Lake trout keep firing on Superior as inland walleye and bass hold steady

What's biting

What's next

Expect the North Shore trolling bite to hold through the next several days as long as wind stays manageable. The MN DNR's Lake Superior report shows a wide surface-temperature spread right now (upper 60s near Duluth down to the low 40s near Two Harbors), and that thermal patchiness is exactly what's been concentrating lake trout, coho, and chinook near the thermocline in the 100-150 foot range. If southwest winds keep mixing warmer surface water into the lower shore stations, look for the 30-60 foot trolling depth that's been producing to stay productive into early next week; a wind shift that stalls or reverses that mixing could push fish deeper or shallower and it's worth adjusting trolling depth accordingly rather than assuming last week's numbers hold exactly.

Air quality from wildfire smoke is worth watching before heading out on Superior - it was limiting visibility on the water as of the July 16 report, and that kind of haze can also affect surface-temp readings day to day, so check current conditions before committing to a long run offshore.

Inland around the Twin Cities and North Woods lakes, the walleye and bass patterns described by Fishing the Midwest should carry through the weekend with the season in full open-water swing. Walleye anglers running forward-facing sonar should keep checking off-structure areas rather than assuming fish are locked onto classic points and breaklines - that's been the bigger lesson of the FFS era per that source. Bass anglers working weedlines with moving baits should expect the bite to stay consistent as weeds continue filling in through midsummer; a hook-sharpening touch-up between fish, as one angler reported, can be the difference on a day when bites are light. No river gauge or buoy data came through for this cycle, so treat any specific flow or level assumptions with caution and check a local source before planning a stream trip.

Context

Lake Superior's summer troll bite for lake trout, coho, and chinook salmon is a well-established mid-to-late-summer pattern along the lower shore, and the numbers coming out of the July 16 MN DNR Lake Superior Summer Fishing report - 18-31 inch lake trout, 16-18 inch coho, and chinook up to 25 inches - are in line with what that fishery typically produces this time of year, with trolling depths gradually adjusting week to week as the thermocline shifts. Earlier-season MN DNR North Shore Fishing Report entries from this spring tracked the steelhead run and smelt season through April and May, a separate stream-fishing chapter that wrapped before this summer lake pattern took over, which is the normal seasonal handoff for this fishery.

Inland, Fishing the Midwest's framing that the 2026 open-water season is "in full swing" and its emphasis on forward-facing sonar changing how anglers locate walleye reflects an ongoing, multi-year shift in technique rather than anything specific to this week - it's now a standard part of how many Midwest anglers approach structure fishing. There's no specific signal in this week's feeds calling the 2026 season notably early, late, or unusual compared to a typical year; the available intel points to normal, on-schedule summer patterns for both the North Shore trout/salmon fishery and inland walleye and bass lakes.