Good morning,

I have a question that I debated posting on here but what the heck, gonna fire away.

We have a group of four guys who have made the BWCA an annual trip the week before Memorial Day. We have always launched from entry point 25. We typically end up fishing Ensign and the smaller lakes in all directions off the east and southeast end. We are now getting curious and debating trying something new. We love fishing smallmouth and it seems our experience in May can vary quite dramatically, especially on bigger, deeper lakes like Ensign as the water temp warms slower.

My question is, would anyone be willing to share a route or a group of smaller lakes or entry point you have really enjoyed in the past that present the opportunity for smallmouth and walleye in that late May timeframe? (I understand the majority of lakes in BWCA probably fit this criteria). We typically do four days and use a tow to get deeper. We are very willing to travel as long as the travel can be completed in one day so we can set a base camp and maximize the fishing the rest of the trip.

I debated writing this as I hate to come off needy when I can't reciprocate the favor, so I am not offended by any answer to this question. If someone prefers a direct message, I'd certainly appreciate that as well.

Thank you for any advice!

My friends and have done the same trip every year the weekend of fishing opener for the past six. We also tend to enter at Moose and have had success with walleye at Ensign, Birch and Knife. We have recently changed our target species because we have caught the lake trout bug.

Let me suggest an alternate trip: get a tow up to Prairie Portage, travel across Birch and continue East into Knife Lake from the Knife River. With a tow, you should be able to get to Knife in 3-5 hours, depending on skill level/travel conditions-plenty of time to set up camp, cut firewood and get settled for your basecamp fishing experience. There, you can target BIG lake trout and BIG walleye. We have traveled there the last two years and caught 25+ inch walleye and 26+ inch trout with no problem on shorter 3-4 day trips (including a travel day on either end).

Last year was a tough walleye year because ice out was only two days before fishing opener so we were "forced" to target lake trout, which were up in the shallows (6-15') of water. We believe the walleyes were waiting to spawn, so they weren't in feeding mode. Sight-fishing lake trout out of a canoe was a fantastic experience, and it is unlikely that we will target anything but lake trout in mid-May. You probably won't catch the numbers you did targeting walleye on small water in late May, but the handful of lake trout you do catch will change your perspective on early-season fishing. My buddy had a 25" lake trout drag him around in a solo canoe for a 5 minute fight - an experience he will never forget and wants to duplicate again this year.

If you are going later in May, it is unlikely they will be that shallow, they will probably be cruising shelves, ledges and dropoffs in 15-40' of water. That just means you get to troll/vertical jig for them and experience their fight with a lot more line out. That time of year is still good for big fatheads/suckers on a big jighead, so you will likely run into some big walleye and pike looking for the trout-which can be almost as fun.

Let me know if you need any more pointers on lake trout fishing. We are still beginners and figuring things out, but trying to get finicky walleye to bite in May is a thing of the past for our group. I only wished I had started targeting trout sooner.

You could stick with the same entry point and get that same tow, but head north of Ensign and hump it to Knife Lake....definitely one of the best fisheries in the BW, with Smallies and Walleyes (the only 2 species you mentioned), but with an added bonus of Lake Trout which should be very catchable that time of year.

This way you'll have some familiarity and can stick to whatever routine you guys like for entry, but hit a new and different spot. You might find the extra travel to get to Knife to be rewarding as well...I always like to work for my rewards. And there are plenty of smaller lakes connected to Knife as well if the wind it supposed to be howling or you want to get off Knife for whatever reason.

Thanks for the responses!

I actually was thinking of doing that exact route, making somewhere on sak as basecamp. The other route I thought might be fun is going in at EP 62 on Clearwater and heading east to Caribou and then possibly south from there or maybe Pine (obviously not small water however)

Nickberger10: "Thanks for the responses!


I actually was thinking of doing that exact route, making somewhere on sak as basecamp. The other route I thought might be fun is going in at EP 62 on Clearwater and heading east to Caribou and then possibly south from there or maybe Pine (obviously not small water however)
"

Caribou is definitely known for smallmouth action. I'd say your options from there are a bit more limited though, in terms of getting to spots other than Caribou...there are some nasty portages and huge lakes around.

Take a look at Iron Lake. No lakers, great for walleye/smallmouth, some pretty protected and shallower areas to fish for pre-spawn bass. Do-able one day trip via Nina Moose, Agnes, Lac La Croix. Or via Stuart

barehook: "Take a look at Iron Lake. No lakers, great for walleye/smallmouth, some pretty protected and shallower areas to fish for pre-spawn bass. Do-able one day trip via Nina Moose, Agnes, Lac La Croix. Or via Stuart"

There are lakers in Iron.....

walllee: "

barehook: "Take a look at Iron Lake. No lakers, great for walleye/smallmouth, some pretty protected and shallower areas to fish for pre-spawn bass. Do-able one day trip via Nina Moose, Agnes, Lac La Croix. Or via Stuart"

There are Lakers in Iron....."

