I'm thinking of a quick weekend trip for the fishing opener. I've never fished the opener before and I'm getting the itch to give it a try.

I was thinking of just fishing Seagull lake. I figure that will maximize my fishing time. I can just plop the canoe in the water at the Seagull Outfitters dock and start fishing.

I would really like to do well with Lake trout and pike. I figure that I would spend most of my time trolling Rapalla Taildancers. That works well during the rest of the year.

Any other advice for fishing the opener or for fishing Seagull lake???

Walleyes can be found right in the bay by seagull outfitters that time of year. Also look to the bays on the north end of the lake, as those warm first. Same goes for pike, look for shallow bays that face south (toward the sun). Trout should be on shallow feeding flats near deep water, taildancers should work well that time of year. Good luck!

I seem to remember catching lakers on floating raps and spinners that time of year with Jakebait. Oh yeah that also included a 540 rod portage! It was worth it.

Watch for the usual annually posted restrictions. They seem to have been nearly identical every year since 1979 when the existing state record walleye was caught in the Seagull River (along with hundreds of other trophies which were kept before the current catch-and-release emphasis caught on).

Here's what was posted last year, April 4, 2011:

"Several lakes and rivers along the Minnesota-Ontario border in Cook County will be closed to fishing at the start of this year’s season to protect concentrations of spawning walleye from potential over-harvest. Walleye may be vulnerable to over-harvest during what is expected to be a year with relatively late ice-out and delayed spawning. Closures, which are done in cooperation between the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, affect both sides of the border. All areas closed to fishing will be posted.

The following areas were closed to fishing on Friday, April 1:
Sea Gull River from Sea Gull Lake through Gull Lake to Saganaga Lake approximately 1/3 mile north of the narrows will be closed through May 27
Saganaga Falls on the Minnesota Ontario border where the Granite River enters Saganaga Lake will be closed through May 31
Maligne River (also known as Northern Light Rapids) on the Ontario side of Saganaga Lake will be closed through May 31
Channel between Little Gunflint and Little North Lakes on the Minnesota Ontario border will be closed through May 31
Cross River (inlet to Gunflint Lake) from the Gunflint Trail to Gunflint Lake will be closed through May 27.

The following areas will be closed to fishing from Saturday, May 14, through Friday, May 27:
Tait River from White Pine Lake to the Forest Road 340 crossing, including a portion of White Pine Lake
Junco Creek from the first log dam above County Road 57 downstream to Devil Track Lake, and including a portion of Devil Track Lake near the river mouth.

Only fishing is affected by these closures, travel is permitted through the areas.

Direct questions to the DNR office in Grand Marais at 218-387-3056 or to Steve Persons, Grand Marais area fisheries supervisor, at steve.persons@state.mn.us."

quote Stik8481: "I seem to remember catching lakers on floating raps and spinners that time of year with Jakebait. Oh yeah that also included a 540 rod portage! It was worth it."

Ahh to be young again!


As far as restrictions on seagull go, stay out of the river going to Sag and you will be fine.

I agree about getting older... I'm taking the family on the 1.2 mile Missing Link portage this summer. That should be enough. For this trip, I'm pretty excited about just plopping my canoe in the water and starting to fish.

As for fish, I am mostly interested in Lake Trout. I don't get to catch those very often. Seagull Lake very early in the season sounds like a good chance to get some...

Lake trout fishing on Sea Gull can be good, but spotty. I fished Sea Gull yesterday and did terrible. I was hoping to be rewarded with more than a couple of dinks for my effort after skiing 5 miles down the lake. The dog got some good exercise though. Most of the trout water is on the west end of the lake but the closest spot I know of would be the palisades. That should be about a 45 minute to 1 hour paddle from the outfitters. I've never caught any big trout by the palisades but it is a good place to pick up a few 2-5 pd fish.

Wow. You out there in the winter. I never thought of that. Maybe that needs to be my next adventure. I have all my ice ifshing stuff...

But back to open water...

I figured that I'd paddle to west end of the lake and camp there. I'd paddle and troll a lot of the time. Since it will be cold, I figured that I would drop a frozen smelt on the bottom while hanging around camp.

