I am thinking of going up the Gunflint with a friend of mine in a couple of weeks to try for lakers. I have fished some of the lakes up there in the spring/summer with highly variable success. One time I hammered lake trout in Clearwater, but another time I got nothing. I also got nothing on Rose or Duncan when I went there. I heard good things about Gunflint, and did get a couple of lake trout there on my only trip to the lake. When I paddled up to the lodge, the person working at it seemed absolutely shocked that we had caught any lake trout, which did not inspire confidence in the lake.

I've never ice fished for lakers anywhere, but I do ice fish, so I have all of the necessary gear to go after them (including electronics). I know that there are numerous old threads about this topic, and I have read as many as I can find, so I feel pretty confident about what to use, and some of the tactics (although I certainly welcome any new advice), but I am still unsure of where to go. The trip would just be for one day, so I am a little limited on how far we can go. Based on past success on Clearwater, I was thinking of going there, but I also read some good things about Seagull. I'm certainly not looking for secret spots or anything, but any advice that you have regarding where to go in that area when ice fishing for lake trout would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

If you only have one day i would suggest a lake you can drive to..seagull,gunflint,Clearwater like you mentioned..but that is all big water..if you can drive into Ram i would do that..smaller fish but you should have no problem catxhing them. Sometimes the road is plowed..if you have a snowmobile you can get in there if not plowed very quick..then a short portage.

what about Daniels? it's a short hike in and the trail is very well maintained.
gunflint lake IS a trout lake. just make sure you stay on the MN side! there are some good spots that are very near the border. where you see the permanent houses out there are some good spots. if you have a snowmobile you might consider heading east down the lake to the "palisades area" a few miles beyond Heston's Lodge, just past ear-shaped bay.

OSLO: "I am thinking of going up the Gunflint with a friend of mine in a couple of weeks to try for lakers. I have fished some of the lakes up there in the spring/summer with highly variable success. One time I hammered lake trout in Clearwater, but another time I got nothing. I also got nothing on Rose or Duncan when I went there. I heard good things about Gunflint, and did get a couple of lake trout there on my only trip to the lake. When I paddled up to the lodge, the person working at it seemed absolutely shocked that we had caught any lake trout, which did not inspire confidence in the lake.

I've never ice fished for lakers anywhere, but I do ice fish, so I have all of the necessary gear to go after them (including electronics). I know that there are numerous old threads about this topic, and I have read as many as I can find, so I feel pretty confident about what to use, and some of the tactics (although I certainly welcome any new advice), but I am still unsure of where to go. The trip would just be for one day, so I am a little limited on how far we can go. Based on past success on Clearwater, I was thinking of going there, but I also read some good things about Seagull. I'm certainly not looking for secret spots or anything, but any advice that you have regarding where to go in that area when ice fishing for lake trout would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!"

How much time do you have ? How good of shape are you in?

OSLO: "I am thinking of going up the Gunflint with a friend of mine in a couple of weeks to try for lakers. I have fished some of the lakes up there in the spring/summer with highly variable success. One time I hammered lake trout in Clearwater, but another time I got nothing. I also got nothing on Rose or Duncan when I went there. I heard good things about Gunflint, and did get a couple of lake trout there on my only trip to the lake. When I paddled up to the lodge, the person working at it seemed absolutely shocked that we had caught any lake trout, which did not inspire confidence in the lake.

I've never ice fished for lakers anywhere, but I do ice fish, so I have all of the necessary gear to go after them (including electronics). I know that there are numerous old threads about this topic, and I have read as many as I can find, so I feel pretty confident about what to use, and some of the tactics (although I certainly welcome any new advice), but I am still unsure of where to go. The trip would just be for one day, so I am a little limited on how far we can go. Based on past success on Clearwater, I was thinking of going there, but I also read some good things about Seagull. I'm certainly not looking for secret spots or anything, but any advice that you have regarding where to go in that area when ice fishing for lake trout would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!"

I see you only have one day. Go to Clearwater and start early. Good luck!

Moss, no trophies but plentiful.

brantlars: "If you only have one day i would suggest a lake you can drive to..seagull,gunflint,Clearwater like you mentioned..but that is all big water..if you can drive into Ram i would do that..smaller fish but you should have no problem catxhing them. Sometimes the road is plowed..if you have a snowmobile you can get in there if not plowed very quick..then a short portage."

