Welcome to my fishing web site. This is my twenty-seventh year of logging my Lake Superior Fishing adventures.  I synopsize most trips, generally describing my adventures, successes and other details out on the Big Pond.  My boat is appropriately named "Cooler By The Lake". I am just a plain fisherman who loves to fish Lake Superior, mostly for Lake Trout. I do not run a charter. I try to update my reports after each trip. Thank you for following us on our Lake Superior fishing journeys. Please if you have any questions or suggestions on my reports or narratives. Compliments are also welcomed. 

Click here to see last year's log - 2021 or click here choose prior year fishing reports

9 Aug 22    Once again, delayed by wind, wind, wind but finally, a break. Norm Dill and I headed out to a light chop and set lines at 160'. Well, at least the Johnson was out but not the net nor either rigger when the Johnson hit. I proved a steady catching run as we picked up 10 Lakers in under 3 hours, all between 160' and 180'. The wind and chop behaved and it was beautiful out there. At the launch, we were greeted by the DNR survey man who spotted one of my Lakers had a clipped adipose fin, an indication of a wire tag inserted in the head by the DNR. He removed the head with the tag and will turn it in. He said he sees very few of these clipped fins. I'll try to find out what the wire tag tells the DNR.

30 Jul 22    Cooper and I set out in somewhat lumpy waters but when we arrived at our destination, the breeze and seas settled right down. The first hit (and miss) occurred within half an hour, the another hour passed as we plied waters from 125' - 190' and finally boxed a nice Lake on the Johnson rod. Then more nothingness. We pointed the boat homeward and after 2hr/45min, we pulled lines. Surprise, one hanging on to Cooper's rigger that neither of us saw hit. So if anyone asks, it hit on the way up. 😁 Otherwise it was a beautiful time on the water and easy ride home.

23 Jul 22    Finally another calm, beautiful day as Grandson Cooper and I headed to an area that usually produces a decent number of Lakers, albeit, usually fairly small. Today was a bust catching Lakers, ending with 4 (should have been 5) in just under 4 hours. They just weren't on the bite today though conditions were excellent so no excuses there.

18 Jul 22    With a slight chop but a good forecast, Gary and I headed out with hopes of some bigger Lakers. We set lines at 125' but worked to 160'. We initially marked several fish and  finally put one in the box. The next one took a while and yours truly managed to knock it off with the net. I know better than to extend the net out where you have little control. Slow burner, slow learner! Anyway, slow day but still produced 5 nice, but not all that big, Lakers in 4 hours. Conditions remained excellent and the NE wind came up just when we were quitting.

16 Jul 22    Grandson Cooper Smith and I launched to super conditions, deciding to run a ways in hopes of some bigger fish. We spend half an hour looking for a fellow fisherman's boat but finally we set lines at 140'. In about 45 minutes, Cooper hit a nice Laker and as it came up behind the boat, he said it was a big Laker. I told him they all look big in the water. When I finally got a look and netted the fish, it was 9 1/2# and I had to admit it was indeed a big fish. Not long after that a 6 1/2# Laker went into the box. Well, we kept on truckin' and never got another hit until we quit in 3.5 hours. Go figure but what a great day!

9 Jul 22    Ron and I headed out in perfectly calm winds and seas and set lines at 140' were we then worked various depts. Action was very slow. The forecast for a NE breeze around mid afternoon was early. At 11a,, the NE breezekicked to 9 mph with 1' seas and occasional white caps, but still very fishable. We ended with 4 nice Laker in just under 4 hours but still, a beautiful day, I was quickly shedding clothing when we got started and putting them back on when the NE breeze started.

7 Jul 22    Gary and I set lines at 180' in calm seas. Action was slow but finally with picked up a Laker. Then the beginning of all the fish we missed today - 6. But we did end with 7 in the box in just under 4 hours. That's longer than I usually troll but i pushed it being so nice. Oh, Gary did have a single-line double. Still not sure why we lost so many, but that's fishing!

3 Jul 22    In calm water and wind, Ron and I set lines at 180'. Well, the line on my rod broke when I was testing it but I didn't lose any gear. I switched rods and deal with the broken line later, which should be replaced anyway. Finally, we had 6 lures in the zone and marking quite a few fish. Before long, a small Laker hit and small was the operative word for the rest of the time. Eventually, after nearly 4 hours, we had 10 small Lakers in the box. Sure they're excellent eating but I wouldn't mind an occasional 4-5# Laker. Most of the time it was calm and almost getting hot until the last half hour when the wind picked up from the NE and the temperature dropped quickly. Both the air and water were 57º but it was still easy fishing with the 1'  waves and 8 mph wind. Great Time!

29 Jun 22    Guest Norm Dill (87) and I set lines in 140' FOW but didn't do squat in these depths so we moved to deeper water. There we eventually picked up 6 small Lakers which took just under 4 hours. Conditions were near calm most of the time but the wind picked up to 5-7 mph from the NE just before quitting and even with those relatively light winds and that direction, it got lumpy with 1-2' waves on our return trip. Still, it was enjoyable being on the water a day between all the windy days.

24 Jun 22    Another decent forecast that turned out even better than predicted. In calm winds and seas, Jim and I set lines at 160' and it wasn't 10 minutes before the first Laker was in the box. Then slowness set in and eventually we picked up another 3 Lakers in 3 hours. We did have a rod-bender on the Johnson for about 15 seconds and that was one biggie that hopefully will be there next time. Beautiful day on the Big Pond.

