Rainbows (steelhead, kamloops) 16" or greater and clipped are open year round from the posted boundary (usually first impassible barrier or road bridge, look at regs) downstream to the mouth, this includes Lake Superior.
Brown trout - 10" min, 1 over 16" are open year round from the posted boundary (usually first impassible barrier or road bride, look at regs) downstream to the mouth, this includes Lake Superior.
Brook trout, splake open April 14th, 2007.
Stream sections above the posted boundary open April 14th, 2007. All rainbows above the posted boundaries must be released.
All unclipped rainbows are catch and release only, don't get caught with one, bad news!
This is quick and dirty list and always consult your regulations book for minimums and maximums and possession limits. The French River is off limits to fishing from the mouth to the posted boundary. To be safe, don't even fish this river unless your way up on the head waters and after April 14th, 2007. The fish from this river is where trout stock is taken from to stock the other streams.
NP. I'm a stickler when it comes to Minnesota's steelhead rivers which are doing very well and with decent numbers of fish. Natural producing fish are an awesome sight, and understand why the DNR and lots North Shore anglers have unclipped fish on high priority to protect.
I believe the minimum size limit on rainbows (16"+) is to protect the stock when the DNR plants smolts into the North Shore streams and to protect the naturals in the stream. These usually run from 6-12 inches. But in 3 years, these will be our steelhead runs. I don't mind people fishing for them, especially if taking a kid out or even introducing some1 to fly fishing, they bite just about anything. But it gets the blood flowing when I see some1 keeping them. I've had to turn in a few people keeping these stocked fish to the DNR.
Alright enuf of my rambling.
I hope there was at least one good said about me
John, the owner, is running a great shop and it's a great help when it's only 2 min walk from my work....
If your up that far, try your hand at the Blackhoof River. There is easy access where HWY 23 crossess it. If you dig out the Delorme you can find other access points as well. The Blackhoof is probably one the best streams in that area. I've never really fished any of the streams near Jay Cooke except on the St. Louis River which does have some browns.
With the weather and drought? conditions, the rivers are going to be warm and low this year. The trout on the North shore streams are going to suffer a bit this year. The best options is to get more inland, where there is more brush and cover to keep the waters cool. But then the fishing gets a little tougher. You'll still be able to find some trout hold up in the deeper pools along the North Shore. Otherwise the inland trout lakes might be a good bet to try, but most are best fished from either canoe, belly float or pontoon boats. Some of the lakes have launches for motorizes craft. There is a good book called Fly Fishing Minnesota's Trout Lakes by John Hunt, which basically list lakes that contain trout. Also check out Fly-Fishing the North Country by Shawn Perich, which goes into more details about fly fishing the Arrowhead Region of Minnesota.
Otherwise your best bet for fly fishing trout is to head over to the Bois Brule in Northern Wisconsin. Excellent trout fishing with some challenging sections for fly fisherman. The upper sections is all artificial only.
The best flies to use during the summer months are nymph (caddis, pheasant tails) patterns fished deep, soft hackle streamer flies like the Pass Lake, wooly buggers, prince nymphs. Dry fly action is good in the evening hours mainly caddis imitations like the EHC, but pretty much anything that looks buggy to a fish.
Call John at 218-740-3040 or stop by his shop - Great Lakes Fly Company in Duluth. His shop has tons of books and flies and should be able to help you out on your fishing trip. Tell him the TheFlyMaster sent you
