Lake Superior
Lake trout
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Great Lakes · Lake Superior · Duluth, MN
Duluth fishing conditions
Duluth sits at the western tip of Lake Superior, the coldest and deepest of the Great Lakes, at the mouth of the St. Louis River. This page shows live wind, waves, water temperature and lake level from NOAA stations, the National Weather Service forecast, and a rough daily bite estimate for lake trout, walleye, steelhead.
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Bite estimate
Rougher estimate · 0–9Rough estimate
Lake Superior
Walleye
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Lake Superior
Steelhead
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Conditions now
Wind
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Waves
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Water temp
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Barometer
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Lake level
NOAA CO-OPS Duluth, MN (9099064), feet above Low Water Datum (chart datum). The Great Lakes have no real tides; level swings come from wind setup, seiches and the seasons.
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NWS forecast
National Weather Service point forecast for Duluth, MN.
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Stations used for Duluth
| Source | Location | Type | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| NDBC 45027 | McQuade Harbor Nearshore, MN (UMD) | nearshore buoy · seasonal (pulled for winter) | 8 nm |
| NDBC DULM5 | Duluth, MN (NOS 9099064) | harbor station · year-round | 0 nm |
| NDBC PKBW3 | Pokegama Bay, Lake Superior Reserve, WI (NERRS) | shore station · year-round | 7 nm |
| CO-OPS 9099064 | Duluth, MN | water level (ft above Low Water Datum) | near spot |
| GLERL GLSEA | Daily satellite lake-surface temperature at 46.8, -92.02 | water temp fallback | on the lake |
| NWS forecast | Point forecast for Duluth, MN; gridded wave forecast on the lake | forecast | at spot |
| NWS LSZ144 | Nearshore marine forecast: Two Harbors to Duluth MN | official marine forecast | zone |
Where they fish: Lake trout trolling on the big lake; walleye in the St. Louis River estuary; steelhead along the North Shore streams.
FAQ
Where does the Duluth fishing data come from?
Wind, waves, water temperature and pressure come from NOAA NDBC stations 45027, DULM5, PKBW3 (first station with a recent reading wins; seasonal buoys are pulled for winter). Lake level is from NOAA CO-OPS station 9099064 (Duluth, MN). When no station reports water temperature, Swelldex uses NOAA GLERL's daily satellite analysis (GLSEA). The forecast and wave forecast come from the National Weather Service.
What does the Duluth bite score mean?
It is a rough 0–9 estimate of how good conditions look for lake trout, walleye, steelhead, based on wind and waves, surface water temperature, the time of year, the barometer trend and forecast storms. It does not count fish and it is not a safety rating.
Why is there no tide table?
The Great Lakes have no meaningful tides. Instead, Swelldex shows the lake level against chart datum and how much it moved in the last 24 hours; fast changes usually mean strong wind setup or a seiche.