April 19 – Fisherman’s Pier

Fishermen gather to try their luck at catching lake trout from the piers of the Duluth Shipping Canal. 

In late April, lake trout move close to the Duluth piers because Lake Superior is in spring turnover, when the water is uniformly cold from the surface to the bottom. Since they prefer cold water, they can roam shallow areas rather than stay deep offshore. After wintering in deeper water, they shift into feeding mode, following baitfish like smelt that gather along the rocky pier structure and harbor outflow currents. 

The piers create natural feeding lanes with concentrated forage. Once the lake begins to warm and stratify, lake trout gradually move back to deeper water, making this short spring window one of the best times to find them near shore. 

And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Genesis 1:28

It is amazing how God uses the instincts built into his creation for provision in the “Flow of the Seasons.”