Minnesota Steelheader

Wednesday of this week a couple of the Staff here got the chance to film a steelhead outing with the Host of "Cook What You Catch" - Randy Meier. Those of you who are from the Twin Cities remember Randy Meier as a news anchor from KSTP and more recently, on the national level, at the MSNBC anchor position. A few weeks ago we were invited by Wall to Wall Media to help out with the show. The crew needed some help on finding good water and also a woman to challenge Randy... see the link to find out why. We teamed Randy up with fellow MN Steelheader staffer Paula Elert. With a few TV shows under her belt and plenty of fish she was a perfect match. Paula was eager to show Randy how to catch steelhead and a few loopers for the frying pan. " Bring it on Randy!" Unfortunately for all, no fish were to be caught on film. The steelhead staff did however manages to locate one willing 25" Rainbow on a Tuesday scouting the high muddy waters after the 2" down pour on...

The Big Rain Monday night really brought the rivers up - way up. With the rivers very dirty and high it seemed that fishing would be good by today. Not the case. A couple of the Minnesota Steelheader.com staff ventured North and fished hard Tuesday and today. We caught one nice looper Tuesday and that was it. This was the only fish that we had seen caught. Today (Wednesday) the rivers started clearing up and were totally fishable . The conditions and weather were great. the only problem....no fish. We fished a couple of rivers today with zero success. Not a single angler we spoke to or saw had caught fish. This is 40+ anglers ! Note too that we are only reporting from the Baptism south. Our take: With rains expected Thursday and Friday we estimate the next couple of days fishing should start improving. For the weekend angler, this could be the weekend...assuming the fish and weather cooperate. Tight lines to all.

" Fly fishing has it's challenges along the Northshore, with cooler winds prevailing along the lake conditions have cooled down quiet a bit. Water temps are hovering around the upper 30's and this makes fly fishing a little slower. Egg patterns are still the main course until bugs become a favorite when temps climb a bit. Water conditions are perfect other then the temps. You will find fish in deep slots and large pools. Use an indicator to detect light hits and lots of split. If conditions allow, swing a stone along shallower areas. Fly fish hard and cover lots of water. Cheers. John - Great lakes Fly Company "

As of Yesterday afternoon most rivers were high and muddy lots of run off.... We will add more info as it come in. Tight lines to all this weekend.

Big Thanks Guys! Just wanted to say thanks for such a great website, I've turned to it may times in the past year or two. You have a great bunch of articles and info. They have been a great help to me in young steelheading career. Attached is a fish I caugth on a mid-shore river in '07. About 30inches, by far my biggest! Thanks again, have a great spring! Ben - Woodbury, MN

It is time to fish... The North Shore rivers are finally starting to shed some ice, and this warm spell that is expected should help the rivers continue to open up. Reports of fish in rivers near Duluth have been increasing over the last few days, but many rivers are still very cold and the fish aren't terribly active. With the possibility of rain this week, we may see some high unfishable rivers for a day or two. The plus side is the rain should help clear out the snow and ice, allowing the rivers to warm up and start taking bigger runs of fish. Egg patterns are a standard producer on the shore, but bugs will take fish as well- especially when the rivers are running high and dirty. Don’t be afraid to open up your fly box a bit. Oh, and if you are not sure on what flies to use, visit our fly book page. If you are not into tying your own flies or just don’t have the time, visit our friend at Great Lakes Fly Company right in Duluth. These guys will set you up with some nice patterns...

The Northshore is fly fishable! Plenty of muddly water, with some of the rivers near Duluth free of ice. Lots of crowds too. This will be the case until the rivers farther up the shore become fishable allowing anglers to disbuse. Egg patterns will be the main stay until the water becomes clearer and lower. Hit the deep holes and seams closer to the banks of the rivers. Water temps are in the upper 30's. Tight lines to all.... report courtesy of our boys at Great Lakes Fly Co.

Saint Paul Pioneer Press outdoor writer, Chris Niskanen, has writen a nice column in today Pioneer Press. You can view the article here . Below is a blurb from the artical: Spring is running late on the North Shore, and anglers are still waiting for wild steelhead to move en masse into the rivers. "As soon as we get some warm weather, things will start loosening up,'' Schreiner said. "They don't really run up streams until temperatures are in the 40s, and we're still a week from that." Check back soon for updated fishing & stream reports. ..