23 Jun 22    Yup, 12 days of wind and finally a decent wind forecast of 5-10 mph from south. So Ron and I tried something different, setting lines at 40' and running to 60'. Well, the winds averaged 18 mph near the shore and it was hard to handle the boat. In 2 hours of that, nada, so we headed a couple miles out where it was deeper and nearly calm. I've experience that a number of times where the cold water dampens the winds. Condensing it down, in a little over 2 hours in deep water we managed 5 small lakers, one of which we released. Got to find some bigger Lakers!

11 Jun 22    I woke early and checked the weather. Winds were from the south at 15k, gusting to 18k, not very promising. But the forecast indicated winds would be south at 5 mph. Periodic checking showed the winds dying down so Cooper and I headed out a little earlier than usual to calm seas Yup, calm seas! At 160' out went the Johnson rod and before either Cooper or I could set lines or get the net ready, the Johnson produced a nice Laker. Then nothingness for a couple hours until on the final leg the starboard rigger produced a 4# Laker. Just then the wind picked up and the temperature dropped to 51º so we decided to bunch it, especially the rain clouds approaching. Good timing, lucky timing, as the light rain started when we got home Oh, Cooper said he had a nice one on his rigger and I commented they always look bigger in the water. Getting it to the surface proved that true and before we could net it, away it swam. Backing up to when we launched there was a boat tied up to the dock where I launch. The boat owner walked up to me and asked if I could use the other dock because he had to do some work on his boat. I politely explained it would be very difficult for me to launch on the other dock, these were not maintenance docks, and asked if he could move his boat to the outside of the pier. No problem as he did that, I thanked him, and we launched.

8 Jun 22    Conditions were nearly identical as the last trip, including possible rain by 2pm. Guest Norm Dill and I headed out in calm seas and set lines at 150'. Nothingness for two and a half hours, hardly a mark. Finally we went through the area that produced well last trip and more nothing. Finally, Norm hit a single line double with two small Lakers. We continued on and near the end of our bunching it after3 hours and 45 minutes, one more Laker in the box. Conditions were great but the fishing wasn't what we were hoping for. Next time!

5 Jun 22    With NWS promises for calm seas but the treat of rain and thundershowers by 2pm, I headed out with guests Grandson Cooper Smith and his friend Max Stevens,. Under unusually calm seas. We set lines at 150' hoping to sneak up on the Lakers at one of my favorite locations but that didn't work so we plodded on towards another favorite spot, a few miles away. Nothing the first 1 1/2 hours, then slowly, one here and one there. We had 6 in the box when I asked, because is was so calm, if they wanted to bunch it or go 4 hours, whichever came first. They decided to go the 4 hours when in 15 minutes, my rigger went off, the Johnson rod Max was on had one, and Cooper's rigger was bouncing. Here's the kicker: I had a single line double, Max had one on, and Cooper had 3 Lakers on his single line. That's 6 Lakers on at once, all fairly small and one too small so we released it. With all the lines up we thought it a good time to head home. Good decision as it started to rain 10 minutes after getting home. Fun time and a boat record of 6 fish on at once.

23 May 22    Gary and I headed in a different direction,today, with cool but calm conditions. We set lines at 150' and worked to over 200' For an hour and a half no runs, hits, errors, or marks. Then like magic, a double. We slowly picked up two more so with 4 in the box. Since  I seldom troll longer than 3 hours so at that point I suggested we troll a little longer, seeing as it was so calm. Without hesitation, Gary thought it was a good idea and before long we got a triple, with a single line double on Gary's rigger and a 9# Laker on the Johnson. We then turned to head towards the launch and picked up one more. Great day with 8 Lakers in a little over 4 hours.

19 May 22    Today was not a good day. The forecast was for partly cloudy and winds light at 5 mph out of the north. With guest Jim Price, we arrived at the launch where there was heavy fog. We launched, thinking it would burn off. Wrong thinking so we headed out with the radar spinning. The fog never lifted and the sun never shown and the winds picked up to 10 mph from the north and the waves increased to 1-2'. But we finally got to our destination and set lines at 120' and worked our way to 180'. It was really cold with that wind. The water was 38.8º and air was 39.2º. We marked a couple of fish but had no takers. Then, the port rigger rigger weight parted company and disappeared with some other gear. I suggested heading home rather than re-rigging and got no objection from Jim so we did. I'm tempted to make a new rule that if I'm forced off because of weather before catching a Laker, it shouldn't be considered a skunk. But I won'! t If it was less than an hour, I might. 😉 The fog never lifted and the return trip was by radar.

14 May 22    My guest today was Ron Mattson. It was a questionable weather day as the forecast called for 5 mph and calming winds. However, at the top of the forecast was a special warning of winds gusting to 25 mph. Huh? I called the NWS for clarification and was assured the Big Pond would be docile (my description). So out we went, this time in a different direction from last but a little further. I saw a fishing friend who limits almost every time so we fished in that area. Looking at my GPS I had been there many times before. We set lines at 170 feet, in calm waters and winds and before long, but our first Laker in the box, albeit a small one. That was followed by 5 more and missed a wild one. Things went smoothly except on the 5th Laker the Johnson rod line tangled in the rigger line. It's what I call a goatus ropus (Latin for Goat Rope) but after struggling to untangle, the Laker was still on. Bottom line is we caught 6 Lakers in a little over 3 hours. The water remained beautifully calm the entire time.

7May22    Well, finally on the water with guest Gary McDonnell. It was a shakedown trip to see that everything was working ok. But it was a cold day at 45º with a 10 mph NE breeze. Water temperature was 37º. Short of it is we marked two fish and caught nothing. Good new is everything was working fine, except for the lures. 😁 We'll take it more serious next time.I got the boat ready to go about a week earlier. Thougt I best turn on the electronics and looking at my marine radio, noticed it was on channel 8L. Well there is no channel 8L unless your radio is upside down. Right side up it correctly was 78 Dah!