ALONG THE ST. LOUIS RIVER — Out among the fancy, $60,000 walleye boats with their 200 horsepower motors and their high-tech sonar gadgetry, Justin Demars and Carter Shoquist were paddling a weathered Old Town canoe with nary a piece of electronics on board.
And they were catching just as many walleyes as the other guys. Maybe more.
On a sun-dappled perfect Saturday morning, the two anglers were alternating paddling upstream and drifting downriver, where it cuts through Duluth’s Fond du Lac neighborhood, and their baits seemed to be in the right place at the right times.
John Myers / Duluth Media Group
“Here’s another one,’’ Shoquist hollered back toward shore, as he held up a dandy 25-inch walleye.
Shoquist, of Lino Lakes, Minnesota, and Demars, of Duluth, were grinning from ear-to-ear at each other's catches.
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And they weren’t the only ones on the river having success on a Minnesota opening day morning that started cool, in the lower 40s, and ended warm, nudging near 70 degrees.
John Myers / Duluth Media Group
Rick Jones of Duluth got his shore spot early and had a nice catfish laying on the grass by 7:30 a.m. He was reluctant to have his photo taken however, because it wasn't a walleye. The peer pressure was just too much.
“I’d never hear the end of it,’’ Jones said.
Most anglers questioned were trying both worms (or nightcrawlers) and minnows. And it appeared both baits were working ok. The problem with worms, though, is that pesky little ruffe and rock bass nibble them off.
“I've gone through 2½ dozen crawlers already for these rock bass,’’ said an exasperated Sinatra Peters of Duluth as he re-baited his hook yet again.
John Myers / Duluth Media Group
Boats were plying up and down the river, with a few groups gathering for a while, then dispersing, a sign that no one had found the perfect hot spot. The consensus here, upriver, was that maybe the bulk of the walleyes had spawned early, after an early ice-out, and were already farther downstream toward Lake Superior.
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But there were still enough of the green and gold Minnesota state fish around to keep it interesting.
There was just the right amount of water in the river — not too fast, not too low — and the weather was un-opener-like enough for folks to strip down to shorts and T-shirts before noon. Some anglers who got up early enough were even treated to a star-studded showing of the aurora borealis.
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Just downstream from Shoquist and Demars, Jason Smith of Cloquet had a dandy 21-inch plus walleye swimming on a stringer, destined for dinner, and was holding out for more. He had secured his favorite spot on shore by about 5 a.m. along the river where a morsel of public lands allows for public fishing.
“It’s not the fastest fishing, but you can’t beat the weather,’’ Smith said. “What a day.”
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It wasn't that Smith doesn’t have a boat. It’s just that, during the pandemonium that opening day can bring among boaters, he enjoyed the quiet solitude and relaxation of fishing from shore.
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“I hate waiting in line at the boat landing for an hour while all the 'citiots' try backing up their boats,’’ Smith said. “This is easier ... And it’s just as good.”
Indeed, at the ever-popular Boy Scout Landing boat ramp just downstream, trucks with trailers were parked three blocks up into Gary-New Duluth.
Already having shed his jacket and long pants, Duluth’s Dan Clement, had two walleyes on his stringer by 10 a.m.
“We got out here at 3 a.m.,’’ Clement said of he and his fishing partner, Shawn McCarty of Duluth. “We got the first walleye about 5:30.”
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The duo were fishing on a wooden dock placed by the Department of Natural Resources for shore anglers near Perch Lake. It’s a place where you never know what you might catch — anything from walleyes and pike to muskies, sturgeon and catfish. And therein lies the magic of the St. Louis River Estuary, right in Duluth and Superior's backyard.
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“I love the fishing opener, I wouldn't miss it,’’ Clement said. “It was a little chilly when we got here this morning ... Now I’ve gotta watch out for a sunburn.”
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