My plan was to take my 18 yo daughter and 16 yo son to Horseshoe for 2 nights, Gaskin for 2, and back to Caribou for 1 the first week of June next year.

I keep reading about how busy Horseshoe is. I want this to be a wilderness trip and a lot of traffic will detract from that.

I am looking for small lakes with smallies and large pike. Are there more secluded options than the Ep47 and ep48 areas?

When we were on Horseshoe mid September last year there was nobody else on the lake that we could see.

Horseshoe can be busy mainly for people passing through. If you are looking for more seclusion head into Vista, not nearly as busy and good smallmouth fishing.

Great area. From almost any entry point, especially the more popular ones, you will have canoe traffic when only heading in 2 - 3 lakes deep. Get 4 - 5 lakes deep and you should see fewer people, but will probably still pass some other groups. Head west out of Horseshoe into Allen / Pillsberry if you specifically want less traffic. There will still be some passing through these lakes...maybe once a day???? June is a great time for fishing, which is good for you, but also brings many others to the BW.

Just paddled out of the area yesterday. Strange occupancy situations: Omega was empty except for us, Winchell 50% full, Gaskin only saw 1 canoe, We found the west peninsula site open on Horseshoe, but everything else was full. Most campsites on Caribou were open, however. Timing might be everything. We pulled into Horseshoe on Sat. afternoon. Went through Caribou on Sunday morning.