Hi fishing enthusiasts!
I am actually taking my 6th trip to the BW this summer ! 5 years ago the tradition started.

This year is special because it is just me and my two sons. We have never had a "guys" paddling trip. This year vacation time had to happen at the end of July. We are entering Little Indian Sioux North and open to explore. I got our permit for 10 days so we have plenty of time to do what we want. The main thing I want on this trip is fishing. I want the boys to both experience catching some great fish. I realize the time of year isn't the best, but I'm counting on at least being able to have some success. Any tips for this region? Last year I did the long loop inside Lac La Croix up through finger and Thumb and Gebe and down through Oyster and Agnes. That took four of us 6 days with 2 canoes.

I was thinking of staying on the southern lakes like Oyster, Lynx, Ruby so we have more time to fish and less traveling time. Im sure we will see more traffic in this area. I am open though. I just want to get to the fish.

Thank you!
RC

drglock: "Hi fishing enthusiasts!
I am actually taking my 6th trip to the BW this summer ! 5 years ago the tradition started.

This year is special because it is just me and my two sons. We have never had a "guys" paddling trip. This year vacation time had to happen at the end of July. We are entering Little Indian Sioux North and open to explore. I got our permit for 10 days so we have plenty of time to do what we want. The main thing I want on this trip is fishing. I want the boys to both experience catching some great fish. I realize the time of year isn't the best, but I'm counting on at least being able to have some success. Any tips for this region? Last year I did the long loop inside Lac La Croix up through finger and Thumb and Gebe and down through Oyster and Agnes. That took four of us 6 days with 2 canoes.

I was thinking of staying on the southern lakes like Oyster, Lynx, Ruby so we have more time to fish and less traveling time. Im sure we will see more traffic in this area. I am open though. I just want to get to the fish.

Thank you!
RC"

That's a great route! Hopefully the water in the lakes and rivers is high. The beaver have it dammed up in several place along the way, but it's easy to pass if the water level is up.

Agnes is an awesome fishery. Been through there 3x and have always done well. Big pike, lots of walleye (including the elusive "Blue Phase"), along with huge crappie. The campsites on the north central part of the lake are really good too.

July will most likely burden you with horrible mosquito, so plan accordingly. Although it's a bit bulky and expensive, a backpacking style screen tent is really worth it.

Good luck!

Thank you for the info. And the tip about the screen shelter. Since we will likely base camp on this trip I would not be opposed to bringing something like this to keep us comfortable during those peak times. We treat with permethrin as well as other repellants. Ive been out there mid to late summer and know they can be bad.

Our favorite lake in that region is Hustler. Went there in July a couple years ago and loved it. A little tough getting there, but keeps others out. The fishing for pike in that lake is awesome. Troll husky jerks and large original raps and have fun with the boys. We also caught really nice smallies early in the morning on top water as well. Didn't catch any eyes on hustler. We were disappointed in the fishing on shell. But liked Agnes as well for walleye and pike. We're going in EP 16 this July and doing the loop around LLC, Gebe, Oyster. But planning on a layover day on Oyster just so we can day trip back to Hustler. My 2 cents. PS north middle campsite on hustler is awesome. Nice deep rock cliff to jump off of and do some swimming as well as catching fish from shore.

A couple summers ago on Shell we noticed lots of minnows near camp, which I think is unusual for the bwca. I tore apart a mesh laundry bag and made a minnow seine with paddles, and we were able to net some minnows which worked on walleyes. Kids would have a blast ( as did I) capturing bait. Bring a short minnow seine or a minnow trap. We did OK fishing Shell.