Does anyone know anything about the fishing on Crab Lake and surrounding lakes? Any recommendations for lures/bait and tactics for smallies? I'll be heading in at the end of the week.

I have had good luck catching smallies on Crab, Little Crab, Cummings and several others. Leeches work very well, but I no longer use them because of fish mortality. I have had good luck with Rapalas crankbaits and , rat-l-traps, and various in line spinners. While less productive, I love fishing topwater baits especially Rapala skitter-pops. I have had good luck with Texas rigged plastics, but fish them less in the BWCA.

Good luck; I'll be there next week myself.

Dan

Did you decide to stay on Crab instead of Burntside??

I was there in Early June of this year. We did well for smallies in Crab Lake and Cummings most of the fish were males in the 2-3lb range. We caught almost all of them on Pop R's. Bare in mind that this was June and not August. I would think that leeches would do the trick for you.

No, still staying on burntside unless I get an entry permit. I'll be up tomorrow, might stop in your shop in the morning Friday and get some leeches. What's the shops address?

Is day-tripping allowed into Crab?

Dan

I do not see a reason why you could not day trip into Crab. As long as you are not camping overnight you can just fill out a day use self-issued permit and drop it in the box at the entry point before entering.

Thats the plan bogwalker.

My memory may be failing me (not the first time!), but I don't remember seeing a box at the Crab entry point. And I seem to remember that Crab is one of the areas that does not allow day use. Am I hallucinating???

Dan

aebrooks

The shop is at 419 East Sheridan Street, the log cabin bait shop next to Mike's Liquor, one block down the street from Zup's grocery store.
Left side.

CaptnDan

I may be wrong,I've never heard of any entry point that does not allow paddle only day trips. There is, (or was) a box of day trip permits at the Van Vac landing for the last few years that was intended for Crab Lake.

Great Outdoors.

I am sure you are correct. I can find nothing on the BWCAW site (or anywhere else for that matter) that restricts use of any entry point for day use.
Must have been too many drugs in the 60's.

Dan

I have seen the box many times at the Van Vac Road landing/access...

have fun!

I was there the first week of August and there is a box at the Van Vac Rd landing but no box at the entry point itself. I talked to people the day I went in and the day I came out that were day tripping into Crab.

Have a great trip and good luck fishing!

just a few suggestions, ... take an original floating rapalla, throw it towards the shore, jerk once..... I hope you like eating smallies, by far ... good smallie lake, in fact when I was there in june almost got to be old. Otherwise use some plugs bouncers that hang out on the bottom 10-12 ft in summer 6-8 in fall or sping with my exp. Really probablly the easiest fish to catch. Now, I told you what I know. Where's the walleye? Head towards the portages to the west start at the creek, work your way on the southwest shorline.
Guarenteed fish, if not something is wrong, no matter the time of year.