Well, I must say cabin fever is in full effect for me and as I'm getting ready to head up for another BWCA trip, I am asking for advice on good Walleye lakes (I know there are many.) Right now, I have narrowed down my search to Disappointment Lake and the Lake One area chain. I'm leaving on the 16th of May and will be staying for about a week. Any suggestions/past experiences are much appreciated!

if you enter at lake one , go to insula and alice . lots of walleyes. we have caught them trolling rapalas on windy shores and jigging. tg.

I agree, walleyes should still be somewhat shallow. Try jigging with jigheads and rainbows.

thanks for the comments, I appreciate them a lot. I hear that Disappointment is big on leeches as far as walleyes go, whether you throw 'em on a jig or a slip-bobber. However in the past, I've heard: Spring- minnow, Summer- leech or crawler. what do you think? by the way, just and FYI, I did settle on going to Disappointment Lake. I'm excited and itching to get up there.

I think the primary reason for the "spring = minnows", "summer = leeches" is due to the availability of minnows later in the summer. Also not many people want to haul in minnows in the BW. There are many lakes where this is true (like Mille Lacs - the best bite in the summer is on crawlers). I have had very good success with minnows in mid to late summer in BW lakes. If you are fine with hauling in minnows - they will be your best bet in mid May.

For tanin stained lakes I have found dark orange to be the best color (floating jig heads for Lindy rigging or standard, short-shanked jigs for, well, jigging...)
I haven't been to Disappointment but it I don't think it is tanin stained (according to the MN DNR lake finder in 07 it had a secchi reading of 6 feet and in 08 of 19 feet - quite a spread).
Lighter colors like white and light blue work well in clear lakes.

thanks for the reply wb4syth! it makes sense what you said about the minnow/leech thing as far as availability goes throughout the course of the fishing season. I think I'm gonna go with leeches this time and bring along a good supply of Gulp! minnows (probably around 3" or so.) it will be a learning experience no matter what because every lake is different from the next, but half the fun is finding that out for yourself right? I've taken leeches into the BWCA before but not minnows. I do know of the conventional methods for carrying minnows but what would you recommend as the best for up there if I'm making it a 5-6 day trip? thanks in advance for all the comments!

Our minnow carrying method is fairly extensive (and not a cheap method either if you don't already have the stuff).
My uncle has two smaller bear barrels with screw on lids. (I also have two larger ones we use for food)

At the bait shop we put the empty plastic minnow bags put into the barrels, then load them up with a ton of minnows, water, and oxygen (minimum 12 doz for 4 guys for 4 days - split between the two barrels) - seal the bags and then put the tops on. We then put the barrels into a Duluth pack along with a couple of minnow buckets. Once we get to our campsite the very first thing we do is transfer the minnows to the minnow buckets and into the lake. This method has the lowest die-off count of everything we have tried. We often have lively minnows on day five (at the end of the trip).

Be sure you use a minnow bucket with a locking gate/door. One year one of our buckets didn't have one and all the minnows were cleaned out by an otter.

wow wb4syth, that is pretty extensive. whatever you have to do to make it work though. kudos to you.
I still can't make up my mind what I want to do as far as leeches vs. minnows. I really want to bring leeches in so I can slip bobber for walleye and smallies once I find them, but realize that minnows are more "popular" among fisherman to use in spring. I still think I might stick with bringing the 3" Gulp! minnows (in a couple of colors) as well as some live leeches. Feedback?

I think that is a good tactic and something I have done as well.
Leeches are much easier to carry in and survive much longer.
I have done well with Gulp up there.

Slip bobbering with leeches can be a pain in the spring - in colder water they tend to corkscrew up on the hook and line. Give it a try but it might be easier to jig or lindy rig them.

will do wb. sounds like a plan and like you said, if they keep hanging themselves up, I'll just jig or Lindy rig 'em. I can't wait, it's getting ridiculous how in-depth I'm planning for this trip. I love this time of year! I hear you're heading up to the Burnt/Smoke lake area eh?

Yep (most likely once or twice this year).

So far planning 3 trips
1) Mid may with my neighbor for an easy fishing trip to Smoke/Burnt
2) Late July annual trip with the dad, uncle, and cousin - destination to be determined.
3) Mid August with several family members including wife and two kids (8 and 11) - not sure where but possibly Smoke/Burnt again.

cool, I look forward to hearing how all your trips go. have you been up to the BW much in mid-may? what have your fishing experiences been like? being that this is my first year of college, it's also my first opportunity to get done with school for the year a bit earlier and make the trip up. before this year, I hadn't fished the BW any earlier than mid-june or so (because of school of course)...

Actually most my trips have been in August. I have only done a couple in June and one in late May. This year will be earliest trip ever. The one May trip I did was more travel and less fishing (and it was before I had much experience BW fishing).
So I can't help you much.

From what I have gathered, May BW fishing can be hit or miss depending on the weather (cooler than normal spring = less fishing action...)

No matter what lake your fishing, start shallow from 2 to 8 feet max, unless theres a cold front, thats where they will be. If the lake has crappies, they will be mixed in with the walleyes.

thanks for the feedback, basspro. I agree 100% with that. have you done much may/early june BWCA fishing? I also like the quote in your profile, "God must be a fisherman." as a fellow christian, I can't help but think the same! :)