Will be heading in on Poplar in the middle of July. 4 people with 2 of us interested in fishing. Will be a casual fishing trip. Hope to find a site on Horseshoe the first night for the potential to spot a moose and head to Gaskin or Winchell later. Possibly day trips depending on the weather and mood of the group.

Would like to catch some walleye, but would have fun catching smallmouth and northerns also. Looking at contour maps, Horseshoe in general looks shallow with a fairly flat bottom. Gaskin on the other hand has the islands and better bottom features.

Anyone have experience fishing this area this time of year? Is it even worth trying to fish Horseshoe, or are we better off waiting until we get to Gaskin? We are not experienced BWCA or walleye fisherman, but will be bringing leeches and nightcrawlers. Plan to try the TGO method, slip bobbers and jigs.

Any other advice?

I have been camping on Horseshoe for about the last 5 years. Always around the 4th of July weekend. We will be there again this year. As for the campsite. Where it splits to go to Vista or Gaskin, we saw moose when we stayed on the site that headed toward Gaskin. We have always had good luck fishing on Horseshoe. A couple years ago we had a handful of 20" smallies and last year we found a lot more Walleye. Around the small rock island right off the portage from Caribou has been good. Slowly drifting along the east shore just past the first campsites as you head south has been good. The bay on the east side of the lake across from the middle campsite.

We will be there June 30th - July 3rd.

I've been in this EP twice in the last two years, and for me, I am much more confident in fishing some of the smaller lakes like Horseshoe, Allen, and even Caribou than I am Gaskin. I seemed to feel overwhelmed when on a larger lake like Gaskin, not knowing exactly where and what depth to fish. I am sure with more BW experience, this will change (or if I'd go in with specific lake information / hotspots). Great info from the guest paddler above on Horseshoe, and it is a beautiful lake.

quote Guest 235: "I have been camping on Horseshoe for about the last 5 years. Always around the 4th of July weekend. We will be there again this year. As for the campsite. Where it splits to go to Vista or Gaskin, we saw moose when we stayed on the site that headed toward Gaskin. We have always had good luck fishing on Horseshoe. A couple years ago we had a handful of 20" smallies and last year we found a lot more Walleye. Around the small rock island right off the portage from Caribou has been good. Slowly drifting along the east shore just past the first campsites as you head south has been good. The bay on the east side of the lake across from the middle campsite.


We will be there June 30th - July 3rd. "

Great info. Thank you!