Minnesota Steelheader

We recently contacted State representative, C. McFarlane, looking for some clarity on the passed bill regarding the Lutsen Resort water consumption bill. McFarlane informed us that the bill they passed will,  for the the first time, limit the resort's use of water from the stream.  Once that annual allocated limit is met, water will not be allowed to be pumped for the remainder of that that year.  She also stated that the permit issued to Lutsen has a 5 year time limit to look for a long term solution.  Below is the language from the conference committee report:   Sec. 101. CONSUMPTIVE USE OF WATER. 53.11 Pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, section 103G.265, subdivision 3, the legislature 53.12 approves of the consumptive use of water under a permit of more than 2,000,000 gallons 53.13 per day average in a 30-day period in Cook County, in connection with snowmaking 53.14 and potable water. Notwithstanding any other law to the c...

Here is a great read from Dennis Anderson, Star Tribune outdoor writer and editor. It helps bring a little more light on the Lutsen - Poplar River water pumping issue. Minnesota Steelheader is not interested in political slants or emotional opinions on this subject.  You will have to go somewhere else to read that junk.  Fact: A designated trout stream is turning into a dependable water source for a local growing business.  We want the bottom line answer:  Could this pumping of water from the Poplar have a negative impact on the brook trout, rainbow trout and salmon fisheries? If yes than we feel Lusten needs to find an alternative water source or reduce water consumption to levels that would not have any negative impact to the fishery or watershed.  If no, well... it is hard to believe a study will show conclusive evidence that the no harm is possible.  Here is a portion of Mr. Anderson's article....

While we're getting close to the end, it's not over yet. The recent rains have brought in yet another push of fish albeit not as large as the previous ones. Here's the Shore-Wide picture as of 05.20.2011 (Click thumbs for larger images): Lower Shore Creel Survey Lower Shore Creel vs. Trap Numbers Mid Shore Creel Survey Upper Shore Creel Survey 2011 Shore-Wide Combined Creel Numbers vs. Average The last graphic is the 2011 total combined Lower, Mid and Upper Shore Kamloops/Steelhead numbers up against the average for the Creel data we have. 2010 continues to stand out as an example of an extremely early run and skews the stats just a bit. After the 2011 Creel ceases, I'll try to get the final numbers up as soon as I can. Note that the survey will cease around 05.25.2011, but we still should be getting a push or two of fish with precipitation events. In the meantime, get out and enjoy! Regards- NMF

MN DNR creel update: From 5/13 through 5/15, water temperatures ranged from 46 to 56 on the Lower and Middle Shore, and were 45 to 51 on the Upper Shore.   Interviewed anglers caught 4 Steelhead, 3 Kamloops, and 1 Brown Trout on the Lower Shore, 13 Steelhead and 1 Kamloops on the Middle Shore, and 17 Steelhead, 2 Kamloops, and 4 Brook Trout on the Upper Shore.   The Knife Trap totals are 405 Steelhead and 29 Kamloops, while French River Trap totals are 815 Kamloops and 94 Steelhead. S tream flows shorewide are decreasing and running with average to above average, clear flows.   Fishing reports are updated on the web on Mondays and Fridays at http://mndnr.gov/areas/fisheries/lakesuperior/report.html   or by calling our office at 218-525-0853 and selecting 1 for the updated fishing report 

Pictured here is a nice little Coho Salmon  caught out of the Poplar River It is true,  Lutsen is hoping to take more water out of the Poplar River. Not just a few gallons, but millions and millions of water anually.  Can there be any good to the fishery out of this... really?  We do not think so.  We are going to dive head first into this ASAP and will do our best to keep you posted on a regular basis. Here is an expert from the Star tribune article, written by: Josephine Marcotty.  You can click on the link below for the full article. "For decades, the Poplar River has made Minnesotans happy year-round as it tumbles down from the Boundary Waters wilderness to the North Shore of Lake Superior. In fishing season, anglers hook trout and other game fish from its rocky pools. In winter, its lower reach supplies water that Lutsen Mountain Resort uses to make snow for skiers. Now, in a move that has outraged conservationists, the Legislatur...

My apologies! I've been in several intensive job-related schools over the last four weeks and haven't had much time to play with the data let alone fish... So here's the current picture more or less. I put the Lower Shore creel up against the trap numbers and although there are no surprizes, there are some items to take note of: Three points of clarification: The vertical lines are all annotated for what they represent and are accurate to the date they occured, not simply the week they occured in. The black vertical line is Knife River ice-out, the blue vertical line is the average date 4 Lower Shore streams reached the upstream migration temp threshold. The red line represents the date Lower Shore streams maintained 40 degrees overnight which according to DNR data, typically represents the peak of the return/migration. Once again you can see very clearly the relationships between temperatures and early-run activity. Once temps hit the upstream movement initiation threshold...

We are well into the Minnesota walleye opener today and the weather still smells of steelhead.  Are you done steelheading for the season?  I am not!  As you will read in the DNR creel report below, the numbers of fish in the survey seem few - they are.  What you need to remember though is that most fair weather steelhead anglers are already off the water and either done for the year or back in the woods chasing other species today.  Fewer anglers on the water mean fewer fish recorded. For those wondering if the steelhead are still running, quit wondering and get out and fish - they are!  When conditions are favorable, like they are this month,  You can bet that there are still fish moving in most middle and upper shore steelhead rivers. Yes, it is true that we are near the end of the 2011 spring run, but some of my best fishing has been done late season.  In fact, a couple of us will still be on the water into next...

