Fishing Report for April 14

Yesterday my buddy and I ran up to the south shore of Lake Superior. Got out early, and was started trolling along a beach with an incoming stream, when we got out there, it was flat calm and you could see the smelt and trout and salmon breaking the surface, we started out in about 12 feet of water trolling Reef Runners at about 1.8 MPH, a little slower than most people troll around there, but we catch fish at that speed so I stick to it. On the first pass we got two coho on reef runners, with about 55 feet of line out which is running them at about 3-4 feet down, I estimate, don’t know but it really has been working!

The fish were bitting pretty good in the morning, got 5 or so in the morning, trolling the beach in about 12-14 feet of water, most of the fish were on the beach, not at the mouth of the rivers like they have been for me.

as the bite started to slow down, I started slipping the boat out farther and farther away from shore, and then we got back into the coho, still trolling Reef runners 55 feet back. All of our fish came on chrome baits, only when the sun poked out of the clouds, caught one fish when it was cloudy on a painted bait. Also it was kind of weird, in the morning all of our fish but one came trolling into the wind, I really think it was the first time that most of my fish either salmon or walleye trolling that they came trolling into the wind. By the afternoon the wind kicked up pretty good, and then all of our fish came trolling with the wind again, so just be versitle!

I have tried trolling spoons, and flasher fly combo’s, but no luck on any of them so far! everything is on stickbaits, not only that but really just reef runners, they have been my best baits so far. Hope this helps everybody out!!

Good Luck,
Tanner Wildes

Great report Tanner.
I will be getting there next weekend. My guess is the smelt will be done in the rivers then and the ho will be a bit further out? Guess we will have to see. Reguarding your into the wind theory it would have been interisting to have seen reedings from a SNT probe to know if there was a current. Maybe you were going into it?
Glad you found a presentation that is working and it sounds like the same catch rates( different lures) as my friends there so keep it up. Thanks, Mark

thanks! yeah fishing all over the south shore and bay! I would imagine it will be good for a while yet. Yeah That is what I figured it had to be, was a current, but I didn’t have a probe to see.
Good luck,
Tanner Wildes

you must have been in the thick mud the other day. i was out the same time and i got fish in 70 to 75 fow. Most of my fish came in the clear water that was 38 degrees.

we werent fishing in the bay we were by bayfield, the water was pretty clear still. I was in the bay last week and yeah it was really muddy there.

Tanner Wildes

went out again today out of the superior entry for a few hours and managed to get a few. i was up in 10 to 11 fow this morning. Last week i was gettin em in 70. The mud has moved alot since last thursday. Pretty much all clear water now, except in depths less that 15 feet. no mud by the sup entry at all, that water is all 36 degrees. I found my fish in 43 degree water today.