So I've been asked by one of my best friends to help him plan a trip for him and some buddies who went to Quetico together as teens (they are now mid 50's). They want to do a reunion trip end of May '25; I may go along.

I'm normally not a basecamper, nor do I target smallies (& they will all have fly rods)...but that's what these guys want to do. Probably 5 nights.

My first inclination is to go up the Gunflint, tow to Hook, and portage over to Saganagons. Second idea is to get the long tow from Crane Lake to LLC, staying there or perhaps basecamping on McAree or Minn.

Budget probably supports rentals (canoe and some gear) and a long tow, but not a flight. RABCs are fine, and it's for sure going to be a southern entry.

So - would love some additional ideas to help the team out.

Of the easy to get to lakes/areas, North Bay has typically been my best producer for size and numbers over the years. Murdoch has been great for a lake a little further in, as is Kawnipi. Or you could head into Moose Bay of Crooked and up into Robinson. Carp Lake could be a good option as well.

The gunflint extends the travel day for us more than what I want to do routinely, so I’ve only done a couple trips over there. Saganagons can warm up more slowly than many lakes, so look for warmer inlets or fish a little deeper for pre spawn fish most likely.

But really with smallmouth, you have to work fairly hard to find an area that doesn’t have them in plentiful numbers. Pretty much anywhere you go should keep most fishermen pretty dang occupied.

Where did they go on their original trip? Chances are pretty good they'd be able to catch smallies on the fly there and get to relive that trip a bit. I've done lots of fly fishing for smallies in Quetico - North Bay is lights out, but as noted above, not many places you can't catch them. If your crew has any specific fly fishing questions, you could post them in the fly fishing forum, I check it regularly.

I would go in June or July though.