We decided to start by slowly trolling along the out flow of a muddy creek. The line between the brown river run off and Superior’s crystal clear flow was easy to follow. My son Devin Ellis, and myself, trolled #7 Rapala Shad Raps. At the front of the boat, Sandro Fragale cast a Mighty Mitch and Jungle Jig fly. I kept the boat moving relatively slowly and we cast the Shad Raps out behind the boat. Sandro started working the river mouth , swimming a black headed bucktail slowly back to the boat. Then he loaded the rod but his line was slack.
“That was a fish,” he said. “Missed it somehow.”
As Fragale threw another cast out, Devin reared back on his rod. “Fish Dad!” He said, standing up as the line started to peel off his reel. Devin had a fight on his hands, but as is often the case in ultra cold water, the steelhead gassed out fairly quickly. Dev worked him near the boy and put the bright rainbow in the net. There were some high fives and pictures before the 25 inch wild Superior steelhead was turned loose. For the next 4 hours, Sandro, Devin and I caught a half dozen rainbow up to 8 pounds, dropped as many and cursed several missed strikes. Mixed into the catch were a few nice lakers that were likely chasing down staging smelt. By the time the action died, we were a bit chilled and ready for a coffee stop at Tim’s. But it had been a great morning of spring steelhead on Superior from the confines of a very comfortable fishing boat. There are worse fates.
Most of my best spring river mouth for steelhead has come via boat. Boats allow you to stream mouth hop along the rugged coast of Superior in short order, without the headache of possible trespass or parking issues. A boat also provides easy access to river mouths that may be remote. Cruising for rainbows along the shoreline of Superior can be a real eye opener as well. It’s amazing how many dinky little creeks and trickles have big steelhead living at the doorstep.
Trolling is a great river mouth technique, particularly when the rainbows are staging first thing in the spring, and later when they start to disperse post spawn. Shoreline trolling usually involves pulling plugs, like the #7 Shad Rap, Minnow Rap or Little Cleo spoon about 100 yards behind the boat. Feeding steelhead are very active and will often charge a flutter spoon or plug repeatedly before getting hooked. When flat line trolling shoreline for rainbows, cover as much water as you can and hang on.
Casting from the boat to the mouth of a river can be very effective indeed. Spoons of one quarter ounce to five eighths of an ounce in weight are a definite plus here. Some of the better spoons include the Blue Fox Pixie, Gibbs Koho, Luhr Jensen Krocodile and Mepps Syclops. The Little Cleo is also be a proven favourite along the North shore of Superior. Stock up on spoons with brass and silver finishes, as well as those with hot colours like flame red and chartreuse. The Mighty Mitch and Jungle Joe Jig fly is another spring steelhead killer that is perfect for casting. Jig flies with black and orange heads shine, and the buggier black and brown bucktail jig flies seem best in spring. Cast them toward shore and swim them back well off the bottom. Strikes will often be explosive, so be ready.
The morning was grey and cool, but Lake Superior was open and the rivers were swollen. In fact, the water was so high in most of the tributaries it was nearly impossible to fish. However, we’d slid my 17 Lund Outfitter into the ice water of Superior and had decided to try some river mouth fishing. This can be a hit or miss affair, but if you find staging steelies at a river mouth, they can be very co-operative.
Rods for this type of high impact fishing need to be able to fling a lure a long way out and have backbone. A spinning rod of eight to ten feet will fill the bill perfectly. The Rapala North Coast 8 foot steelhead spinning rod, matched with a Seeker reel, is about perfect for this. This same system will double well as flat line trolling rod. Monofilament line tests in the 8 to 12 pound test range are best. Use a good quality line that can take abuse, like Suffix or Maxima. Also, buy a diamond hook hone and use it on all your hook points. It is amazing how much of a difference a sharp hook will make.
Though boats are great fishing machines, many anglers swear by canoes as the best way to sneak up on river mouth rainbows. These anglers sneak their crafts on the water as soon as the ice starts to loosen up and throw spoons and spinners to great effect right through the summer. The addition of an electric trolling motor on any water craft makes it very easy to sneak up on trout. It’s always a good idea to wear a survival suit when fishing in cold water, and this is especially true in canoe or small boat.
Finally, remember to be selective in your harvest of these wonderful fish and handle them with care. Lake Superior steelhead are a valuable member of the fish community, and provide awesome sport. We are lucky to have such a great fishery.