Can you feel it? It's almost time for the annual Minnesota fishing opener.
This week's report is going to be short and sweet. We believe all you anglers have everything ready to go, so we won't touch on that topic. We will send a tip on where to concentrate efforts for opening-weekend walleyes.
We will be targeting post-spawn walleyes near the first to second contour lines coming from spawning areas into main lake basins. Walleyes will be hungry during their recuperation phase and will prey on bait fish in and around these locations. Live bait and jigs will be the go-to method. We also will experiment with casting smaller shad raps and swim baits.
Lake Superior anglers are getting some salmon slow-trolling stickbaits behind planer boards, and stream fishing is seeing some action as well. Smelt are on the tail end of their spring run. The St. Louis River is clearing up after all the precipitation we have had in recent weeks. Panfishing has been slow on the river.
Inland lakes are seeing some good panfish action in the shallows. Using small pieces of worms under floats has been the best tactic. Locate black-bottom bays with higher water temperatures. As the weather continues to heat up, so will the fishing! Happy opener, Northland anglers!
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Jarrid Houston of South Range is a fishing guide (houstonsguideservice.com) on Minnesota and Wisconsin inland waters, the St. Louis River and, in winter, on Lake Superior.
