Minnesota Steelheader

Here is a great additional resource for keeping tabs on North Shore steelheading conditions: Duluth Streams.org Not only can you get an indication for what is happening with regards to flow, but you can also get critical temperature & precipitation data. Simply click on the Real-Time Data & Water Chemistry links to load the current year's data. You can select from any of the parameters displayed & even change the temperature data back & forth from Celsius to Farenheight with a color display in the background. This is a wonderful tool for getting flow, temperature & precipitation data for tribs near or on steelheading hotspots. Currently only the Tischer Creek data-collection sonde is back in the water, but the other sondes will be coming on-line soon. Regards & Good Fishing NMF 04.03.2008 Update- There is a DNR/MPCA cooperative stream monitoring program that just became available: Arrowhead Brule Gage Click on the link to obtain discharge information for t...

The Northshore is froze up on all popular rivers. Lots of ice and snow. You can get into a few open areas when the ice flows out and they have been hooking a few fish out in the lake. This is a hit and miss chance, but is worth it if you take the time. Report Courtesy: Great Lakes Fly Company

" The Superior X-Leg is the one fly I have to have when fishing Lake Superior river mouths for loopers and steelhead from early spring to summer. I have found this fly to work very well during the latter part of the steelhead run in the spring on the North Shore streams. I like to use the beadhead x-legs when fishing the Brule for fall run steelhead and Browns. Friends of mine have had success with the x-legs in far away waters such as New Zealand. This fly is a proven winner!!! " Len Anderson - North Shore Steelhead Guide.

If you don't use yarn, you should! Yarn is a simple presentation that can represent anything from a single egg, to egg clusters drifting downstream from a redd. Steelhead feed heavily on eggs during the Spring run, & yarn is a deadly way to imitate them. Advantages to yarn are that it is easy to use & is available in many different colors. You can mix & match colors to diagnose what the fish want, or even scent it for added appeal in cold water. Colors can be quickly changed & best of all it tends to stick in the teeth of steelhead giving you that extra split-second to set the hook. Did I mention that you can purchase several seasons worth of yarn for just a few dollars? Not only that but it takes up very little room in your pocket. Just add a small folding scissors to your vest & you are in business. To get started, a selection of up-eye octopus-style or egg hooks in size 8-12 can't be beat. Select larger hooks and bigger, brighter yarn for dirty water, ...

It's March & North Shore Steelheading is almost here! If you're like me, you are getting the itch, but winter has the tributaries locked up under ice & snow. The question everyone begins to ask is, "When do you think the rivers are going to open up?" Fortunately there is a way to tell that it is coming & here's how you do it: Magic 8 Ball... I'm kidding, it's really: Magic USGS Flow Data! Take a close look at the following graphic- What you are looking at are the effects of the daily warming cycle on snowmelt & flow. Note that the peaks in gage height (& therefor flow) occur just after mid-day. This is when the air is warmest, the sun at its most intense; & the most melting occurs contributing water to the river. The lows occur just after sunrise which is also typically the coldest part of an average day. At that point, very little if any meltwater is making its way to the river. However when the sun is high, meltwater begins to sco...