Lake Superior pointers

I am just about done getting my downriggers installed on my Ranger 621. I am planning to head up next Friday for my first time on Superior. I have the required safety gear and I am most definitely aware of the importance of being very alert to changing weather on this body of water. I have several line counter rod and reel combinations as well as many trays of different profile Rapala’s and other crank baits. I have combos ready for planer boards, lead-core , or snap weights. I am also planning to stop in to Marine General to get other items that I may not have and pick their brain on general starting points.

Anyone care to offer some advise on general areas to launch? General strategies? I am reading that targeting Coho this time of the year is generally where people start?

McQuade is a very popular place to launch right now. it is about 10 minutes up the north shore from downtown Duluth. The water is very cold right now, and cohos are what most people are going to be targeting. You want to focus on the top 10 feet of water. A popular presentation is shallow running stickbaits on planer boards. I wouldn’t even mess around with downriggers or leadcore right now. You can run 2 lines per guy on the Minnesota side, so ideally you get another guy or two in the boat to be able to run a nice spread. You don’t need to go out very far from shore this time of year. There will be other boats out there so pay attention to where they are trolling and how fast, that will help you dial it in. Also, make sure you have your trout stamp.

This is a good resouce for wave forecasts:
https://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/data/Forecasts/FZUS53.KDLH.html

One more thing to note.. the wave forecasts generally are in 2 ft increments (i.e. 2 ft or less, 1 to 3 ft, 2 to 4 ft, etc). I’ve found fishing is doable in “1 to 3 ft” waves but anything above that and it can get a little hairy out there. Obviously depends on your boat setup. I’ve first mated on charter boats in a small craft advisory out there. Can it be done? Yes, but make sure you are taking all the safety precautions.

The reason I am saying this is I believe you were trying to fish out there this weekend. This is the wave forecast… They aren’t Edmund Fitzgerald waves but not far off. They’re big enough to make me leave the boat at home this weekend.

If you are looking for an alternative, the fish are running in the north shore tributary streams right now. Totally different ball game but still fun if you’re looking to wet a line this weekend.

Attachments:

1. 

   2022-04-22_9-04-45-1.png
   

One other thing that hasn’t been mentioned regarding waves, wave period is just as important as wave height. 2′ chop with breaking waves sucks to fish in while 4′ rollers are a piece of cake.

I was hoping to get up there this weekend but I won’t make it. This time of year you shouldn’t need any downriggers. Like duluth1an said, top 10ft of the water column usually with stick baits or scatter raps. Depending what you’re seeing on your locater, you might have to throw on a snap weight or two to get some deeper.

Good luck and share a report when you’re done up there!

Any recent reports? I’m planning to go out of McQuade this weekend looking for coho’s. Are they still high in the water column?

following…