Fall Bite Bonanza on Lake Superior - Salmon, Trout, and More in Duluth
Today on Lake Superior out of Duluth, anglers woke up to the sweet bite of crisp fall: sunrise hit at 6:53 AM and you can expect sunset at 7:13 PM. The skies are starting out partly cloudy with a cool breeze out of the northwest, lingering off last week’s cold front. Early temps around the upper 40s steadily rise to the low 60s through the day, making for stable, pleasant conditions. No tidal swings here on the big lake, but that cooling trend after a warm patch has the fish ready for serious pre-turnover feeding.The action this week has had a definite fall flavor. According to the Lake Superior Duluth Daily Fishing Report, salmon are on the move—cohos and pinks, especially, cruising shallower near river mouths and along rocky points. Early risers throwing spoons and crankbaits around Lester River and Brighton Beach found consistent coho action, with several fish in the 2–4 lb range landed before 10:00 AM. Chartreuse and gold Little Cleos and Krocodiles have been hot; leaders using a fluorocarbon tip are seeing more strikes than those on straight braid, in line with recent tips from The National Professional Fishing League about line visibility making a difference in clear water.Lake trout are staging deeper—most reports put active schools in 60–100 feet just off Park Point and the Duluth Lift Bridge channel edges. Jigging white tubes and silver Kastmasters tipped with cut sucker or smelt are producing best, especially on slow, deliberate drops and lifts. Anglers running downriggers out past Two Harbors are picking up lake trout and an occasional steelhead, with the best bites close to bottom midday.Shore anglers at Canal Park and the mouth of Chester Creek are still seeing sporadic action for bonus brown trout. A couple of young fish were iced late last night on crawler/slip float rigs around dusk—though this is winding down as water cools.Northern pike are popping up around harbor breakwalls, especially behind the DECC and up the St. Louis River bays. Spinnerbaits and flashy jerkbaits in perch or fire tiger patterns are drawing hits. For walleye, the slow-trolling bite is picking up from Rice’s Point to Spirit Lake—best on small perch-color crankbaits and vertical jigging with fatheads or plastic shad tails.Perch are holding tight to weed edges and scattered patches in shallows off the river mouth; numbers haven’t been hot, but dedicated anglers working live minnows and bits of worm under slip bobbers are putting together enough for a decent fry.Hot spots to target today:- **Brighton Beach/Lester River mouth:** For early coho, pink salmon, and the odd steelhead—best before 11 AM.- **Park Point channel edges:** Deep jigging or trolling for active lake trout in 60–100 ft of water.- **St. Louis River Bays:** Spinnerbaits and live bait for pike and a chance at late walleye bites near Rice’s Point and Spirit Lake.Best lures and bait for the day: for salmon, stick to flashy spoons in gold, chartreuse, or silver, and scale down to #2–#4 series for pinks; for lake trout, vertical jigs paired with cut bait on white or silver bodies are top producers. Salmon and trout are surprisingly keyed on color contrasts today, so swap patterns if the fish go quiet.Lines: Run fluorocarbon leaders if the bite’s light or the water’s clear; stick to braided mainline for long casts and jigging heavier spoons—per NTPL guidance, you’ll get more bites and fewer lost lures around rocks.That’s your Lake Superior Duluth fishing report for September 20, 2025. Thanks for tuning in—be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss the next bite window. 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