Fat Hens. All Day Long.

These are not chickens.

Philip Hoberg with a fat Lake Superior Rainbow Trout

Philip Hoberg with a fat Lake Superior Rainbow Trout

Between the two of us in one afternoon of fishing, we landed 17 and lost a number of others.

Phil Hoberg Lake Superior Rainbow Trout

These fish were biting aggressively and taking fast-stripped buggers.

Phil Hoberg Lake Superior Rainbow Trout

Sometimes they would hit so hard they would come jumping out of the water and start tearing line off the reel.

Phil Hoberg Lake Superior Rainbow Trout

Gahhh! Fish strangler!

Phil Hoberg Lake Superior Rainbow Trout

Phil Hoberg slides another fat hen into his hands.

Phil Hoberg and Leif Birnbaum holding a stringer of Lake Superior Rainbow Trout


2 comments on “Fat Hens. All Day Long.

  1. Nate Glocke on

    Hi, I am headed up to the Duluth area this weekend to do some stream fishing. Can you recommend any areas or flies/patterns that might help me out?

    Reply
    • Leif Birnbaum Duluth, MN on

      Hi Nick, thanks for visiting Big Kype! If you are looking for streams to fish, all of the local streams in and around Duluth have brook trout, some rainbows and a few browns (Chester, Tischer, Miller, Keene, Amity, Lester). There are some good spots right in the middle of town. Amity creek is usually a good one to explore, just follow Seven Bridges Road and you will find plenty of pools to fish. You can fish Chester from Chester Bowl (start at the park entrance and work your way down stream). There is a walking trail along Tischer between Woodland avenue down to around Superior Street. There seems to be a lot of caddis hatching out right now. Heavier nymphs and buggers can all work too.

      If you’re looking for larger fish, your best chance is getting in waders and casting out in front of the river mouths right now. There are still a few larger rainbows roaming around out there but that seems to have tapered off. The in-shore water has finally began to warm up so there are a few lake trout coming within casting distance. Use larger streamers with some weight to get down and strip fairly fast (short strips). I like using large streamers with a minimal amount of material but still project a larger profile (4-6″) – too big and too much material and you are going to wear yourself out casting. Just make sure they have flash 🙂

      If you can spot bug slicks within casting distance, even better. You will see larger fish right on the surface scooping up all of the bugs if you come across one of these. Let me know how you do!

      Reply

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