Thanks for the reply! I won't be bringing a snowmobile, so sounds like that could be a gamble if the road is not plowed. Ram sounds like an interesting lake though, and I am definitely hoping to get to it some time soon.

Mocha: "what about Daniels? it's a short hike in and the trail is very well maintained.
gunflint lake IS a trout lake. just make sure you stay on the MN side! there are some good spots that are very near the border. where you see the permanent houses out there are some good spots. if you have a snowmobile you might consider heading east down the lake to the "palisades area" a few miles beyond Heston's Lodge, just past ear-shaped bay."

I hadn't really considered Daniels. Looks like a numbers lake based on the DNR data, although that survey is 12 years old now. I'll definitely look into it more. Glad to hear that Gunflint is a decent trout lake. I assumed it would be based on its size and the lake survey. Still not sure then why the people at the lodge were so shocked about lakers being caught--particularly since it was still early June at the time. I think that the area you described for the lake was about where we went during that open water trip. Thanks for the information!

Mackinaw Trout: I see you only have one day. Go to Clearwater and start early. Good luck!"

To respond to your first post, I'm in pretty decent shape still, although certainly not running any marathons or anything! Thanks for the recommendation!

For those who have ice fished on Sea Gull, I have read that the lake has currents (I assume between the islands) which can make the ice dangerous. I would think that after the cold that we have had that this is no longer a concern at all, but can anybody comment on how much those currents affect the ice depth on this lake?

Basspro69: "Moss, no trophies but plentiful."!$/iHungry Jack sends a lot of people over there.

OSLO: "

Mackinaw Trout: I see you only have one day. Go to Clearwater and start early. Good luck!"

To respond to your first post, I'm in pretty decent shape still, although certainly not running any marathons or anything! Thanks for the recommendation!"

I have fished most all the Laker Lakes off the Gunflint. The further you get back in the better the fishing.
If I had one day to fish,Moss would be an easy lake to fish for 15-20 inch fish.
Seagull would require a 5 mile round trip walk to productive areas.
Daniels is easy access but has dinky lake trout.
West Bearskin, Gunflint, Saganaga and Duncan have nice trout but you have a much higher probability of being skunked and not learning where to be quickly enough on these larger lakes.

I have not seen the road to Ram (S. Brule Rd I think) plowed so plan on a snowmobile there.
That road used to to be a snowmobile trail.
Ram has some lakers. Its small but really not any better than Moss for Lakers IMO.

Clearwater is a beautiful lake but has mostly thin 15--16 inch fish and a very outside chance at a biggie. I would go there just for the scenery.

Trout and Greenwood are Ok lakes with easy access.

Hope this Helps.

Basspro69: "Moss, no trophies but plentiful."

Another lake that I hadn't considered before. Thanks!

OSLO: "For those who have ice fished on Sea Gull, I have read that the lake has currents (I assume between the islands) which can make the ice dangerous. I would think that after the cold that we have had that this is no longer a concern at all, but can anybody comment on how much those currents affect the ice depth on this lake?"

They should be fine. Those areas have been for me in the past, but ya never know . As they say no ice is 100% safe ice.

One advantage to the Gunflint mid-trail is that most of the lakes are fairly close to each other. Moss, Bearskin, Duncan, Daniels and Clearwater are almost next to one another and make it easy to change location.

Here is what mid-trail lake trout look like underwater. I used my underwater camera to watch. It is amazing how many fish there were simply not biting.







Here is the video:
Underwater Lake Trout

That is such a cool video. Thanks for sharing.

Here is another video I just took of highlights. Was using two rods in holes close together - no tip-up. One with a lure and one with a minnow. Had a great day.







Click here on this link to view the video:
BWCA Lake Trout

These are really cool pics. It looked like the trout should have been hooked but they seemed to spit out the lure. How many did you catch? Best, JG

I caught my limit and released the rest. I found that when they are not in an aggressive bite, they most often take the tube jig from the front with no hook. I am working on a solution. Also found it interesting that the artificial seemed more desirable than the minnow at least 50% of the time. I did't expect it.

Awesome videos! Thanks for sharing these.