Jarrid Houston column: Smallmouth biting in St. Louis River Estuary
We have arrived at a bittersweet time of year, as we will be cleaning up the boat for one last time until open-water 2025. Tomorrow morning, the Lund Impact will be arriving at RJ Sport & Cycle for its first annual winterization. For the next few days, we will be busy doing some open-water clean-up and inventory and prepping for the upcoming great deer hunting season and first chance early ice.
Don't think we won't be wetting a line these next several weeks as we plan to hit some fun shore spots. Fishing never sleeps — it only takes a little bit of a slow-down transition until we are full-on hardwater. Believe it or not, it should be here in around six to eight weeks, depending on the weather, of course. As of now, we are not seeing a big cool-down, but rest assured, overnight colder temperatures will start to be a mainstay as we get toward Thanksgiving.
Let's get into this week's fishing update:
Lake Superior anglers have been grinding out the smallmouth and pike bite in Chequamegon Bay. Ashland and Washburn have been the port cities with the most traffic. The offshore rockpiles are starting to hold some fish, but the windy days can be tricky. It is important to pay attention to the forecast, especially if you are coming from out of town.
Towing live bait or casting swim baits will be a great option these next several weeks. Mornings and later afternoons are still going to be the best times to hook up, but as we get further into November, those bite windows should get bigger.
A few walleyes are certainly an option in the 20- to 30-foot mud bottoms. Live bait drags will be the best bet, but don't overlook using your electronics to "power cork" a fish to two. Bobber fishing, or power corking, when fishing fast with forward-facing technology can be a very productive way to get into some fish.
Stream anglers have been hard at it, and even got a little bump in water levels with the recent snow/rain this last week. A few local browns, as well as an occasional steelhead and the ever-present brookies, can be had with a mix of flies, spinners or smaller hard-body baits.
St. Louis River Estuary and other area rivers have a few good smallmouth bites going on in skinny waters. This can be a good time of year to walk some trails to some rocky shorelines and cast downstream for some bites. Smallies are the usual, but don't be surprised if you run into a walleye, pike or even the chance muskie.
Speaking of which, muskie anglers have been busy up in the upper sections of the St. Louis working weed edges slowly. Fishing has not been great this year, but a few anglers have had a bite or two.
We are still waiting for cold weather to be a constant when muskie angling can be at its best. Bait selections have been all over the place, but it is hard this time of year to not use an oversized sucker minnow. Such a tactic can at least open the door for a big pike bite occasionally. Crappie fishing continues to be OK when working select channel edges. A simple crappie minnow or smaller fathead under a bobber will turn a few fish.
Inland lakes continue to be wide open with little to no boat traffic. Some public launches now have the docks pulled, so be prepared. Might be good to keep a spare pair of waders or rubber boots in your truck if you plan to trailer a boat. Walleyes are well back into the spring habits of simple jigs and minnows. Look to areas of 8-14 feet against wind-blown shorelines. With that said, you can still find bigger fish over mid-lake humps. The challenge can be to get them to bite.
This last week, it was frustrating seeing the bigger fish on the LiveScope not wanting to play. Lastly, I again want to remind anglers that waterfowl season is in full swing and we are finally seeing birds by the thousands. So be cautious of our hunter friends when getting to your favorite fishing holes either by land or water.
Finally, we want to wish all our Minnesota friends a safe and fun deer rifle season. Shoot, maybe we will see you out there. All the best hooksets, and shoot straight. We will see you on the water and in the woods.
