I am looking to take my group in mid-May into the BWCA for (hopefully) good fishing for the the big 4 species, in particular large northerns and enough walleyes to eat fish most days. Right now I am torn between:
1. taking EP 25 out of Moose, through Wind Lake, into Basswood lake, with day trips into Basswood River.
2. Taking EP 54 out of seagull into Ogishmuncie lake, then into SAK where we would basecamp.

Which route would be better for overall fishing? Also, would we need Quetico permits/Ontario licenses on the Basswood border lake/river?

Doesn't look like you are getting much help here. I can't help you with SAK, never been that far on Knife lake before. We didn't do well on walleye on my first and only time there. I have caught plenty of walleye in Basswood. If you get the island campsite up by the Basswood river just north of the motor zone pinch, there are walleyes in that area. There are several humps just south of the island that the walleyes like to feed around. A good lake contour map and electronics are helpful in trying to find them. The river itself can be good for walleye.

No need for RABC, Quetico permits, or Canadian fishing license as long as you stay on the American side of the river.

Hopefully other people will chime in and try to help you out.

I've only been to Basswood - it was the first week of June . .but I'm planning on Knife for this year. Basswood was awesome - great fishing..especially for bass and walleye. There are no lakers in Basswood, though . . at least not on the US side.

This year I'm planning on Knife for mid-May . .I've never been there . .I'm no expert . .and nature does what it wants, lol . .but I'm planning/hoping on great fishing for lakers and pike . .and not expecting the bass and walleye fishing will compare with what I experienced on Basswood 2 years ago . .but hey . .you never know!

If you're goal is big Northerns . .I think you'd do just fine in either place in Mid May. We slayed the pike all over basswood and basswood river but we were just a little late in the season, I think, for the bigguns . . we caught umpti-million hammer-handles.

I've only been on Basswood once and it was my first trip about 15 years ago so my info there is what I've gathered from this site and some friends that trip there often. Great multi species fishery with great trophy potential. No lakers unless your in Canada and very good walleye fishing.

I have spent a ton of time fishing the SAK in the last few years. If your set on mid May you would be up there during an excellent time to target lakers, which Knife has a great supply. As Mike mentioned the walleyes on Knife can be a bugger, it's always taken us more time than usual to put a pattern together but have done well after that. Smallie and pike action is great on Knife but I'm sure Basswood is just as good or better.

At the end of the day I think your decision will come down to the question of lakers and walleyes and which you want to chase more.

Dean brings up a good point, there is a lot of great information on this website about Basswood and Knife lakes. Use the search function up above and do a little searching on those lakes if you have not yet.

We caught Lakers on the U.S. side of Basswood trolling deep Taildancers in around 60 foot of water in early June a few years ago. We were fishing the area near American Point. Here is one.

i've never fished basswood but have done 13+ openers in the SAK , so i'm a little partial to that area. if you decide on the SAK email me and i'll share a map of hot spots out of the eddy falls area,, which is a great place to fish in itself, the whole food chain usually are there at 1 time or another early may. and toe lake is a little gem in itself also.

Not a lot more to add to what's already been said- but I've take both routes in the past. I did SAK from Seagull in mid may of 2015 and fishing was really good trolling for lakers. The rest of the species in SAK were a little hard to pin down with the water being a little cold- we even struck out at Eddy Falls for some odd reason. Both are great fisheries- but I feel like SAK is a better bet for grand slam type fishing. Basswood is better for lunker northern and walleye numbers. Just my opinion- and quite frankly, I wouldn't say I'm an excellent fisherman.

Besides the fishing- keep in mind that SAK is a long paddle from Seagull even with a tow but Basswood via Moose/Wind isn't all that far. Might make a difference if you have a group that may not be up for the long haul.

SAK--- easier to fish, all equal, in May.

Thanks for all the help everybody! We decided on Basswood for a better chance at walleyes. Hopefully we can make it happen!

quote connor96: "Thanks for all the help everybody! We decided on Basswood for a better chance at walleyes. Hopefully we can make it happen!"

Good luck on your trip! If you have any other questions just ask them......