A Superior Fish Tale

-Evan Griggs, Owner Fishing For All

Lake Superior is one of the biggest, deepest, coldest lakes in the world- which makes it the perfect habitat for trout and salmon! The lake is home to many species of trout and salmon today, and fall is one of the best times to fish for them. But the story of the lake and its fish is not a simple one. Over the last 130 years, Lake Superior has become a classic example of how people impact the natural world, both good and bad. Today, we can reap the rewards of good conservation efforts!   

Large brook trout (called coaster brook trout) and lake trout have always lived in the lake and had very large populations. These fish can live for a long time and grow very slowly. But beginning in the 1800’s, commercial fishing, negative effects from logging, and the invasion of sea lampreys caused their populations to plummet. By the 1950’s and 60’s, their populations were so low that the Department of Natural Resources started stocking hatchery-raised fish into the lake to sustain the population. Today lake trout populations have rebounded greatly and are naturally reproducing. Coaster brook trout stocking was not very effective. There is still a small naturally reproducing population and through increased conservation efforts their numbers are increasing. The first documented spawning pair of coasters near Duluth was just found this past spring!

Other species of trout and salmon were later stocked to create more fishing opportunities. The earliest introduced species of trout were brown and steelhead rainbow trout in the 1890’s. In Lake Superior, browns and steelhead can grow very large and they are now naturally reproducing. But due to overfishing, steelhead numbers became very low by the 1980’s. (Noticing a pattern here?) So to help bring back the population in the 1990’s, strict fishing regulations were put in place so all wild steelhead have to be released. In the 1970’s the DNR also started stocking kamloop rainbow trout to take some pressure off the wild steelhead.

Between the 1960’s-80’s, many different salmon species were stocked into the lake. The most successful species, though never formally introduced in Minnesota, is the pink salmon. Pink salmon were first stocked in the Current River in Ontario, Canada in 1956. They are now naturally reproducing and you can see them spawning in north shore streams in the fall. Other species that were stocked are coho, chinook, and atlantic salmon. These species were very successful at first because of the high number of baitfish, and the low populations of lake trout. As lake trout populations steadily increased, baitfish numbers declined, and so did the number of salmon. You can still find small numbers of naturally reproducing coho and chinook salmon, but they are not stocked anymore because it became too expensive for the DNR to keep raising them. Atlantic salmon were only stocked for a short time as it also became expensive, the number of baitfish was getting too low in the lake to support the other fish populations, and not many people wanted to fish for them. 

One of the best times to catch salmon, lake-run brown trout and steelhead is to fish the Lake Superior tributaries in the fall! The northshore streams will get a run of pink salmon every September-October. Now don’t get your hopes up with images of Alaska, it’s definitely a miniature version of that. But look for small pods of them schooled up below waterfalls and in runs below fast rapids. They aren’t eating when they return to the rivers, so swinging bright colored streamers or nymphs is the best way to get a reactionary strike from a pink. Same strategy for the other salmon species too. You’ll see a few of them on the northshore, but for more consistent numbers and size, head to the Brule River on Wisconsin’s south shore. Like their ocean fairing relatives, once the salmon spawn, they’ll die.

Lake-run brown trout will arrive in good numbers on the Brule starting in late August or early September. They will be there to spawn, but they’ll feed on swung or dead drifted streamers or eggs and stonefly nymphs. Look for them in big, scuzzy eddies next to fast, deep water. They will return to the lake eventually and return for multiple spawns, unlike the salmon.    

The Brule River also gets a pretty epic steelhead run in the fall. Many of these fish swim up river to follow the salmon and browns to fatten up on their eggs, and then will over winter in the deeper pools until spring. Look for these fish in the heads and tails of pools with stoneflies and eggs patterns, and swinging streamers through fast runs going into deep holes. 

You can fish below the barrier fall and the river mouth on northshore tributaries for trout and salmon year-round (or until the rivers freeze over!) You can only use 1 lure/hook/fly per line on the northshore. You can fish the Brule downstream of Hwy 2 to the mouth until Nov 15th.  

Lake Superior is a fascinating tale of fisheries management, and today is a great fishery. This is thanks in large part to habitat restoration, restocking programs, and improved regulations. Fall is arguably the best time to visit and fish this region too, its scenic beauty and wide array of species that can be caught are truly unmatched. Find some time in the next couple months, and head north!      

Upcoming Events and Classes

• 10/14 & 28
• 11/11 & 25
• 12/9 & 23
• 1/13 & 27
• 2/10 & 24
• 3/10 & 24
• 4/14 & 28

Don’t let your casting arm get rusty over winter, we can help you polish up your skills! Whether you’re a beginner or advanced caster, we can help fine tune your distance and accuracy, and/or start from square one.

Bring your own fly rod if you have one, otherwise we will have a small number of loaner rods available. Kids must be accompanied by an adult. $50/angler/session.

• Sessions: 7:30-9pm @ Two Rivers High School, Mendota Heights MN 
• November 21
• December 5, 19
• January 9, 30
• February 20, 27
• March 6

Upcoming Trips

October Minnesota Fishing Report

The “second summer” heat kept the fishing pretty exciting into the first half of the month. Warm water species, like bass, were still very active and aggressive. High temp bugs, like grasshoppers, also remained active and provided great trout fishing. Now with the temperatures plunging again, our warmwater fish will move deeper and become more lethargic. But the cold is a dinner bell for cool/cold water species like trout, pike, and muskies! Click the link to get the full details!

Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN Lakes

• Warm temps have fish still pretty active. Look in water 6-10ft along weed edges.
• As it cools off, turnover will begin and will make fishing tough for a little while. 
• Big baitfish have produced the best, with finesse presentations working on cooler days. 

