Duluth & Lake Superior Fishing Report: Walleye, Perch, and Smallies Heating Up for Fall
This is Artificial Lure bringing you the September 17, 2025, Duluth and Lake Superior fishing report. Sunrise this morning came at 6:47 AM and anglers were greeted with brisk northwest winds and temperatures in the upper 40s, with highs moving into the mid-50s under a mix of sun and cloud. Water temps across the main harbor and nearshore dropped to around 61–63 degrees—an early sign that the summer-to-fall transition is well underway. Lake Superior, recently named America’s cleanest lake by Lake.com, is in prime autumn shape, with clear water and healthy fish.Today’s conditions favor classic fall tactics for the area. The cooling water and northwest winds are pushing fish shallow: expect walleye and perch near breaklines, while smallmouth are feeding aggressively on shallow boulders and points, especially around sunrise and sunset. There’s no tidal swing on Lake Superior—she’s a Great Lake—but wind, temperature, and daylight rule the fish activity.Reports from Jeff Sundin’s northern Minnesota updates say perch in the six- to nine-inch range are hot right now on both jigs and spinners tipped with minnows. Folks have been putting a dozen or so keeper perch in the bucket by midday on overcast days, with an occasional jumbo stretching to 12 inches. Over on the St. Louis River and harbor, local guides confirm similar bites as the perch stack up on mudflats and channel edges.Walleye are showing up in scattered packs, often suspended 15–25 feet down, especially close to dusk. The best success this week came to those dropping jigs and live minnows, or pulling perch-colored crankbaits on leadcore over sandbars and flats. One Duluth angler last night landed a 24-inch walleye east of the Lift Bridge on a firetiger crankbait just before sunset. Smallmouth bass action is firing up with the cooler weather—fall up here means tubes and Ned rigs shine. Wired2Fish recommends the Strike King Coffee Tube on a 3/8-ounce jighead for hungry smallies prowling boulder piles and points. Local favorites also report success with white and silver paddle tails hopped near rocky shores, especially up the North Shore and at the mouth of the Lester River.Northern pike are getting snappier by the day, taking flashy spoons and white spinnerbaits. Early risers tossing large swimbaits near reedbeds are seeing good follows, with some fish pushing 32–36 inches.Best bait picks for the week: - **Walleye & Perch:** Live minnows on jigs, perch-pattern crankbaits, or crawler harnesses with gold or chartreuse blades.- **Smallmouth Bass:** Tube baits in natural crayfish hues, Ned rigs, and silver swimbaits.- **Northern Pike:** Larger spoons, spinnerbaits in white or chartreuse.Couple of **hot spots** to check:- The mouth of the St. Louis River, especially near Rice’s Point and the upstream flats—both perch and walleye are running here early and late.- McQuade Small Craft Harbor and the North Shore breakwalls. Cast tubes for smallies or troll cranks for walleyes as the sun sets.- Bonus: The quiet edges near Park Point hold both pike and the odd staging salmon.With the wind driving chop and the water cooling, fish are in a feeding mood—target transitions, use natural colors, and focus on dawn and dusk for your best shot at big ones. Thanks for tuning in to your Lake Superior fishing report with Artificial Lure. Don’t forget to subscribe for your daily dose of true local fishing knowledge. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1PnThis content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI