[Birdog]

All,
Here is a quick report from Minnesota. The fish are smaller but they are blast on our smaller rivers. The run has been very sporadic due to a quick melt and dry conditions followed by lots of rain and several cold snaps. It is still great to be in the woods during spring. Enjoy.
Fished my way up the North Shore of Lake Superior again this week. Saw many spawning fish in the Sucker and Split Rock. Baptism had moderate flows. Caught 26" male swinging a #6 Brown BH Woolly Bugger. In the same pool I had 3 fantastic strikes swinging a 2/0 Cedar Pool Spey fly. 2 fish parted with the fly immediately the 3rd stayed pinned for a great fight only to come off. The fly is my version of the Umpqua Pearly-bou. I was swinging the fly with a Rio Windcutter Type 6 sink tip on my 12'6" 6/7 Ibis. It was truly an electric event. Working several rivers on the upper shore was futile with the high flows. Hooked and lost 1 awesome male who really schooled me and nearly broke my neck. I caught a fish from the same pool moments later. The water was pretty stained and and I had switched up to a #8 Ripple Sucker Spawn. Found spawning fish in a number of rivers and caught many smolts and large Specs.
My Dad joined me for Friday and Saturday. We withstood the freezing rain, snow, howling wind and a pounding Lake Superior surf on Friday and hooked a few fish but none landed. My Dad was very successful with a #8 Olive BH Woolly Bugger. He never landed a fish but really had a ball with good action. A stop at Lockport Store for donuts and coffee warmed us up to continue our day. Saturday was short and I landed a spawned out 26” male on a #6 Brown BH Woolly Bugger in a great pool on a middle shore river on my 3rd swing. Not too much of a battle but it was fun. My Dad hooked three fresh fish and as luck would have it could not stay attached to them. He is a great sport and took it all in stride. I echo the earlier post on taking your Dad fishing. It was my Dad’s 4th trip and he has hooked a bunch of fish and has landed only 1. But boy has he loved it and it has been a treat for me to try and pay him back for the many trips he took me on.
Good luck to all and of course….the swings the thing!

 

[wilson]

That's a fantasic trip report. Nothing like taking the old man on a fishing trip.

I've always wanted to go up and hit those rivers, they look beautiful. Is the best time to go usually early May? Also, what's the pattern for the Cedar Pool Spey fly?

Thanks.

-Chris

 

[Birdog]

North Shore Spey fishing

Wilson,
I will get a picture of that fly posted. I really don't think it is a "traditional" spey fly but the name works.
The rivers of the North Shore are spate, meaning not very fertile. They also have very short reaches and can be quite violent. The Steelhead, Salmon, Kamloops, and Coasters don't have very much river to do their thing with most barrier falls within 1 mile of the lake. The run is very hard to time with runoff hard to predict as well as rain. Generally the end of April and the beginning of May typically are the best chances to fish the shore. The run progresses up the N. Shore, with rivers near Duluth recieving fish first and then moving up the shore as the weather breaks winters grip. The distance from Duluth to the border is about 150 miles, so it is not unusual to fish a number of rivers in one day.
Hope the info helps. Sorry for the delay in the reply but work has been crazy and we are heading up the shore for a long Memorial Day weekend on Tuesday and I am getting ready for that as well.
Birdog