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Brisk Fishing on Lake Superior's North Shore: Walleyes, Saugers, and More Await Anglers
Published 6 months ago
Description
Lake Superior at Duluth greeted anglers this Saturday with temps in the mid-40s and partly cloudy skies, as reported by WDIO News, making for a brisk but fishy start. Winds are light out of the northwest, so surface conditions are fair, with only a light chop. Sunrise hit at 7:52 AM and we’ll fish until sunset just after 5:52 PM—classic November hours on the North Shore.
No need to worry about tides on the big lake, but water temps are on the chilly side, likely hovering near 45‐47°F at near-shore, which sets the fall bite into motion. As 365 Days of Birds is fond of saying, the north winds at this time of year drive cool water and bait in close, bringing predatory fish out of summer hiding and into range for shoreline anglers.
Reports from the past week show **walleyes** and **saugers** becoming active, with mixed bags of **perch**, occasional **crappies**, and some solid **northern pike** turning up. Arrowhead Outdoors notes walleyes are concentrated on deep structure; fish are being caught anywhere from 20 to 32 feet, especially where rocky points meet drop-offs. Large minnows—especially shiners—on a bright jig or Lindy rig are the go-to rig for these deeper targets lately. Vertical jigging with frozen emerald shiners in gold, chartreuse, or glow colors has been deadly, and anglers working the Duluth entry, Park Point, and the Boulder Wall are reporting steady action.
Pike are responding to big minnow baits and large sucker minnows under a bobber at river mouths and rocky points, riverside anglers late in the morning have found extra success as these fish stage for the whitefish spawn. Jumbo perch are still in play too; look for shallow vegetation and back bays and try a jig tipped with a small minnow or even a waxworm.
Smallmouth bass are still catchable off main lake channel edges and shipping dock pilings. Wheeler's Winter Wisdom out of Major League Fishing suggests downsizing to a 3-inch finesse swimbait on a 3/8-ounce jighead, keeping it low and slow—the bass are chasing small baitfish close to the bottom and won't ignore a soft minnow-imitator with a gentle kick.
Recent catches highlight mixed buckets: Two Duluth locals reported 8‐9 walleyes with several in the slot, three pike in the high-20 inch range, and a dozen jumbo yellow perch from Minnesota Point and the Lester mouth—they used live shiners for walleye and pike, while perch and crappies came on small jigs tipped with plastic and minnow pieces.
If fishing from shore, try casting floating jerkbaits and smaller swimming soft plastics in low light—sunrise and sunset bites have beat midday. For lake trout, which are winding down from their annual run, big magnum fluke plastics jigged vertically near breaklines remain a favorite, especially on VMC Moon Eye heads.
Best hot spots today:
- Minnesota Point at the Park Point beach crossings—a reliable fall hangout for migrating walleyes and perch.
- Lester River mouth—moving water activates everything from coho salmon to hungry northern and jumbo perch.
- The adapted Boulder Wall on the harbor side—great for deep-water jigging and occasional trophy pike.
Live bait remains king for big fish, with emerald shiners and suckers taking the majority of larger walleyes and pike. Don’t underestimate artificial softbaits—Z‑Man GrubZ and the super flukes are excellent choices, while Berkley PowerBait and Gulp minnows finish off the perch menu.
Thanks for tuning in! Be sure to subscribe and stay up to date on all our local fishing action. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.
Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn
This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI
This episode includes AI-generated content.
No need to worry about tides on the big lake, but water temps are on the chilly side, likely hovering near 45‐47°F at near-shore, which sets the fall bite into motion. As 365 Days of Birds is fond of saying, the north winds at this time of year drive cool water and bait in close, bringing predatory fish out of summer hiding and into range for shoreline anglers.
Reports from the past week show **walleyes** and **saugers** becoming active, with mixed bags of **perch**, occasional **crappies**, and some solid **northern pike** turning up. Arrowhead Outdoors notes walleyes are concentrated on deep structure; fish are being caught anywhere from 20 to 32 feet, especially where rocky points meet drop-offs. Large minnows—especially shiners—on a bright jig or Lindy rig are the go-to rig for these deeper targets lately. Vertical jigging with frozen emerald shiners in gold, chartreuse, or glow colors has been deadly, and anglers working the Duluth entry, Park Point, and the Boulder Wall are reporting steady action.
Pike are responding to big minnow baits and large sucker minnows under a bobber at river mouths and rocky points, riverside anglers late in the morning have found extra success as these fish stage for the whitefish spawn. Jumbo perch are still in play too; look for shallow vegetation and back bays and try a jig tipped with a small minnow or even a waxworm.
Smallmouth bass are still catchable off main lake channel edges and shipping dock pilings. Wheeler's Winter Wisdom out of Major League Fishing suggests downsizing to a 3-inch finesse swimbait on a 3/8-ounce jighead, keeping it low and slow—the bass are chasing small baitfish close to the bottom and won't ignore a soft minnow-imitator with a gentle kick.
Recent catches highlight mixed buckets: Two Duluth locals reported 8‐9 walleyes with several in the slot, three pike in the high-20 inch range, and a dozen jumbo yellow perch from Minnesota Point and the Lester mouth—they used live shiners for walleye and pike, while perch and crappies came on small jigs tipped with plastic and minnow pieces.
If fishing from shore, try casting floating jerkbaits and smaller swimming soft plastics in low light—sunrise and sunset bites have beat midday. For lake trout, which are winding down from their annual run, big magnum fluke plastics jigged vertically near breaklines remain a favorite, especially on VMC Moon Eye heads.
Best hot spots today:
- Minnesota Point at the Park Point beach crossings—a reliable fall hangout for migrating walleyes and perch.
- Lester River mouth—moving water activates everything from coho salmon to hungry northern and jumbo perch.
- The adapted Boulder Wall on the harbor side—great for deep-water jigging and occasional trophy pike.
Live bait remains king for big fish, with emerald shiners and suckers taking the majority of larger walleyes and pike. Don’t underestimate artificial softbaits—Z‑Man GrubZ and the super flukes are excellent choices, while Berkley PowerBait and Gulp minnows finish off the perch menu.
Thanks for tuning in! Be sure to subscribe and stay up to date on all our local fishing action. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.
Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn
This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI
This episode includes AI-generated content.