So you think you know your North Shore Rivers do you?  Test your wits and take the Photo Challenge - III To be eligible you must be a facebook page fan and not a recent photo challenge winner.  All voting is done on our facebook page.    To take the challenge, simply  submit your answer by clicking the comment link below the photo on facebook... it looks just like this one. The 1 st correct answer receives a complimentary MN steelheader window decal. Here is a link to our facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/MinnesotaSteelheader

The fishing is still hot.  These pics were sent in from our buddy Jared after a weekend on the water.  As you can see we have a couple of happy campers with some nice bright fish...in May! This week looks to still be a great week to get out and fish. Most anglers have shift the focus on middle and upper shore waters where conditions are more favorable.  Here is some creel data from the DNR. From 5/6 through 5/8, water temperatures ranged from 51 to 55 on the Lower Shore, 48-52 on the Middle Shore, and were 41 to 51 on the Upper Shore.     Interviewed anglers caught 14 Steelhead, 17 Kamloops, 2 Brook Trout, and 26 Suckers on the Lower Shore, 17 Steelhead on the Middle Shore, and 4 Steelhead on the Upper Shore.   The Knife Trap totals are 378 Steelhead and 26 Kamloops, while French River Trap totals are 798 Kamloops and 91 Steelhead. S tream flows shorewide are decreasing, but still running with above average clear flows. ...

Here is a challenge for all who fish and explore the North Shore Rivers of Minnesota. To play you must visit our facebook page . To be eligible you must first "like" our page.  Good Luck!

Here are the latest Lower Shore Creel Numbers for 05.06.2011 As you can see, the Lower Shore based on creel numbers appears to have peaked. DNR studies show that peak return typically occurs once stream temps maintain 40 degrees overnight, and you can see that has occurred as well. I just haven't had time to chart the trap numbers but it likely shows the same thing. However, just because it likely has peaked doesn't mean that fishing is done on the Lower Shore. We'll still have fish returning for some time as well as spawned-out fish dropping back out of the tributaries. Not to mention the Mid and Upper Shores are still cooking. There's still a lot of fishing to be done... Couple items- There have been some questions regarding how to arrive at the numbers shown on the charts. I apologise Zinger, I just hadn't had the time to get in a response to your questions from the previous blog entry, so here goes: Whenever you see a chart that has a daily reporting format as ...

Conditions on the North Shore are still favorable.  If you think the run is over, think again.  Though the river levels are coming down, many are still higher than normal and running clear - lots of fish still to be caught. Here is the latest creel info from the DNR: From 5/2 through 5/5, water temperatures ranged from 35 to 45 in the morning and 46 to 47 in the afternoon on the Lower and Middle Shore, while they were 43 to 45 in the afternoon on the Upper Shore.   Interviewed anglers caught 11 Steelhead, 30 Kamloops, and 25 Suckers on the Lower Shore, 12 Steelhead, 2 Kamloops, and 1 Brook Trout on the Middle Shore, and 9 Steelhead, 1 Kamloops, and 4 Brook Trout on the Upper Shore.   The Knife Trap totals are 363 Steelhead and 21 Kamloops, while French River Trap totals are 704 Kamloops and 79 Steelhead. S tream flows shorewide are decreasing, but running with above average clear flows. DNR Fishing reports are updated on the web on Mondays and Fridays at ht...

Pictured here are Minnesota Steelheader staff, DB and TU, posing with some of the trash they picked up during the Sunday Adopt-A-River clean up on the Sucker River.  Though we wish more of you would have been able to give some time, we appreciated the few that showed up to clean up. We ended up with an estimated 170lbs of trash.  Most of it was drink containers, plastic bags of one sort or another, and cigarette filters.  We also pulled out a fair amount of Styrofoam.  The big items were cast iron drain pipe, steel posts, and an old highway sign. While removing garbage along the river banks and the adjacent property we appreciated the two anglers that recognized our efforts.  We remain positive that the other 20+ anglers must have just been shy.  As the season moves forward we hope that each of you who walk the banks and water of the Sucker River find energy to pick up and dispose of the trash you discover. Stay tune...

DNR Creel Report: From 4/29 through 5/1, water temperatures ranged from 38 to 45 in the morning and 45 to 50 in the afternoon on the Lower and Middle Shore, while they were 38 to 39 on the Upper Shore.   Interviewed anglers caught 16 Steelhead, 22 Kamloops, 1 Brook Trout, and 1 Coho on the Lower Shore, 34 Steelhead, 8 Kamloops, and 3 Brook Trout on the Middle Shore, and 13 Steelhead and 3 Kamloops on the Upper Shore.   The Knife Trap totals are 345 Steelhead and 20 Kamloops, while French River Trap totals are 640 Kamloops and 69 Steelhead.   S tream flows shorewide rose again on 4/30 with over an inch of rain and are still running high.

A couple of the MS staff fished from Thursday through Sunday.  We managed to catch fish on 6 of the 8 rivers we fished, though the numbers were not fantastic, we did enjoy the fish caught.  We fished mostly the rivers from Two harbors North to the Middle shore rivers.  All the water was high but very fishable and clear, temps were prime two averaging 40 - 44f.  Most of the fish caught were steelhead -fresh females.  The one shown here is s 29.5" bright hen.  She put up a fight worth the whole trip, burning line from my real several times before she was landed. Saturday brought some rain...wait, lots of rain.  The knife ended up coming up to approx. 1200cfs. by the evening - unfishable.  During the day on Saturday we caught a couple fish on the larger Middle shore rivers and saw several others hooked and caught.  Sunday brought dirty high water from the rain on Saturday, subsequently this brought...