Steelhead begin staging in North Shore streams amid cold temperatures and lingering ice
As mid-April approaches, steelhead are staging in the mouth of North Shore rivers and tributaries, eagerly waiting for water temperatures to rise.
And the steelhead might be waiting a while as many of the upper North Shore rivers are mostly ice-covered and hovering in the lower 30-degree range.
“Overall, it’s been kind of a slower start to the steelhead season,” said Trent Anderson, a Tofte-based Minnesota Department of Natural Resources conservation officer. “Not a ton of steelhead activity going on.”
Anderson said generally, steelhead wait until temperatures reach 40 degrees before starting their journey up the river system to spawn.
According to a DNR April 17 North Shore stream report, the Baptism River, Split Rock River, Gooseberry River, and Cascade River are currently at 34 degrees.
Farther up the North Shore, temperatures on the Devil Track and Brule Rivers are steady at 35 degrees, are slightly turbid, and contain ice.
The report stated, “Heavy ice shelves are still in place on many upper shore streams.”
“Light rain two days ago slightly raised river levels and submerged some ice, and warmer air temps briefly threatened to clear the rivers, but cool nights and dry weather have stalled the melt,” the DNR report stated.
Anderson said some anglers he spoke with recently reported that “fish are starting to stack up a little bit in the lake,” but they haven’t seen any steelhead farther upstream.
Other North Shore conservation officers have also reported similar observations. In an April 14 report, Conservation Officer Hudson Ledeen, based in the Hovland area, said, “Rain over the weekend is going to increase the flow on the tributaries heading into Lake Superior. Steelhead anglers report that a few fish are around, but water temps are pretty cold.”
According to the National Weather Service, showers and thunderstorms are expected throughout Friday, with precipitation estimated at half an inch possible.
Time will tell if this year’s spring run will mirror that of 2022, where water temperatures remained in the mid-30s on many upper North Shore rivers into the first week of May, ultimately delaying the spring steelhead run.
Anderson said it’s hard to predict how quickly the snow will melt and the water temperatures will rise. Although it seems like a slower start this season, looking back historically, he said, “I would probably put it as an average season.”
WTIP’s Kalli Hawkins met DNR Conservation Officer Trent Anderson at Cascade River in Grand Marais on April 16 to talk about North Shore river conditions, water temperatures, steelhead run, and more. The audio from the interview is below.
Kalli Hawkins April 18, 2025
