Duluth's Cloudy Day Delivers: Lake Superior's Top Catches with Artificial Lure
Artificial Lure here with your Lake Superior Duluth fishing report for Sunday, September 21, 2025.Today started off with a **moody overcast sky and a cool 60 degrees**, with light winds out of the SSE at just 2 mph. Humidity sat at a sticky 95 percent, making it feel a touch heavier than your typical September day. According to Lake Vermilion Resorts' regional report, the weather stayed stable and clouds hung low, setting perfect conditions for targeting deeper water species. Sunrise kicked off at **6:51 a.m.** this morning, and sunset will wrap things up at **7:06 p.m.**—that’s a solid bite window, especially during low-light periods when fish cruise the shallows and break lines.**No true tides** on Lake Superior, but wind-driven current picked up a bit by mid-afternoon—which always fires up the lake trout and salmon near structure and river mouths.Fish activity’s been high these last few days, especially around Knife River and the south shore. Local charters like Duluth Superior Charter Fishing LLC report full limits on **lake trout** taken just outside Knife River and a strong showing of **coho (Oncorhynchus kisutch) and king salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha)** off deeper reefs and shipping channels. Most recent catches were **trout in the 5-15 pound range**, plenty of coho in the **8-12 pound class**, and the occasional king salmon tipping **well over 20 pounds**. Mixed in, whitefish are biting if you’re drifting lighter tackle near the surface in the early morning.Today’s best results came for those **trolling spoons and flashers** in bright metallics—think silver, chartreuse, or anything that throws flash in these overcast conditions. The strong performers were the classic **Shad Rap, Mepps Syclops, and Moonshine Spoons**, especially when run off downriggers or dipsy divers to chase the deep marks showing up on sonar.Bait-wise, **cut herring strips** took some real slabs early today, with fresh spawn sacs picking up salmon near the river mouths. For lake trout, vertical jigging with heavy bucktail jigs or tube jigs tipped with a minnow produced the bigger fish—depths of 80-120 feet were the sweet spot after 8 a.m. If you’re heading out for shore fishing, try a live minnow under a slip bobber tight to breakwalls at Canal Park or up the Lester River mouth.For the catfish crowd, a few were caught overnight at the St. Louis River using rigs like the Whisker Seeker Catfish Spook in toxic green paired with cut sucker bait. Flathead and channel cats are still sluggish but active enough to pick up baits suspended above structure, especially as dusk sets in.**Hot spots today:** - **Knife River mouth**—for limits of lake trout and late-season coho, best on the troll or with heavy jigs over the drop-offs. - **Lester River mouth**—shore anglers pulled in mixed whitefish and coho, particularly right at sunrise and sunset on spawn sacs and small spoons. - **St. Louis River estuary**—if you want to chase catfish or get after the night bite for walleye, this is the spot with a chance at a mixed bag.Charters are finding fish and families are catching plenty—recent guests with Captain Paul said it best: “We caught our limit of lake trout and will definitely go out again. The kids loved it and even the non-fishing folks got in on the action.”Remember, gear up with bright lures on cloudy days, stay mobile, and target those current breaks and river mouths for the active fall transition fish.Thanks for tuning in to today’s Lake Superior Duluth fishing report from Artificial Lure. Don’t forget to subscribe for daily updates and hot tips all season long. 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...