Smelt return after several poor years
After relatively poor smelt runs in the last few years, the tiny fish are back and so are the smelt anglers.
"This is an awesome year for smelt," said Steve Dinda, owner of the Bait Box in Superior, who quickly sold out of his smelt fishing equipment a few weeks ago. "I haven't had smelt in the shop here for two years. We've had two years of cold and ice."
+ The Michigan DNR released this note about chinook salmon in Lake Superior: "In 2014, Lake Superior salmon anglers might have seen Chinook salmon missing their adipose fin (the small fleshy lobe found on the fish's back, just forward of the tail fin). Beginning in 2012, the Department of Natural Resources, Fisheries Division stocked clipped Chinook in Lake Superior. Now as two-year olds these fish will begin to show up in the fishery."
Bear attracts crowd at Duluth Civic Center
Sam Cook, Duluth News Tribune:
Early Wednesday morning, as Duluthians went to work, they saw a young bear 50 or 60 feet up in a tree in the front yard of Duluth’s City Hall.
The linked story is accompanied by a video that includes this snippet:
Bear at Duluth Civic Center
The bear eventually left downtown on its own.
+ North Shore Community Radio's Bill Hansen wrote about a recent bear sighting.
Signs of spring
Paul Sundberg made his annual pilgrimage to photograph the dance of the sharp-tailed grouse.
And seasonal attractions are opening up:
Terrace Bay Lighthouse
+ The Chronicle-Journal on what the future holds for David Letterman's Thunder Bay-born sidekick, Paul Shaffer. Letterman retires from his show May 20.
+ SooToday: Movie production films in downtown Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.
+ Duluth's Northern Waters Smokehaus, a favorite of readers, will open a second location in town this year, reports the News Tribune.
+ The Natural Track Luge World Cup will be held in the Upper Peninsula in 2017, reports WLUC-TV.