Going in at Brule in late June, planning to base came at Winchell if we can get one of the rock star sites, otherwise head up to Omega. I know Winchell's reputation for quality pike and lake trout, but not much quantity and definitely no Walleyes. So if we want to fish walleye nearby, where would you suggest finding our shore lunch that time of year?

As an aside, any insight on Omega campsites, or other basecamp lakes and campsite recommendations that serve this purpose, would be a bonus. And yes, I have done tons of searching and have read the few existing threads that touch on this topic!

Thanks in advance!

Cheers,
JR

Gaskin! fantastic walleye fishing and a decent shot at real monster.

Thanks Catfish! Late June on Gaskin, trolling and jigging rocky points or do you have another suggested method (and/or are you willing to disclose any favorite locations?!)

Greatly appreciated!

Kind of an aggressive trip for a 112 year old isn't it? LOL!

Slipbobber and leeches will never do you wrong in June on Gaskin or elsewhere...typical locations, points, humps, reefs.

Ha! I updated my profile -- thanks for the reminder.

Any other favorite fishing lakes within a few portages of Winchell/Omega/Henson? I love hearing people's experiences in different areas! Any species you have a story about will do, doesn't need to be just walleye.

Oh, I was also under the impression there aren't a ton of areas with moving water, in-flows and out-flows, in this area -- these are often my favorite places to fish -- any come to mind in this region?

No problem...I was that old once too! :)

Echo is supposed to be good for numbers, although I haven't fished it so I can't tell you how big the walleyes run in there.

I haven't really used slip bobbers much. Can you explain your method for setting the depth? Do you drop a weight to the bottom, then come up 2,3, 4 feet?

In June I almost always fish the leech (jumbos) half the distance to the bottom...so if you are fishing 16' of water set the bobber-stop at 8'...shallower water same thing. For whatever reason walleyes in the BWCA don't have a problem coming up for the bait. Nice thing is it keeps you up and out of any danger of rock snags and you can fight your fish in "clear" water. A couple other things, my anchor rope is 25' long and I've never needed to go deeper in June as they are generally shallow (2-10') that time of year; also, if you use lighted bobbers try to use the ones where the line goes down through the entire bobber rather than just a hole at the bottom of the bobber, and use an in-line egg sinker rather than a pinch-on type...you'll enjoy way more trouble and tangle-free fishing. There's nothing more frustrating than trying to un-do a line tangle in the dark all the while knowing the next walleye is down there getting antsy for a leech. LOL!

Good Luck! I think a Brule entry is on my list of to-do's this year also.

Edit: Sorry, just realized I didn't fully answer your question. Most of the areas I fish I already know the depth as I've been there before, but if a spot is new to me then yes...drop a heavy jig to the bottom to get a depth measurment, assuming you don't bring in a fish locator/depth finder. Then it's as simple as measuring your depth by out-stretching your arms and counting line from the jig back to the rod tip...then divide by two. Easy as that and not necessary to be "exact".

hey JR, you are lucky to be going at the right time of year. walleye are pretty easy to find that time of year. I would base camp on gaskin if you are targeting walleye on your trip. 2old4u has it pretty right on here 2-10ft with slip bobbers also jigs and leeches work well. . As far as spots for fishing goes I am not stingy about my spots in the bwca so I can tell you that we have caught lots of walleyes of the west end (I think?) of the long island in the middle of the lake. there is sort of a rocky saddle at that end that connects to a very small island (just a bunch of rocks) we have done well fishing shallow there. Also there is a sunken island further out in the lake that we have caught lots fishing as well. a fish locator or GPS with lake maps helps find it a lot easier. its a good day spot 8 or 9ft I think. Otherwise just fish shallow around rocks and it should not to long before you find fish. we also caught walleye just fishing slip bobbers right off most camp sites I have stayed at. good luck and have a great time!! PS sorry if this sounds vague but it has been 6 or 7 years since I have been to gaskin.

The bay where the portage comes into Gaskin from Winchell is good too. Where it starts to widen out and get deeper.....there are some nice weeds in there. Drift slip bobber rigs across the bay.
From the west end campsites on Winchell, it's not that far to go up through Omega and give Henson a try also.

Have any of you guys used TGO's "hook and splitshot" method? Wondering if that would be appropriate for the Winchell/Omega/Henson area at all, since it seems to be a little slim on eyes and heavy on pike with some smallies? Gaskin is a little busier lake from what I've read so I'm slightly reluctant to base camp there.

Anyways, I'm curious about this super simple method and am wondering if any of the area features are a good fit for this.

Thanks for the replies, guys.

I'm not an expert but from what I've learned both from experience and from what others have told me, putting the bait at half depth sounds about right. Conventional wisdom says that walleyes like congregating near the bottom but here's the thing: when they look for food they tend to look upwards for it. After I learned this and set the depth closer to that half-way mark I personally started doing much better.

Yeah, halfway to the bottom seems like the shallowest you'd want to go but if it's worked consistently for you guys I'll definitely try it!

Interestingly, I was considering base camping on Winchell or Omega, so I looked up both on the DNR lakefinder... there's no data for Omega on the site, but there is for almost all surrounding lakes. Still wondering if there are walleye in there...

Trip is next week. Just checking back on this thread, which was really helpful -- thanks to everyone for the input.

Curious if anyone has caught any walleye in Omega. Forgive me but I may start a new thread... just to catch some new eyes. :)

Thanks guys,
JR