I had first heard of pink salmon during a local Gitch Gumee Trout Unlimited meeting when I first moved to Duluth. I remember walking into that meeting not knowing anyone, but was welcomed in by local chapter members, Brandon Kime and Brent Notbohm. Carl Haensel, as many of you know, was the presenter telling everyone the secrets of the North Shore, and in typical Carl fashion, he was extremely excited about all aspects of local fishery. I had already caught a few steelhead the spring before and was interested in what I could catch in the fall. I remember Carl flipping to the next slide in his presentation and showing dozens and dozens of fish in fairly clear water. He talked about how there are lots and lots of pink salmon on the North Shore and they are available to catch right… well, maybe last week. Unfortunately, I had missed the peak run, and would have to wait until the next fall before I could find these piles of fish just waiting to be caught as I was told.

Waiting nearly a full year before I could try to catch these salmon made them more special in my eyes. I took the advice that I received from that Trout Unlimited event, packed my fly box, and grabbed my 9’ 5wt and eagerly drove up the shore looking for some North Shore humpies. Knowing that they aren’t able to jump as high as steelhead, I decided to work my way up from the mouth of the river until I could find some fish. Unlike nearly every other type of fishing where you look for good-looking water and hope there is a fish, when fishing for pinks the approach is often to try to find them first, then see if they are willing to bite, which sometimes can be more difficult than finding them.

Identifying Pink Salmon

Pink salmon have olive-green to dark backs with large oval spots, silvery-pink sides, and bright white bellies. Their white bellies are commonly what gives them away the easiest as they swim around in large pools. Spawning males also develop a hooked kype where their lower jaw turns upward and a pronounced dorsal hump.

Gearing Up

I fish for pinks with the same gear and flies that I fish for native brook and brown trout. An 8’-9’ 4wt or 5wt is ideal. A 9’ tapered leader in 4x is my go-to leader choice. Your standard trout flies should work, no need to tie anything specific. Small size 14, 16, or 18 nymphs and small egg patterns are a great choice, especially in water with a little current. For larger and deeper pools, I like throwing streamers. I personally don’t believe color matters, but when in doubt, a #8 bead-head wooly bugger should do the trick. Move the fly fairly quickly as these salmon will often chase it down. Remember to strip set primarily so you get another chance if they miss your fly the first time.

Semelparous

Unlike some Pacific salmon (looking at you, sockeye), these pinks do eat when they go into the rivers, but there are different phases of their run. When they enter the river, they are the most likely to chase down a fly and will be the easiest to catch. During their spawn, they will be in extremely low and clear water and will often have other things on their mind. Looking for fish in deeper pools is generally a better tactic. Because pink salmon and the rest of the Pacific salmon are semelparous, they die after they spawn. The window of these fish entering the rivers, being active, and actively feeding can be fairly short, often lasting around a week.

Timing the Run

There isn’t a specific date for when they start to show up on the North Shore. Generally, the first major rain in September is a good starting point, but without rain, the run will often push into early October. You may also have heard that pink salmon only run every other year. While that is true in some areas on the West Coast, there has been a split in populations in Lake Superior. Some fish run on odd years and others run on even years, with a typical two-year life span with some fish maturing at the age of three.

Humpy History

Unlike the rest of the stocked species in Lake Superior (steelhead, brown trout, coho salmon, and king salmon), pink salmon weren’t stocked on purpose. They were accidentally released into the lake in the 1950s. Unlike steelhead and coaster brook trout, which rear in the river for roughly two years, pink salmon fry emerge from the gravel in early spring and migrate out to the open lake. This is what has allowed them to survive the North Shore’s low fall water flows and kept them from potentially out-competing steelhead and coaster brook trout. There is a chance that you will catch coasters as well when fishing the North Shore. Remember to handle them extremely carefully and get them back in the water as quickly as possible.

Hopefully you are reading this article by September and there is still a chance that you can try your luck at fishing for North Shore pink salmon this year!