Coho salmon an angler’s delight right now on the big lake

DULUTH, Minn. (Northern News Now) - Spring fishing on Lake Superior used to mean loopers, but the Minnesota DNR no longer stocks the big lake with Kamloops trout.

Now, spring fishing means Coho salmon, and experts say they’re biting like crazy this year.

Boats have been prowling the Lake Superior shoreline recently because the Coho salmon are hungry and biting.

“It’s probably the best spring bite we’ve had in a long, long time,” Hall of Fame angler Russ Francisco said. “We had a good one last year, but this one is even better.”

Francisco said people need a 2025 fishing license and a trout stamp to go after Coho.

Marine General employee Connor Suliin has been fishing since he was a small child.

He reports trolling is the way to go this time of year.

“Two and a half to three miles per hour is pretty much what the speed has been,” Suliin said. “They’ve been fishing from the surface down to about 25 feet.”

Since the fish are in the mood to feed, he says simple bait will get the job done.

“I’ve got one in my hand,” Sulin said. “I’ve got the small orange challenger. It’s been a lights-out bait for us year after year, and it does good.”

This time of year, the water is extremely cold, so anglers are urged to pay attention to safety gear like visual distress signals, marine band radios, and of course, life jackets.

Francisco wants customers to come back safe after gathering the high-protein, sustainable food source that Lake Superior offers with Coho.

“They’re excellent and they’re probably the nicest fish to cook and best eating fish on the big lake,” Francisco said.

Suliin reported the Coho will keep biting until the smelt start running in a couple of weeks.

Once that run is done, the Coho will become attracted to lures again.

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