by Dave Mull

Well-traveled, hard-fishing writer and tournament competitor Dave Mull knows Great Lakes ports, and we asked him to give us his favorite places to launch from. For starters, he looks at Lake Superior. In future issues, Mull will be covering other Great Lakes, so you might want to collect this series as you plan your own big-water fishing adventures.

Off to the shores of the largest freshwater lake in the world, the one Ojibwe call gichi-gami and the first French explorers called le lac superieur.

How does one come up with a list of the best Great Lake fishing ports? We considered which ports are best suited for a trailer-boater, maybe traveling with a family, a sort of vacationer’s guide to fishing Nirvana. We drew upon personal experience and the recommendations of friends we trust, and feel confident you will have a good trip if you visit these places.

Great Lake Superior Fishing Ports
Ontonagon, Michigan
In May and June, cold water lingers close to shore here, and you have a great chance of getting a Superior Slam of a brown trout, coho, chinook, steelhead and lake trout. Or you could get a Superior Super Slam that includes a splake. Most likely, you’ll enjoy a fine trip with lots of lake trout and some silver fish mixed in.

This is home to the Aspirus Ontonagon Hospital/Western U.P. Cancer Center Ontonagon Lake Trout Classic, which is a long title for a three-day good time. This year’s affair is May 31 to June 2, the feature event a fun, low-cost fishing contest. All proceeds are donated to the Ontonagon County Cancer Association, and it’s worth attending if only to dine at the Barbecue for Life Cookoff and enjoy some of the town’s friendly taverns.

This writer and two pals fished this competition several years ago, finishing eighth in a weather-shortened contest.

Great places to stay include Petersons Cottages and Superior Shores Resort.

Larry Greig of Greig’s Tackle Shop has been one of the main organizers of the event, and his shop is a great stop for vital tackle and insider fishing information.

Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan
The St. Marys River hosts silver fish throughout the spring, summer and fall, with coho “jacks” showing up in May, along with steelhead and—the reason many river anglers trek up here to the Canadian border—Atlantic salmon. Best time to target these leapers that look a lot like a brown trout is June and July. Perch and whitefish are around the river at this time, too—and it’s also a great time to target walleyes.

Starting in late summer, big kings and scrappy pink salmon start into the river, action that often stays hot until the middle of October. After the salmon action peters out, muskie anglers find their favorite quarry ready to bite throughout the massive St. Marys River system. This area is so vast, first timers will find it money well-spent to hire a guide for a day or two, just to learn the basics. The St. Mary’s Guide Company, run by captains Travis White and Dennis White, will help fly anglers as well as non-fly anglers target the best action. Loads of options for lodging and restaurant-browsing here. An impressive website that will help find places to eat and stay is saultstemarie.com.

Grand Portage, Minnesota
This is where you launch to take the 22-mile run out to Isle Royale, a national park actually in Michigan waters that offers terrific lake trout fishing. Troll spoons near structure for a shot at a 30-plus pounder—and lots of smaller ones.

Big Bay Harbor, Michigan
Another laker haven is a 40-mile run from here out to Stannard Rock, basically a lighthouse marking a big reef system that holds these native char all year long. If you prefer to take a charter to Stannard Rock, Capt. John Tomczyk runs Daybreak Charters out of Marquette, Michigan, and is highly recommended.

Black River Harbor, Michigan
If you stay in Ontonagon, it’s worth trailering over to Black River Harbor, just for the scenery through the Porcupine Mountain State Park. The fishing is great there, too. One day in June several seasons ago, this writer and two friends in a 17-foot Scout center console caught a bunch, mostly on Reef Runner Little Rippers set 100 feet behind planer boards. Browns, cohos, kings and lake trout made up the bag. There’s a great launch and campground here, with piers to dock the boat overnight. It’s a nice wilderness experience as the nearest supplies are in Bessemer, 16 miles away.

Dave Mull, Paw Paw, Michigan, started trolling for Lake Michigan salmon and trout with his family back in the late 1970s and has caught most of the gamefish species found in all five Great Lakes. Still an avid troller and kayak angler, he has been an editor of “Great Lakes Angler Magazine” for 15 years and is co-founder of Great Lakes Angler Super Salmon Schools, with five sessions planned for 2016. Check out the Great Lakes Angler Super Salmon Schools Facebook page for more information.

For more information…
Ontonagon, Michigan
Petersons Cottages – 906-884-4230
Superior Shores Resort – 906-884-2653; superior-shores-resort.com
Greig’s Tackle Shop – 906-884-2770; greigstackleshop.com
Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan
Sault Ste. Marie Visitors Bureau – saultstemarie.com
St. Mary’s Guide Company – 906-748-1353; whitesguidedfishing.com
Isle Royale National Park: nps.gov/isro
Big Bay Harbor, Michigan
Capt. John Tomczyk, Daybreak Charters – 906-250-1052; daybreakfish.com