Column by Jarrid Houston: Summer fishing patterns begin to take shape – Duluth News Tribune

“Grinding” is the word that comes to mind for this time of year when we are very busy planning trips and doing our best to make our fishing trips successful.

As things stand, we are off to an excellent start to the regular season. Have we had slower days? Sure, but the better fishing days made up for the slow days. Water temperatures in the area continue to hover around the mid 60s. Of course, it all depends on the waters you’re fishing. We continue to see rising water levels with rain showers, so that’s a good thing.

Last weekend we were treated to some great days of fishing. We got a little wet, but for the most part the sunny skies kept us warm and helped dry our clothes and boats. Looking ahead, we continue to see more chances of rain, so we’ll have to see what next week brings.

A constant situation that continues to grow is the number of bug outbreaks. I’m not sure about the rest of you, but you can’t stand to sit on our patio without being attacked by mosquitoes. Don’t worry, because we finally saw our first dragonflies zooming around the shores of some local waters.

Hopefully this will help balance things out. Otherwise, if you leave, don’t forget the mosquito repellent spray in addition to your sunscreen.

OK, time to dive into this week’s report:

Lake Superior fishermen enjoyed lake trout and salmon last week. Combing the waters outside the Superior and Duluth inlets, a few miles away, has become routine. Many boats were present this last weekend for the Jaws Tournament. Despite all the traffic on the lake, most managed to fish a good portion.

The best bites were around the mid-morning time slots. Pulling stick baits and spoons remains the preferred method. Color selections are everywhere, but for the most part, oranges, pinks, and purples still carry the day. The catches mainly concern lake trout, but a few salmon arrive on board the boats. Even some nice Chinooks are caught here and there. Now that we are in June, we will start to see some fish moving to deeper water.

On the Lake Superior tributary rivers, string flies, spawning beads or different varieties of drift flies have caught a few fish. As we move into June we expect many catches to be of the native run trout stock, but you never know.

The Saint-Louis River estuary continues to welcome many fishermen who try their luck catching walleye. The fishing was pretty good for our team last week. Not every day is the same, but most of the time our routine has paid off. Fish are found in both shallow and deep waters. The best bite has been in the morning, but we can also work a few fish during the day. The wind is our friend, and the best fishing has been on windy, overcast days. Live bait and Crankbaits also attract fish.

Along with the walleyes, we also encountered some nice perch and occasional crappie. We are now starting to see some muskie fishermen, but we have not heard of any success yet.

The sturgeon are starting to get really active and it is becoming more and more common to see large dinosaurs launching and breaking at the surface. Hopefully the bite continues to be productive, but like any other type of fishing, things can change quickly. We’re almost there with full-fledged summer patterns, but not quite yet.

The inland lakes are perfect for good mixed bag catches. Crappie minnows and 1/16 ounce jigs have been a good, easy way to catch several different species including, but not limited to, crappies, perch, pike, bass and walleye. On a recent trip, we even had a large, trophy-sized pike follow a small jig and minnow back to the boat.

For walleye anglers, it’s best to keep looking toward mid-lake humps and/or wind-blown shorelines. Drift jigging is a good way to cover ground and be productive, but be sure to place your bait in the appropriate strike zones. I like to bounce my lure about 1 foot off the bottom in 8 to 16 feet of water. The green weeds are definitely starting to germinate quickly now, so these areas are also a good place to fish.

Bass anglers have had great success casting spinnerbaits to docks and trees along the edges of most lakes.

Pan fishing hasn’t been great yet, but those days are coming. As I mentioned, we will avoid going after vulnerable bluegills until after the spawn.

Everyone be safe and courteous to each other and we will see you 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.