If there is one thing I know about fishing, no matter what you plan for, there is always some sort of surprise. On Monday and Tuesday fishing partner Bob Bowman and I were greeted graciously with nice weather (SURPRISE!). Great for my farmer tan, not so good for the fishing on the St. Louis. Gone were the active schools pounding away at anything that came by, instead tight lipped, light biting, scattered fish took their place. After two quiet days in a row, I’m sure the bite was great last night, and this morning with another front pushing through the Northland.
Monday found us searching areas that were prime just days before, 3’-11’ rocky shoals and main channel current breaks. It was a pattern that accounted for a few short fish to start the day, but we knew right away that this wasn’t going to be the place to find quality fish we were looking for. So down river we went, starting our search around buoy 80. A relatively slow moving part of the river with deeper breaks, a fair amount of mud, and a ton of wood. The pike, and a Musky were snapping at our jig and minnow combo, but only two walleyes came boat side.
Again we continued down, on to one of our next favorites, the bend just up from the access. This is a piece of the river that really spreads out, and just happens to be right in front of where we camp. The bulk of the day we were pulling four bottom bouncer rigs with either a floater/crawler combo, or a spinner/minnow rig. Fish were being caught in the area, so the boats piled in and the bite screeched to a halt. 50 boats fighting for the same 200 yard stretch or channel break can be a little frustrating. We closed the afternoon out around the Oliver bridge. A spot notorious for producing bigger fish. It didn’t take but one pass and Bob scored the 26" bronze beauty pictured above. She locked onto a chartreuse floater and night crawler combo, a great fish and our only real hawg of the trip.
Tuesday, the weather was even better with temps reaching into the mid 70’s by noon. Although we were able to scratch out a couple of fish before hitting the road at 1:00, the day was pretty much a loss. Weather and water clarity play a huge part when it comes to fishing on the St. Louis. Stable weather patterns are a great lead-in to good fishing on the Louie, with the good bite usually coming the day, or day after the front rolls through. This is about the time that the great migration takes place, and areas closer to Spirit Lake start to get good. Thin water can be good early and late in the day, but the bulk of the good fish will be 8′ or deeper during the day. I don’t know if we will have a chance to get back up there in May, but to all who go GOOD LUCK!!!
Sometimes you get the dog, sometimes the dog gets you!!!!
See you on the water…
Thanks for the fantastic reports over the past couple of weeks! I was supposed to be up there for a tourney last week and was unable to make it, but it sure sounds like it was a great spring so far. Keep the reports coming!
Brian