St Louis River Walleyes

Fishing this week has been tough to say the least! I made it out five times this week, and saw a huge decline in numbers and size alike. There are still fish to be had, but we have definitely seen a slowdown.

The image I have going on in my head is the primary batch of fish has moved on up river, maybe to the arrowhead flats area and above. It is typical for it to slow down this time of year as the fish just simply move around. Down in the harbor, I am seeing a whole new batch of fish compared to what i was seeing a week ago. 15 to 18 inches seems to be the norm right now, and I am averaging 2 to 7 fish per 3 or 4 hours out. Gold Custom Jigs and Spins Slender Spoons have been working well for me, tipped with with front 1/3rd of a minnow.

Ice conditions are not great, but it is walkable if you use caution. Fishing this morning, I had to jump across one crack that was about 2 feet wide. I have been monitoring this crack for a week now and it grows and shrinks daily. If we get an east wind i would NOT recommend fishing out there as you WILL get stranded. Again, it is fishable, but you need to use extreme caution. Carry ice picks and a spud bar.

Thanks for the report, Grant. Do you spend most of your time in the harbor area waiting for new fish to migrate in from the lake, or at a certain point do you start following them up river? I have spent a couple of days on the ice in the Spirit Lake area with limited success, just one walleye each time. My mother-in-law lives in Morgan Park so that area is right at the end of the street, but maybe I need to expand my range to put more fish on the ice. I don’t get up there all that often, but your reports give me a boost when we have to go visit.