Superior Ice (Duluth)

Gino wrote:

…lost the first one at the hole when my unit knot stopped my reel dead in its tracks when it it hit my iced over tip on my rod…

FG knot… it’s worth learning.

I saw a portable and two guys well out from the end of the breakwater in Two Harbors this morning. It looks like that whole basin has iced over, even outside of the wall and harbor.

You must have some better eyes than I do because I never saw anyone go outside the breakwall today. Do you know exactly where they were?

Not outside of the wall….beyond the end of the wall. Imagine being on the end of the wall looking at the end of the other breakwater….follow that line out 100 yards or so.

I got it. I misread. I wonder how it is out on the main lake.

Ice on the lake side of the wall looks real iffy on the camera. There’s nobody out there right now.

Hey guys
I will traveling to Duluth this week and I will have a day to fish. I am not familiar with fishing lakers or the ice sheet there which appears iffy! I have done quite a lot of research on fishing lakers but I still have no idea where to go to fish them im looking for ramp names etc just a place to start that has safe or safe ish ice I know there is lots of snow so that makes it hard to tell if the ice is good or not. not looking for spots just safe ice

Pm sent.

Hoping for any report from someone who was on the ice at Brighton beach from today.
My morning trip today fell thru, but plan to be at Brighton tomorrow first light if the ice is good. If not will hit 21st Ave.

Ice was good last Saturday and I know some people out there now. You can pretty much count on good ice tomorrow morning. The ice is piled up so pack light.

biggill wrote:

Ice was good last Saturday and I know some people out there now. You can pretty much count on good ice tomorrow morning. The ice is piled up so pack light.

Sounds good. Toboggan, chair, hand auger, vex and rod bag is all that I take.
If anyone wants to compare notes out there, PM me. Plan to be on the ice by 7.

Here’s a shot I captured from the Duluth Canal cam. Quite a few people are on the ice out along the wall by the lighthouse.

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The people near the end are on very thin ice. That was a small spot of open water a few days ago.

Darwin award candidates.

There’s a decent current and eddy out there at the end. Go thru, go under…..bye bye.

Drove up to Brighton this afternoon. 2-300 shelters out from the Lester up the shore to just past the park. Lots of piled broken ice to pick thru to get out offshore.
Also some groups NE of 21st farther out than I have seen them before. Not on the sliver that has been fished the last couple weeks.

I definitely try when I have a chance, but I guess I’ll have to try harder, thanks for the response! And awesome recommendation for the lure set up @TomSawvell. I’ll be heading out early Thursday morning to try again.

On the Duluth harbor web camera site scroll down to web cam for Inn on Lake Superior.
It shows the pier.

I just tried to get a lock on a picture of this but there is a portable and three guys with it maybe 200-250 yards straight off the end of the breakwater in Two Harbors right now. Several in the harbor too.

Just back from Brighton beach with the skunk in tow. Around 100 shacks out when I left. Pulled the sled Out to 55’ and set up. Had two schools of herring go thru but no takers. No action off the bottom for lakers either. Was jigging one rod with white tube/glow jiggin rap/rattle rap down deep and another with a small pimple about 30’ down.
Had 12” of ice. There were guys way out to well over 100’ of water, probably closer to 150. The jumble ice near shore is a bugger getting thru, definitely find a well worn path across it. I about tore up a knee on the way out.
Good luck, plan to give it another try Thursday.

I was out of Brighton beach today also 90 fow , I’m having trouble converting trout to food. Two more lost at the bottom of the ice can’t believe it. Making a gaff tomorrow.

Gino, you getting line wrapped around the ducer? I finally got sick of that and anytime I trout fish, I put the ducer in its own hole. I lost a few nice ones earlier this year getting wrapped up. Im not dealing with lakers but man those trout like to dart all over the place when they get hooked.

Eyeguy makes a great suggestion. I’d add to stop the transducer so the flat bottom of it is level with the bottom of the ice in that extra hole.

No not transducer. Today I ended up setting my shelter in a bad spot and the wind was whipping so bad I didn’t feel like moving again. This was my second move already . I had maybe 12 or 13 inches of ice then 6 inches of water and another 12 inches of ice, at 90 ft. I think I just get to exited when I hook into one, they both chased from the bottom up to about 30 ft before they would whack it then run back to the bottom. I would get them back up and could not get them to turn in the hole. I probably should have maybe let them take another run just to tire them out.like I said probably just get too exited and trying to horse them into hole.my own fault

If you really need to land it you just need to take your sweet time at the hole. They can shake and swim backwards right at the hole. It also helps to use lures with one single hook. I’ve had my airplane jig catch on the side of the hole 3 times so far this year resulting in a lost fish. I’ve now switched to a single hook.

Im pretty sure that’s what happened with one today, but it was a single hook, half ounce white jig with a smelt. That extra sheet of ice under the first one was wierd.

I had to hand drill three sets of holes to find one that didn’t have sheet ice underneath. First set drilled out fine. Ducer down reads 59’, drop the line…..three feet down it stops??
Huge chunk of ice…arghhh.
Taking the Otter Thursday, wind was a bit chilly today out in the open.

Xplorer, I think I seen you drilling , I brought the strikemaster lazer mag

I talked with a guy on my way in, he would have been the first guy out from the shore on the left , was that you ?

Gino wrote:

Xplorer, I think I seen you drilling , I brought the strikemaster lazer mag

I wish I woulda brought the gasser for sure, and the Otter with the wind, but since I only had a few hours figured I’d survive.
I was straight out from the gazebo in 50′, about 130 yards off shore. I took off around 11, and didnt talk to anyone on the ice so that wasn’t me. Several of the guys around me were packing up at 11 and heading out to deeper water to try for lakers, how long were you out there? Hoping to give it a go again on Thursday, will take the house and auger for sure.

I stayed till two so definitely wasn’t you I talked with. Had a flurry of action around one,three chases and a strike and a miss. I would say the earlier you get there the better. Talked with another old timer said he’s been getting coho in front of the Lester in 45 , tingler and waxys, also said same spot in 15 to twenty getting herring.