The Lake Superior fishing for walleyes is based on a tremendous population of walleyes that relate to the St Louis River which flows into Lake Superior dividing Duluth, MN and Superior, Wi. In the spring there is spawning up towards the dam on the St Louis River, after the walleyes spawn they migrate back toward the lake as the water warms and the baitfish make there way into St Louis Bay right next to our Barkers Island Marina. Walleyes remain in the bay through mid June and are easily targeted with trolling shallow running stickbaits ( Phantoms, Rapalas, Bombers) usually deployed off planer boards. During this period the last fish to make there way back down toward the lake are the larger walleyes (usually females) recovering after spawning then making the push back to the lake to gorge on baitfish. Similarly, in late June into July winds will concentrate the baitfish, mostly shiners and young of the year smelt, these fish are easy target for our boats trolling shad like imitation baits, spoons on downriggers, etc. The fish from St Louis Bay and also the fish that relate in the spring to the Amnicon River in Wisconsin will all congregate on shore line breaks on the south shore of Wisconsin. If the bait scatters due to the winds the walleyes will follow, thus we will catch them all over the lake at times while trolling for trout and salmon.
Lake Superior Fishing for walleyes is based on two season, form Mid May thru Mid June when we target the fish in St Louis Bay Estuary, then again when present in numbers, will specifically target walleyes, liberal limits in Wisconsin (5 fish/day) make them a great species in the late June to July time frame when the conditions congregate the fish. Walleyes make an excellent target species for afternoon trips in the spring and/or part of all day trip.
Other species that will appear during our fishing are Muskies and northern pike. These fish like the walleyes relate to the baitfish, over the years we have caught some trophy Muskies up to 56”. These fish are targetable in late fall trolling in the St Louis Bay when they are gorging on the shiner fall spawning run.
