Freestone · Bedrock · Minnesota

Sucker River

Sucker River terrain map

The Sucker gives the Minnesota lower shore enough density to work as a product cluster rather than a single Knife River pin.

Poor · Steelhead
Egg pattern · 12–16
Poorlive now
Not the day for it
River high but settled. Not much stacked in your favour today. Worth an hour if you are nearby, not worth the special trip.
55% confidence
What moved it
  • LevelProxyvia Knife River
  • Water temp22.4°C
  • ClarityClear
Today's fly
Egg pattern
Egg pattern12–16
A dependable searching pattern for these waters.
Conditions on the water
Proxy gauge
Level
Steady
Proxy
via Knife River
Water temp22.4°C
ClarityClear
Weather25°C
WindSW 21 km/h
Pressure1016 hPa
Rain · recent4.7 mm
Rain · ahead4.5 mm

No gauge on this water — conditions are inferred from Knife River. The trend transfers, the absolute level does not.

Water temperature for Steelhead
Welfare risk
22°C est.ideal 4–13°C
0°14°28°
How to fish it · for Steelhead
When
Spring steelhead Apr–May on snowmelt/rain pulses
Where
The Sucker gives the Minnesota lower shore enough density to work as a product cluster rather than a single Knife River pin.
Why this works
Very poor — water clarity is working for you, but water temperature is the limiting factor today.
Hatch timeline · todayPeak at 6pm

Hatch predictions

Today's headline hatch shown — see all 7 active hatches hour by hour with Pro.

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Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey

Hatch predictions

Top prey shown — see all 3 with Pro.

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Through the year
0–3 scale · July highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Quill GordonHatch
2
2
Blue QuillHatch
2
3
2
HendricksonHatch
2
2
Eastern March BrownHatch
2
2

Numbers are intensity 0 (none) to 3 (peak) — a guide, not a guarantee.

Ranked for today
Steelhead fly box
Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • Minnesota licence/trout stamp and North Shore steelhead rules require verification
  • Conservative wild/naturalised steelhead handling.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 3
Knife River
6.0 km
Steelhead
Lester River
13 km
Steelhead
Bois Brule River
40 km
Steelhead · Brown trout · Chinook salmon
About this water

The Sucker gives the Minnesota lower shore enough density to work as a product cluster rather than a single Knife River pin. It is a short Lake Superior steelhead stream: flashy, cold, bedrocky and best treated as a gauge-and-conditions venue rather than a calendar venue.

  • Bedrock
Water quality · US Clean Water Act
  • Aquatic life: Impaired
What this classification means

EPA ATTAINS assessment unit 'Big Sucker Creek (Sucker River)' (MN04010102-555), 2024 Integrated Report. Aquatic Life use: Not Supporting. Listed impairment causes: Turbidity. This is a Clean Water Act assessment-unit classification (the US analogue of WFD), not a live reading.

Status is for the Clean Water Act assessment unit covering this reach.

EPA ATTAINS (Clean Water Act) · MN04010102-555

Why this score · for Steelhead
  • Temperature028% weight
  • Flow8022% weight
  • Clarity9518% weight
  • Feeding Time5013% weight
  • Pressure757% weight
  • Insect activity5812% weight
Related guides
Euro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Booking & contacts