3/26/2025
Lester River Photo
2025 seems to be a repeat of last year with respect to river conditions. The snowpack has been reduced and will not contribute much to runoff volume on the streams of the lower shore. The rivers are still choked with ice. Hope for warm weather followed by a good soaking warm rain. Hopefully fishing will be good when our Spring Banquet's held on April 12th.
3/12/2024
The rivers are mostly ice covered with very little flow. There is no snow in the watersheds to provide meltwater runoff. We will need a good rain to get things going. This looks like it will be a strange year for steelheading.
4/12/2023
This is the Lester at 5:30 pm on 4/12/23, the water is still going up.
4/6/2023
The rivers are flowing beneath the ice and snow cover. Temps forecasted over the weekend in the 50's and maybe 60's will begin the streams opening up and start of the spring run. Time to get prepared. There will be a lot of water when they pop. Don't forget the LSSA Banquet on 4/15/23 go to NEWS for Banquet Information.
4/7/22
Finally, the rivers are opening. High, cold, coffee with cream colored, and full of ice, but, there are places to fish.
3/24/2021
Get your rods ready, it's going to be an early year. The mild winter and thin snowpack will result in an early low water spring, with water levels dependent upon rainfall. The Lester popped open with the rains over the last few days. Additional weekend rains may keep it up but when it drops and clears a little there will be fish. The question is how much ice remains under this high water. The Lester is always first in the parade of popping rivers going up the shore. My guess is the parade is moving up the shore fast.
4/14/19
The rivers have dropped and filled with slush after last weeks storm and cold temps. There remains a great deal of old snow inland along with the new stuff on top. With warmer weather coming the water levels will rise and slowly warm. Time to fish. Don't forget about the LSSA Spring Banquet on 4/27. Fishing will be peaking at banquet time
4/27/18
Time to fish
4/19/18
The melt is starting, here is the Lester tonight
4/12-13/18
Here is a view of the slow melt progress Thursday and Friday.
4/9/18
Spring is slow to arrive on the North Shore this year. The Lester is still iced up with little progress the last few days. We will see a good shot of fish when the ice goes out. The rivers maintained good flow beneath the ice this year and will take fish as soon as it goes out. Remember to sign up and attend the Banquet on April 21, (see news) The run should be in full force at that time.
12/6/17
This 25" Seeforellen Brown was caught by a lucky angler wading the Lake Superior shoreline in the city of Duluth on a late November afternoon.. Seeforellen are stocked by the Wisconsin DNR in Western Lake Superior and occasionally stray to the MN shore. Dark colored sexually mature Seeforellen show up along the shoreline in the late fall when in their spawning mode. Chrome Seeforellen are caught along the WI shoreline in the early spring when very prime and in a full feeding mode. Flies, spoons, plugs, all work for Seeforellen, they have a long life span and will grow to very large size.
GET READY, let the games begin!
4/2/2017 The lower shore streams are opening up and the fish are there.
Get ready, the Duluth area streams are popping open, the shady photo below of the Lester was taken on 3/27, the sunny one on 3/28. With more warm days the first and often the best fishing of the year may be had. Check the NEWS, Mentoring day will be Saturday 4/8/17 at the Knife River. (Sorry this date is a corrected revision from one posted earlier today)
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2/21/2017
No hoax or fake news, the rivers are opening up with the record warmth and recent rain.
No hoax or fake news, the rivers are opening up with the record warmth and recent rain.
Lester River 2/20/17
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Lester River 2/21/17
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September 17, 2016
Get ready for fall fishing, reports to start when the fish show up in decent numbers.
Get ready for fall fishing, reports to start when the fish show up in decent numbers.
March 25, 2016
Rivers have dropped and are cold but there are some fish, warmer weather will improve catching. The Lester below, looks nice.
Rivers have dropped and are cold but there are some fish, warmer weather will improve catching. The Lester below, looks nice.
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March 15, 2016
If your itching to fish, you can now scratch that itch, the Lester popped yesterday and no doubt the other rivers up Minnesota's North Shore have or will soon follow suit. The water is high, muddy, and cold. Catching a fish will be a challenge (always is).
If your itching to fish, you can now scratch that itch, the Lester popped yesterday and no doubt the other rivers up Minnesota's North Shore have or will soon follow suit. The water is high, muddy, and cold. Catching a fish will be a challenge (always is).
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March, 12 2016
With the warm weather we're getting anxious for open rivers. We watch Duluth's Lester River as it's usually the first to open along Minnesota's North shore. As you van see this morning's views from the London Road bridge she's icy but has a nice flow. Won't be long.
With the warm weather we're getting anxious for open rivers. We watch Duluth's Lester River as it's usually the first to open along Minnesota's North shore. As you van see this morning's views from the London Road bridge she's icy but has a nice flow. Won't be long.
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September 26, 2015- They're back!
June 30, 2015 - It is now safe to say the spring season is over, enjoy your summer.
May 21, 2015- It's far from over, warm water and HOT fish!
May 2, 2015- The crowds and cold have left and the finest fishing of the year is here. Enjoy, where ever you go.
4/25/15- Like the Lester below, North Shore streams are now low and pretty clear. There are a few fish around though, hit the bigger rivers.
4/15/15- The water is dropping and clearing in all North Shore streams, fishing is good.
The Lester on 4/15/15 at 4:00 pm.
4/13/15 - IT'S TIME TO FISH!!! If your planning on fishing over this coming weekend don't forget the LSSA Banquet Saturday April 18th. There is still room available, call Kevin at 218-525-5960 before this Thursday noon to reserve tickets. See "NEWS" for time and location.
The Lester on 4/13/15 at 3:30 pm
4/8/15- The Lester is low but fishable, no one fishing tells you something. Most of the Lester's flow is coming from a broken municipal water pipe just above the Superior Street bridge. A heavy warm rain would do wonders.
Barely flowing Lester River.
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Most of the water is from a broken pipe
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4/4/15- The rivers are slowly thawing out and a few fish have been reported caught in the cold pools upstream.
4/4/15- The mouth of the Lester River
3/31/15- There continues to be more ice than flow on the North Shore
3/28/15- A candle maker on the Brule got lucky this cold opening morning. The Brule is flowing and fishing very nicely.
3/24/15- A unusual year, thick ice with the snowmelt runoff past. This is what a glacier looks like.
The cold winter that froze Lake Superior also froze the rivers apparently from top to bottom. Lack of insulating snow over the winter magnifies this problem. The flow is now over thick layers of anchor ice. Hope the young fish produced the last two years were able to find a place to survive. If not, there could be some lean years ahead. Looks like it will be a while before the ice clears out and fish begin to move in.
3/14/15- Get the rods ready, this record warm weather is causing the streams to pop. Here the Lester is flowing out over ice at the mouth.
3/11/15- With this spring like weather the rivers are beginning to wake up, the Sucker River has flow over ice this morning.
