I'll be entering from Seagull in a group of 6 the week after the fishing opener. Our plan is to head to the unburnt part of Ogish and set up a base camp there. We know the fishing might be better on Alpine, but we don't want to camp in the burn area. All of us are eager to catch some fish, but we're not particularly familiar with the recommended early season tricks and techniques. We won't be using any electronics, so we'll be relying on maps and guesswork to find the right depths.

A few specific questions I would appreciate help with:

1. What kinds of baits and techniques should we use for walleyes at this time of year? I doubt we'll want to go to the trouble of bringing in minnows, but presuming it doesn't get hot, we should be able to keep crawlers and/or leeches alive. Is live bait going to be our best bet, or should we expect better success with plastics and/or crankbaits?

2. What kinds of water should we look to find walleyes in? Shallow, or deeper? Faster warming bays, creek mouths, etc.?

3. How do smallmouth typically behave in the early season? I've had success catching them in deeper water later in the summer, typically targeting any areas that seem to be 10-20 feet deep with current running through them. But I've never fished for bass this early in the year. Should we use the standard 1/4 oz. jig + twister tail bounced off the bottom in areas of moving water that works so well in August? Or are there better techniques for spring that we should know about?

4. Given the early ice out, can we still expect to find lake trout in reasonably shallow water on South Arm and Kekekabic three weeks from now? I read that there aren't many lakers in Ogish, but SAK and Kek look to be manageable day trips. We'd love to catch some lakers if possible. Is catching them as simple as trolling deep running rapalas and spoons? How fast should one troll?

Any other information, whether suggested day trips besides SAK and Kek, or techniques, would be most welcome.

dele from mpls , shock from waconia here, i can give some advise ;)
my first advise is to get seagull lake behind you ASAP , be ready at sunrise after that i feel its an easy trip all the way to SAK , all short paddles and portages,
your heading to ogish , IMO if fishing is the priority i would keep going to the SAK for a base camp,(your almost there) done over a dozen openers there and fishing is usually very good. (just a thought ) from seagull double portaging about 8.5 hours. early spring i never bring any depth/fish finders , everything is usually shallow.
lake trout : should still be shallow especially with the low temps they've had lately up there . trolling , my favs a 7" blk/gold original rapala or deep diver suspending fat free shad (pic included) i like to fish alot from camp for lakers on dead sucker slip sinker set ups. and casting/ trolling spoons has been good for me lately.
walleye: no expert here but best areas after spawning are small bays , saddles rock piles, in the 25'-30' close to there spawning grounds like eddy falls and feeder creeks , when they (females) go back on the feed if you find them it can be very good fishing , even midday.
smallies rock piles that drop off and any wood piles or down trees in the water i never pass up early spring , but you must keep your distance and make accurate cast , no shadows or noise. (pic of my B&B lures for smallies in the wood)
feel free to email me for additional info and if your going into the SAK i'll even email you a map of that bay outside of eddy falls with details.

Thanks, shock! Yeah, our plan is to get off of Seagull as quickly as possible on our entry morning. We're staying at Seagull Outfitters' bunkhouse so we'll be able to get a nice and early start.

Thanks for the suggestion to push through to SAK. That will be a possibility, and we should be able to make pretty good time. Though if we see a nice open site on Ogish, it will be hard to pass up, knowing that SAK could be crowded. We've got five nights, so we could always move to SAK after a night or two as well. We have lots of good options (which is why we chose this area). We'll just have to get close enough back to Seagull on our last night that we can get off the water before noon on our exit day.

sounds like a good plan , if you just day trip to SAK , i would concentrate out in front of eddy falls and in that bottle neck bay just outside of the falls to the east. try going all the way to the back-deeper bay, there maybe walleyes there ? if you see the rock slide you'll know what i mean. adding jasper has descent #'s of lakers , they generally run in the #2-#3 range. if anybody in your group gets adventurous theres always holt lake , which see's very little pressure.

Dele, We're doing that same trip for 4 nights at the end of June. I'll be interested to hear how your trip goes. Though, our fishing will be different. I was thinking of trying to fish Ogish for lakers in the North end where it goes to 70' or in the SW end where it is 60', is this not worth the effort?

Stop at jasper-Alpine Falls, and the bay beyond it (on Alpine), and on Kingfisher at the creek that flows in from Ogish, I imagine in May they would be productive spots, only been there in September.Apparently the walleye come Up near the base of Alpine falls to feed at night ; tie on a rapala.

I agree w/Shock.

With fishing as a priority, I'd plan on pushing a bit past Ogish, (Jenny or Eddy) to get away from the crowds and make a fishing day trip to SAK or Kekekabic an easier endeavor. Of course, this may be biting off more than you can chew for one day of travel? idk just something to consider.

SaganagaJoe info is also spot on.

Deb has told me that you can get from the dock at Seagull Outfitters to Ogish in about 6 hours. I imagine with wind that could be prolonged. I'd stay 1 night on Alpine if you can and cut that distance in half, that will allow you to get to Ogish earlier on in the day and improve your chances of getting a campsite.

I know Alpine is the burn area, but it is recovering, and it's a smaller lake that will be easier to fish and get results, and May should be a good time to hit up that spot. Before going there I camped on Sag 3 trips in a row and found that while I loved the scenery it was too big of a lake to really fish well.

I've heard good things about Annie and Jenny for big pike too. And if you do make it over to SAK throw a line at the foot of Eddy Falls, I saw a guy doing really well there.

What day are you heading in? My brother and I make a trip to that area every may and we will be heading out from seagull outfitters on Thursday morning after the opener after a night in the bunkhouse.

We usually target Lakers on this trip, and I can tell you they are usually still in shallow In the lakes we fish at this time of year. We usually catch more from shore with a smelt than trolling. We have even caught then fly fishing from shore if we are in the right spots. Otherwise trolling spoons or casting if we find them also seems to give plenty of action when they are biting.

We are actually going to try for some walleye for a day or two on alpine before we head into our lake trout lakes this year though.

Good luck and maybe we will see you out there!

Kraig

If you decide that you want to get to SAK in a day, maybe get a tow to American Point on Big Sag. Four portages and you are on SAK. Seagull/Debbie could give you more detail on this option. This option would take less effort than paddling from Seagull Lake.

We'll see you out there! Heading in via American Point on the 20th, should be on SAK around the 22nd.

- Is there really going to be much traffic on SAK during the middle of the week?