Fishing the North Shore

If you can reach a public section of shoreline, throw in a line!  Some of the best areas to fish are near river mouths and from break walls. Just make sure you are wetting a line early or late in the day. Most catching occurs during dawn and dusk.

Do keep an eye on the weather. Lake Superior can go from clear and calm to muddy and wild within a few hours. If the wind is or has been blowing hard the resulting waves can make it difficult to drift a bobber or bottom rig. Dead calm days can be problematic too. That is because they make for unnatural presentations when bobber fishing. In the dead of winter, a lack of wind can cause the shore to freeze over making fishing from shore a frustrating task. But there are plenty of other days when fishing conditions are great. So give it a shot.

Fall is a great time to catch rainbow trout and lake trout. The fish seem to be more active and eager to chase. This is a good time of year to cast spoons. Early fall is a great time, in particular, to catch pink salmon.

Once winter hits you can still catch fish on spoons but casting bobbers with looper bugs hanging below will likely produce the most fish. If the water is muddy or the waves are high you should consider using a large black or purple looper bug. If the water is clear and calm try downsizing to a Superior X-legs or a similar stonefly. Coho salmon are a common catch in the middle of winter when fishing from shore.

You can use nearly any type of fishing rod for shore fishing. However, if you want to increase your chances of catching and landing a fish it is best to buy a dedicated shore rod. A great all-purpose rod is a medium power, moderate fast action, 10- to 12-foot rod. A long rod will allow you to cast further and make better hooksets. Also, make sure the rod has large line guides that are less likely to freeze up in winter. When shopping in a store or online, a good place to start is by exploring salmon and steelhead rods in these longer lengths.

You will also want to give some thought to grip design when purchasing a rod. If you intend to spend more time casting than bobber fishing it is better to have a rod with a longer rear grip and short foregrip. Conversely, if you intend to spend more time bobber fishing than casting you will want a rod with a longer foregrip. A longer foregrip is good for bobber fishing because it will allow you to balance the rod horizontally so you can make a quick hookset when your bobber goes down.

You will want to pair your shore rod with a spinning reel that has a large arbor, large line capacity and a smooth drag. You can use any 200-size spinning reel but the larger 300 to 400 sizes are ideal because they often have a better drag and hold more line. Typically larger reels are cheaper and have a better drag, so you can typically find inexpensive reels that are very high in quality for as low as $30.

Bobber fishing is one of the most common ways to catch salmon and steelhead from shore. Heavily weighted bobbers allow you to launch your fly out to where the fish are feeding. Casting bobbers come in different sizes. You may have to experiment with different sizes to determine which one work best with your rod. Rigging for bobber fishing is fairly simple. Just peg your casting bobber onto your line two to four feet from the end of your line and tie on a fly or looper bug. Just like trout fishing on a river, you need to be quick with your hookset. Since the bobbers you will be using on Lake Superior are bigger than a typical trout fishing strike indicator they don’t always drop completely below the water. If you notice any odd wobble or erratic movement of your bobber, set the hook!

Looper Bugs are a great fly to use when fishing for coho salmon, steelhead and Kamloops (looper) rainbow trout. You can buy them in many North Shore tackle local shops but they are also very easy to tie. All you only need is a jig hook and a couple of different materials including marabou, flashabou, dubbing, and rubber legs. If you can tie a wooly bugger, you can tie a looper bug. Many anglers prefer dark colors such as black, brown or purple (especially in muddy or wavy water). Midwinter and muddy water conditions are the best times to bobber fish with looper bugs.

Loopers and steelhead will often take a plain looper bug but if you are trying to catch a coho it is best to tip your fly with some meat (such as a waxworm or butterworm).

Catching trout and salmon by casting spoon lures is fun because you feel the fish hit the lure. Once you cast, count down a couple of seconds, then start to reel with a fairly quick and constant retrieve (one to two revolutions per second).

Start your fishing by casting one-fourth to three-fourth ounce spoons colored in orange/gold or blue/silver. Spoons are a great lure for catching fish in fall, winter or spring. Spoons are good for catching lake trout and steelhead in fall, coho in the winter and loopers in the spring.