Jarryd Houston’s column: Anglers catch nice steelhead in tributaries – Duluth News Tribune

We’re almost done with a more or less disappointing October, or what’s supposed to be “Rocktober.”

One of my favorite months to look forward to is going to be a bad one this time around. While we’ve had a few successful days, most outings have been so-so, including last week when we tried to shoot a bit of video for media content, only to catch a few fish and get blown off the water by hurricane-force winds. Well, good. You can’t catch them all the time, every time.

For most anglers, we still understand that “fishing is fishing”. Moving forward, we still have some predictions for the best bites and I will always be optimistic about the fishing. We have another week of boating and hopefully run into a few fish along the way. After that there will be landing sites and a trek through the woods until we can get onto the safe ice, which is generally only about six weeks away, crazy.

With that in mind, let’s dive into this “creepy” edition of the weekly fish report:

On Lake Superior, anglers are chomping at the bit to get out and catch some world-class smallmouth bass. Fishing in the Ashland and Washburn areas has given up a few good bites. However, fishing was slow for the most part. Morning to mid-morning has been better, but as mentioned for several weeks in a row, we could really use a big, long cold front to trigger the bite.

Until then, most anglers are having some success using live bait rigs or dragging or casting plastic paddles. The depth is still around 6-25 feet which has been a problem as the fish are still trying to figure out their proper routines.

One of the common phenomena is still pike biting for weedy areas. In November, you can still find a large pike. Trout and salmon anglers still trying to catch river fish aren’t making it either. A few coho and the occasional coho can be caught on the shallow sandy areas with flat bottoms. However, most fish, especially salmon, work on the annual fall runs. Stream anglers have a better chance than boaters.

A few nice steelhead were reported in the tributaries last week. If you get caught up in the craziness of the river, expect to have company as the rapids have been busy.

The fishing in St. Louis has been OK, but not great. Crappie and rock bass were the best bites last week, with the occasional walleye added. It was difficult to see the neck fish, which, in turn, indicates hard bites. Most of the catches are from the edges of the channel using live bait rigging.

It’s important to work the lure very slowly as the fish weren’t very active during the chase, which leads me to believe that maybe we should be float fishing more. I will try that next time.

Otherwise, water flows continue to flow slowly with a low level. Fishermen who catch musky fish are not lucky either. Last week we saw or heard about zero bites. I know some local bait shops sell big suckers if you are looking for a big ski live rig.

Another note: the river continues to show murky, dirty water in most areas, which has no doubt contributed to some so-so bites.

Moving on to the inland waters of northeastern Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin. The water level in rivers and reservoirs continues to decrease, making navigation difficult. If you venture into the Duluth Reservoirs, be very careful as “prop monsters” can be common at low levels. Otherwise, most anglers still getting out are running general milk runs with jigs, anglers and/or plastics.

Walleye can still be caught in 8-14 feet when working a slow jig. Pike and bass are still good for those casting hard baits or spinners. The topwater season is almost over, so we can probably hold off on our lure choices.

Panfish float parallel to old weed lines, so throwing out a live bait float will net you some fish. The water temperature never really dropped this year so it was a little difficult to stay on a consistent bite.

We’ll see what the last week of fishing from the boat brings us. We are not done with this yet.

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