is now on standby as we wait for clear boat launches and other access points with open waters. Similar to St. Louis river panfishing routines, we will be targeting inland sunfish and crappies as well. Another popular option we have in Wisconsin is the catch-and-release bass season that continues through March and April. Also, the Wisconsin inland trout streams are fair game for catch-and-release until the first week of May.
On a side note, if you’re looking for a feel good chore, grab some trash bags and hit the local boat launches and help clean up some left behind winter litter. Final note: Don’t forget to get your new licenses, stamps, etc.
Jarrid Houston of South Range is a fishing guide (houstonsguideservice.com) on Minnesota and Wisconsin inland waters, the St. Louis River and, in winter, on Lake Superior.
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