With all the campsights on Seagull, where would you start?

quote walleye_hunter: "...the closest spot I know of would be the palisades. "

Other folks have mentioned the Palisades. Where are they?

I thought you were going to do day trips from the outfitters. Definitely head west if you are going to camp on the lake. The palisades are on the big point just east/northeast of miles island.

quote Mad_Angler: "

quote walleye_hunter: "...the closest spot I know of would be the palisades. "

Other folks have mentioned the Palisades. Where are they?"

Some call them cliffs or giant hills, the rocky hills that climb up hundreds of feet in some places are called Palisades.

For Opening weekend, what type of structure would you recommend for lake trout? How deep of water?

How would those recommednations change for especially warm or cold spring?

quote walleye_hunter: "Lake trout fishing on Sea Gull can be good, but spotty. Most of the trout water is on the west end of the lake but the closest spot I know of would be the palisades. "

There are also trout within a half mile of the boat landing, as depths in the area exceed 90 feet.

quote Mad_Angler: "For Opening weekend, what type of structure would you recommend for lake trout? How deep of water?


How would those recommednations change for especially warm or cold spring?"

Start your search for lake trout along steep breaks off of points and islands. If it is windy and/or cloudy a lot of the fish should be up towards the surface, or at least willing to rise to the surface and grab your bait. On a calm sunny day even in May it is not uncommon for me to start marking fish in 40 or 50 ft of water. If that is the case you can sit on top of them and jig. For example: Last spring on Sag I was catching trout trolling a spoon on the surface in the morning. It was a calm sunny day and I stopped catching fish around 10:30 or 11:00. Later in the afternoon I found a spot off a little island where the trout were stacked up like cord wood in 50 ft of water. I just starting jigging for them and would have a fish on as soon as my spoon got down to them.

Any new updates?

I still haven't made an opener but I'm hoping to do it this spring

Mad_Angler: "Any new updates?

I still haven't made an opener but I'm hoping to do it this spring"

Contact Shock. He goes there almost every fishing opener. He has great tips and advice.

-CV

i love seagull lake , as i've got older it allows me to have the BW experience while being on an entry point lake that happens to be a very good fishery.
as far as regs go , i can only think of the 3 walleye limit,
now pre 1996 the DNR use to mark the alpine river exit with an anchored innertube , stating no fishing like they still do on the seagull river. but since the DNR would have to paddle in and back out and back in again to retrieve the sign it is not posted anymore , and many that enter and stay on seagull for opener it is a big draw to that area(( just like alpine (jasper falls) was when you could motor across seagull)) i've seen people bring a row boat into alpine..(so most of those campsites close to the alpine river exit are taken),, the problem is mother nature dictates when the walleyes will be there ,,, early ice out there long gone by opener. thats when you need the walleye_hunter ;)
last years opener after monday afternoon , we basically had a 4,000 acre lake to ourselves for the next 3 days , it was f***** beautiful :)
lakers and lures i'm sure the tail dancer will work and i have ran some deep divers on opener with success for LT but my(trolling) bread and butter on opener has always been the 7" original floating rapala blk/gold with a 12" steel leader and it does get down close to 10'. last year i used the smithwick super suspending rogue grape/gold and i really like that lure too,, i also love spoons whether it trolling or casting from shore or just casting in general in a canoe , you can cover alot of area casting with spoons. also the rapala CD 9 are a must in my opener tackle box , a great cold water application for walleyes. suttle movement in the lure and u control the running depth , after spawning walleyes generally dont want anything aggressive , ,,,,even thou,,, my brother caught a spawned #8+ on opener on a wide wobble bomber , so who knows sometimes ????
a great trolling stretch is from the alpine portage to and well past the rog portage , we always caught something. i will not be there this opener (dealing with sciatic nerve issues) so there will be some fish left for you LOL . , enjoy :)

OH ! when ever at camp soak a sucker on a slip sinker set up , with the wind you'll want an 1oz+ slip sinker to keep your bait in place.(i keep a set up ready all the time ) my motto on this site is "keep your line wet and good things will happen" CPR #8+ LT from camp and my son's #6