Monday, May 11, 2009 Duluth area fishing report. Well fishing is going great. Lots of crappies and bluegills moving into the shallows. Bass near spawn and heavy, but taking baits offerred in the correct spots. Walleyes are hitting regularly on the St. Louis River, with lots of big eyes being taken.

For the crappies look for the warmest water, start in shallow bays with lots of protection and sunlight. They will be near structure, namely wood or reeds, at this time and very shallow. You'll most likely see them high in the water column catching some sun to warm up. Try small jigs, and use the lightest you can. I like to start with 1/32nd ounce crappie jigs and pitch them and walk them over and through the wood and weeds, to search for crappies. When you find them you can switch to light bobbers with hooks or tiny jigs tipped with minnows to stay on them.

For bluegills do the same as crappies but tip with a piece of worm. It's the same with all panfish and you'll find them all together or near one another at this time of year, just warming up and looking for the first bugs and minnows for food. Food and shelter, that's what brings them to the shallows and wood.

Now not all wood is equal, look for the aged wood, that will have the most food in it. Some new trees are fine, but some will turn to slime and no fish likes that.

Pike are easy with slow baits, or even trolled with spinnerbaits. They are cold blooded and very aggressive, most anything works now, but they are also in the shallows 3-10 feet looking for food.

The bass are getting going. My bass fishing buddy, is a wiz with reading bass water and has already boated several over 5 pounds. We've already boated over 100 bass, most over 14 inches. They vary from lake to lake and spawning is coming soon. You'll need to work to find them, but they are there and they are eating anything within their sight for long enough. Slow baits are working best, but there are times you need to trigger and provoke a bite.

Walleyes have been caught with jigs and minnows, spinners and bouncers, rapalas, and many other typical spring walleye patterns. I have heard for fishing buddies of many over 8 pound walleyes already. That's a great start and means that they are still running and spawning, meaning the big walleyes can be caught without going onto the big Lake Superior. That's awesome and hasn't been the case for years. That also means that we have a couple of great weeks of fishing before the majority of them leave the river system.

That's it for today.

Minnesota Fishing Guide.com