Lake trout dominate North Shore trolling as coho ride along

What's biting

What's next

Expect the North Shore troll bite to stay lake-trout-heavy through the rest of July. The wide temperature swing reported July 9, 44°F near Two Harbors versus 60°F near Duluth, reflects how wind-driven upwelling keeps flipping cold water to the surface along different stretches of shore, so anglers should be ready to adjust trolling depth day to day rather than count on a fixed thermocline holding steady. When surface temps hold in the mid-50s, a pattern that shows up repeatedly in the MN DNR Lake Superior Summer Fishing reports over the past month, coho numbers have tended to tick up alongside the trout bite, so a stretch of stable weather this week could bring more mid-to-high-teens coho into the mix.

Chinook have been the wildcard all season. Every report from mid-June through July 9 describes them as "a few" fish in the 18-32 inch range rather than a consistent target, and nothing in the current intel signals that changing soon. Anglers targeting kings specifically should treat lake trout and coho as the more reliable Plan A and let chinook be a bonus fish.

Wind and rain remain the biggest swing factor on the North Shore. The July 2 report noted rainy, windy conditions limited angling activity for much of that week, and the same pattern shows up in the June 11 and June 18 reports, both of which cite fog, rain, or wind cutting into fishing time. Anyone planning a North Shore trip this weekend should check the marine forecast the morning of; a calm window between fronts has consistently produced the better catches described in these reports.

Inland around the Twin Cities, Fishing the Midwest's read on the open-water season, emphasizing versatility, working weedlines, and leaning on forward-facing sonar, suggests walleye location will keep shifting through midsummer as weed growth changes where fish stage. Anglers who stick rigidly to traditional bottom-and-structure spots may find fish have moved shallower or suspended, so it's worth working the whole water column rather than assuming bottom contact is required.

No new steelhead or smelt-run signal is expected soon. That fishery closed out for the season back in May per the MN DNR North Shore Fishing Report, and stream conditions there won't be relevant again until fall or next spring's run.

Context

The current Lake Superior pattern, trolling spoons and stickbaits through the thermocline for lake trout and coho with chinook as a bonus, is right on schedule for mid-July on the North Shore. Comparing the MN DNR Lake Superior Summer Fishing reports across the season, trout sizes have held in a consistent 17-31 inch band since mid-June and coho have stayed in the mid-to-high teens throughout, which reads as a stable, on-schedule summer fishery rather than anything unusually hot or slow for this time of year.

Earlier in the year, the MN DNR North Shore Fishing Report tracked a separate, now-closed fishery: steelhead spawning in the lower-shore tributaries ran from late April through mid-May, overlapping with the smelt run, before pressure shifted to inland lakes as water levels dropped through May. That stream season is fully wrapped for the year, and there's no signal in the current intel of any late-season stream activity, which is typical since steelhead and smelt are spring-specific windows on the North Shore.

For inland lakes around the Twin Cities and North Woods, the available intel from Fishing the Midwest is general technique commentary rather than lake-specific reporting, so there isn't a strong comparative read on whether this summer's walleye and bass action is running ahead of, behind, or on pace with a typical year. The emphasis on versatility and forward-facing sonar reflects a broader multi-year trend in how anglers approach summer patterns rather than anything specific to 2026 conditions. Anglers with lake-specific questions should check current MN DNR regulations and local reports before heading out, since direct inland water-temp or catch data isn't available to compare against this season.