With the onset of cold weather I’ve started to do some serious planning for next year’s fishing trips. She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed and I last travelled to Minnesota’s North Shore 35 years ago. We’re thinking of going again late next June, catching a “Prairie Home Companion” show in St. Paul enroute, then camping and fishing in the Grand Marais area.
Minnesota’s DNR website is very comprehensive, but I’d welcome tips and personal advice from FAOLers who are familiar with the area. My priorities will be: (1) smallmouth bass, (2) brookies, (3) northerns, (4) whatever else might be gullible enough to bite my fly.
Any help/suggestions would be much appreciated. Thanks.
For smallmouth I would hit the St. Louis river somewhere between Brookston, MN and Duluth, MN. I know that is a long stretch of river but depending on when and how you want to fish. There are probably other very good spots in the Grand Marais area too but I’m not familiar with them. There is a lot of water up that way. You could give John a call at the Great Lakes Fly Company in Duluth for some further details and more areas to fish. He is a good guy and could help you out.
Mike
If you’re planning to stay in the Minneapolis / St. Paul area for any length of time, there is excellent smallmouth fishing on the Mississippi River between Monticello and Elk River. You can usually do well just wading. From downtown Minneapolis, you can be on the water casting in 45 minutes or so…
“On the road to Grand Marais, where the giant fishes lay. We go sleep and when we wake, we’ll be near Silver Bay!”
Glad you said Cook County and not Lake or St. Louis, those county’s “UP NORTH” are larger than some Eastern States!
First off may I say that most of Cook County is either National or State Forest Land. That means that there is logging, and were there is logging, there are logging roads to get into other areas, that otherwise would be impossible to get to.
Grand Marais, is where the “Gunflint Trail (Cty Rd 12)” begins, which is an excellent staging point for sorties into the interior. There are many hiking trails that cross trout streams in this area.
The four major trout streams are “Junco Creek”, “Devil Track River”, “Kadunce Creek”, and “Irish Creek”. You can find all four of these streams on DeLorme Page 79. You can fish for the Steelhead & Chinook Salmon at the mouth of the rivers, Brook Trout and Brown Trout in the main river portions, and Rainbow and Brook Trout in the lakes.
There are plenty of fly shops in the area, that can supply maps and help. There are also Forest maps available for the National Forest Service stations, and State Parks.
I’m glad my wife doesn’t read this. She was mad at me this summer because I couldn’t get away to go up to Grand Marais. We have been there several times and camp in the hugh city park campgrounds right on the lake. My son and I went on a Boundry Waters trip several years ago starting at the end of the Gunflint Trail. I think the name of the lake to the left was Sea Gull and we caught some smallmouth right off the little beach there. The last time I was up there they had built a campgrounds right there so I don’t know how that would be now. On the way up the North Shore the stream at Gooseberry Falls park looked very interesting but I never have had a chance to fish it. Try the pizza at Swen & Ollies and have fun.
Ditto on fishing the Mississippi if your in the Twin Cities. Also look at the St. Croix just east of the metro area. There are several rivers that offer excellent smallie opportunities on the way to the north shore. The Snake and Kettle rivers come to mind most readily… Once in the Duluth area look at either the St. Louis river or for some smaller water (the St. Louis will probably require a boat) look to the Cloquet river just west of Duluth.
Also give the guys at Great Lakes FLy company in Duluth a call for some lake smallie spots or the guys over in Superior WI at Superior Anglers.
As one old bald guy to another let me say this about that. Bring a GPS. If you get off the road or go out on a lake you can get seriously lost. This is a spot on the globe where you could walk for 100 miles and never see anything of humanity. Know where you are going, tell someone when you plan on coming back.
Try the Isabella River for brookies, lots of brookies up there. There is also some size restrictions on some rivers between the river mouth and the first barrier. They are trying to get the coasters back. Caught one last year on the Namadji. 17" coaster, what a thrill. Might want to charter out on the big lake. You can catch lakers out of the river mouths, I have heard. I find Lake Superior to be a very humbling place. One of the few spots in North America you can die from hypothermia in July.
One last thought, the no-see-ums will eat your ears off. Be prepared.
I hear ya, chubs. I’ve tent camped in the snow here in Nebraska, in the Wyoming Medicine Bows, and on Kodiak Island, but the coldest night I ever spent in a tent was along Lake Superior 35 years ago on Fourth of July weekend!
Thanks to both you and fly-chucker for the additional info.
