Does anyone have any experience bushwacking into small lakes off the beaten path. I've found a really good largemouth lake outside the BWCA through bushwacking and was wondering if anyone has had success in the BWCA. I would love to find good LMB,SMB, pike, or panfish fishing. Any thoughts, ideas, and suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!

I will just say that there are MANY good opportunities for bushwack fishing and yes we have been successful :)

I have bushwhacked a few times to Brook trout lakes, and the answer is Yes.

Nothing better!!

Pick a spot and go for it. It is well worth the effort. Those lakes are a secret for a reason.

Bushwacking is all well and good. We did it extensively when twenty something kids and found some real honey holes. Hunting with hounds is almost all bushwhacking and often through the roughest parts of the countryside.

But truly the game is rather different when one is carrying a 15 or 18ft boat overhead. I have toyed with the idea on occasion and know I would definitely have a method. First, I would walk and flag the route. This enables you to deal with logistical hurdles such as swamps etc without loads. I would also clear and clean up my path a bit. A silky saw is quite helpful with this. Yes I understand some are aghast at the concept but it is not much different than a moose busting through the countryside or some beaver workings. Within a few months it will be like the rest. I do strongly insist on taking the tape down however.

Watch for beaver workings, very easy to plunge into hidden holes and channels and possibly get impaled on a beaver cutting (sapling often resemble upright spears). I am also old enough and wise enough to take safety glasses with me of some sort as well.

Like SV the payoff would have to be strong and Brook trout are worth it. The rest of the species I can catch without to much trouble.

Thanks everyone! Not asking for spots but other than brook trout what has everyone found in small-bushwack lakes?

I've done a lot of it. Sometimes it takes you to Heaven and sometimes it takes to Hell. Like MT, I mark the trail with trailmarking tape. I don't cut limbs, but I do break a lot of them. However, I'm north of the bwca, where breaking limbs is legal. I also carry GPS.

Andrew Jacobson: "Thanks everyone! Not asking for spots but other than brook trout what has everyone found in small-bushwack lakes?"

I once reached a lake where I caught five muskies in an hour and lost a sixth. At one point, I had two muskies chasing my lure. Those were wonderfully ignorant fish.

Muskies? In the BWCA? Any size?

North of the bwca. The biggest was about 45", which is plenty big from a canoe.

missmolly: "North of the bwca. The biggest was about 45", which is plenty big from a canoe."

In the Q or outside?

Andrew Jacobson: "

missmolly: "North of the bwca. The biggest was about 45", which is plenty big from a canoe."

In the Q or outside?"

Outside. There are plenty of lakes on Crown Land that teem with dumb muskies.

Savage Voyageur: "I have bushwhacked a few times to Brook trout lakes, and the answer is Yes. "

+1

Barto has sunfish. To be honest, we were kind of hoping for something a little bigger.

Hex

Basspro69: "

Savage Voyageur: "I have bushwhacked a few times to Brook trout lakes, and the answer is Yes. "

+1"

Just Curious if this means there are self sustaining brook trout lakes in the BW. I guess I assumed they were all put and take.

There are very few Brook Trout lakes left in the BW. All are stocked.

Gadfly: "

Basspro69: "

Savage Voyageur: "I have bushwhacked a few times to Brook trout lakes, and the answer is Yes. "

+1"

Just Curious if this means there are self sustaining brook trout lakes in the BW. I guess I assumed they were all put and take. "

Most of them are stocked with about 5000 Trout at a time, according to the DNR stats. They normally only breed in streams, but there is evidence of limited Lake breeding if they spawn near a wavy shoreline. I have read that they catch Rainbow Trout in lakes that they stopped stocking over 20 years ago, so they are breeding in lakes.

Gadfly: "

Basspro69: "

Savage Voyageur: "I have bushwhacked a few times to Brook trout lakes, and the answer is Yes. "

+1"

Just Curious if this means there are self sustaining brook trout lakes in the BW. I guess I assumed they were all put and take. "

There at least two self sustaining brookie lakes, not large populations at all .