Minnesota/Wisconsin Driftless Trout Streams

•  Season closes in MN and WI on Oct 15, so get out there soon! After Oct 15 you’re limited to select in-town sections and state parks.
• Trout are still looking for hoppers during the mid day. Tricos, fall BWO mayflies, and some caddis will be hatching sporadically.
• Don’t be afraid to throw big streamers or crankbaits/spinners for large brown trout this time of year! 
• Waters are low and clear, use long/thin leaders when throwing little flies.

Mississippi & St. Croix River

• Colder temps have the smallies moving to their winter holding water and getting lethargic. Dredging the bottom with streamers or crayfish flies has produced well. 
• Pike and muskies are shaping up nicely with the colder temps! Big baitfish patterns are the way to go.
• Water is low and clear on both systems, lots of dead grass mats floating down right now. 

Bois Brule River

• October is prime time for chasing salmon, lake-run browns, and fall-run steelhead!
• Anglers are seeing good action on swung streamers and egg patterns.
• Water is low and clear. Using lighter tippets and smaller nymphs is advantageous.
• Pink salmon run on the north shore is going strong! Get up soon before they all turn into zombies, if they haven’t already.  

Fishing the Fall Turnover

Guide Tips From the FFA Team

Let’s talk about lake turnover, one of those mysterious things that can make even the best anglers scratch their heads and say, “Where’d the fish go?” In simple terms, lake turnover is when the water in a lake mixes from top to bottom. It happens twice a year in Minnesota, spring and fall, and it’s all about temperature and density.

Here’s the science without the headache:

• Water is heaviest at about 39°F (4°C).
  
• When the surface water cools down or warms up to that temperature, it sinks, and the lake mixes.
  
• This mixing redistributes oxygen and nutrients throughout the lake.

All summer long, most lakes are layered:

1. Epilimnion (top layer): warm, well-oxygenated water where most fish hang out.
   
2. Thermocline (middle layer): a sharp temperature change that keeps fish confined above or below it.
   
3. Hypolimnion (bottom layer): cold, low-oxygen water where fish rarely go.

When the air cools and those crisp October winds kick in, the surface water starts to chill. Once it reaches roughly 39°F, it becomes heavy and sinks. Strong fall winds help mix the whole lake until the temperature and oxygen levels are uniform from top to bottom. That’s turnover in a nutshell, it’s nature’s way of “resetting” the lake before winter.

Fishing during the fall turnover can be really tough! This is because temperature, oxygen levels, and nutrients are uniformly mixed throughout the entire water column. This allows the fish to become more scattered throughout the entire lake, and they become very hard to find. Once the lake finishes mixing, fishing rebounds fast! Oxygen-rich water near the bottom draws fish back to structure like rock piles, weed edges, and points. Walleye, bass, and pike begin feeding heavily to bulk up for winter. Smaller, shallower lakes turn over faster, while deep lakes take longer. So if one lake’s bite is dead, hop over to another that’s already settled.
Some other tips that help during the turnover:

1. Avoid murky water. When a lake first turns, it can look cloudy or smell “off.” That’s the sign of mixing gunk from the bottom. Fish avoid that too.
   
2. Find clear, stable water. Head to smaller lakes, rivers, or flowages. They stay more consistent.
   
3. Fish shallower than you think. After turnover, many fish move up to feed in the shallows or near the surface over deep water.
   
4. Slow down your presentation. Fish metabolism is slowing, and so should your retrieve. Jigs, live bait, and slow-moving crankbaits or flies work great.

Lake turnover refreshes the ecosystem, spreads oxygen for overwintering fish, and resets the lake for a healthy season ahead. Once it’s done, the bite picks up, and it can be some of the best fishing you’ll find all year!

The End of the 2025 Trout Season – Don’t Tread on the Redd!

October 15th is the official end to the island stream trout fishing season in Wisconsin and SE Minnesota! The reason why the season shuts down until January in the majority of streams is two fold:

1. To take pressure off the wild brook and brown trout while they spawn. 
2. To not have trout anglers tromping through the woods during fall hunting season.

But I really don’t like calling it, “THE END,” because there are places you CAN fish for trout year-round in Minnesota. You can still catch and release fish for trout in Whitewater, Beaver Creek Valley, and Forestville State Parks. The in-town sections of the streams in Chatfield, Preston, Spring Valley, Lanesboro, and Rushford are all open too. 

If you do go trout fishing this fall and early winter, it’s important to keep an eye out for trout nests, called redds. Redds will appear as circles or ovals of cleaned gravel at the end of riffles or start of runs (usually right where we want to wade across a stream.) Trout prefer gravel that is pea to golfball sized for their redds in areas with good current flow. The current provides oxygen for the eggs and very gently tosses the eggs which helps prevent bacteria growth. The female will use her tail to form a small depression in the streambed and to clean off the gravel of all silt and other debris, creating the “cleaned off” gravel appearance. As the female deposits eggs, male(s) will release their milt. After fertilization, the eggs get covered up by a small amount of gravel and are left unprotected. It can take a couple weeks for the eggs to hatch into the 1st stage which is the alevin or sac-fry. These tiny fish wobble around the bottom of the redd for another week or two before being able to freely swim. 

It’s best to stay out of the water in Oct-November and just fish from shore while the trout spawn. The early stages of egg and fry development are very fragile, so staying on shore as much as possible ensures we don’t accidentally smoosh them. If you do wade or need to cross, watch your step and “Don’t Tread on the Redd.” 

Want to Support Us Without Spending $$$? 
Leave us a Google Review!

Can you spare a minute to share an online review about Fishing For All? Your experience matters! Hit the button below to leave your Google review.