Oops, my bad. So now I'm interested, is the Iron Lake laker population such that it is considered a decent fishery for those persons targeting lakers?

barehook: "

walllee: "

barehook: "Take a look at Iron Lake. No lakers, great for walleye/smallmouth, some pretty protected and shallower areas to fish for pre-spawn bass. Do-able one day trip via Nina Moose, Agnes, Lac La Croix. Or via Stuart"

There are Lakers in Iron....."

Oops, my bad. So now I'm interested, is the Iron Lake laker population such that it is considered a decent fishery for those persons targeting lakers?"

Indeed!!! .... Might look at McAree also....

Meeds Lake off of Poplar. One looong portage to get in there, 3 campsites to choose from. Typically not a real busy place. Another option for entry to Meeds would be Lizz Lake, more but shorter portages, probably a little more time to get there but easier.

Very good smallie lake, decent walleye lake. The island campsite to the west is a great site, we caught a ton of fish right from the site.

Several options for daytrips or places to move to if you get bored with all the smallies:)

walllee: "

barehook: "Take a look at Iron Lake. No lakers, great for walleye/smallmouth, some pretty protected and shallower areas to fish for pre-spawn bass. Do-able one day trip via Nina Moose, Agnes, Lac La Croix. Or via Stuart"

There are lakers in Iron....."

Are you two talking about the same Iron Lake? I'm not sure you are.

naturboy12: "

walllee: "

barehook: "Take a look at Iron Lake. No lakers, great for walleye/smallmouth, some pretty protected and shallower areas to fish for pre-spawn bass. Do-able one day trip via Nina Moose, Agnes, Lac La Croix. Or via Stuart"

There are lakers in Iron....."

Are you two talking about the same Iron Lake? I'm not sure you are."

I meant the Iron Lake immediately below Crooked Lake. Curtain Falls empties into the Iron Lake I was referencing.

barehook: "

naturboy12: "

walllee: "

barehook: "Take a look at Iron Lake. No lakers, great for walleye/smallmouth, some pretty protected and shallower areas to fish for pre-spawn bass. Do-able one day trip via Nina Moose, Agnes, Lac La Croix. Or via Stuart"

There are lakers in Iron....."

Are you two talking about the same Iron Lake? I'm not sure you are."

I meant the Iron Lake immediately below Crooked Lake. Curtain Falls empties into the Iron Lake I was referencing. "

You are correct, I was thinking knife Lake, there is no Lakers in Iron.... sorry for the mix up....

lindylair: "Meeds Lake off of Poplar. One looong portage to get in there, 3 campsites to choose from. Typically not a real busy place. Another option for entry to Meeds would be Lizz Lake, more but shorter portages, probably a little more time to get there but easier.


Very good smallie lake, decent walleye lake. The island campsite to the west is a great site, we caught a ton of fish right from the site.


Several options for daytrips or places to move to if you get bored with all the smallies:)"

I second the meeds lake suggestion. It is not necessarily deep in but low traffic. I spent a week there in late July and remember seeing maybe a couple canoes the whole time. We stayed on the far western mainland site and had great shore fishing. I haven’t seen the higher rated island sites but we thought this one was nice.

Walleyes were on fire in 6 feet of water. Plenty of big fish too including a 27”. Smallies were easy to come by as well.

Base on Caribou (which can be good for both), hit Meeds, maybe Horseshoe for eyes.

Crab & Little Crab are loaded with small mouth. We hit 'em pretty good during the second week in June last year. The top-water bite was a ton of fun! If you can muster the big paddle across Burntside and the massive portage into Crab...it will be worth it!

I would second the LLC, Iron, Agnes area. Great walleye and smallie action on all three lakes. Plus, Lake Trout in LLC. If you really wanted to get there fast you could take a tow from Crane Lake that drops you on LLC, 30 minutes from Iron via Bottle Portage.

Tony

walllee: "

barehook: "

walllee: "

barehook: "Take a look at Iron Lake. No lakers, great for walleye/smallmouth, some pretty protected and shallower areas to fish for pre-spawn bass. Do-able one day trip via Nina Moose, Agnes, Lac La Croix. Or via Stuart"

There are Lakers in Iron....."

Oops, my bad. So now I'm interested, is the Iron Lake laker population such that it is considered a decent fishery for those persons targeting lakers?"

Indeed!!! .... Might look at McAree also...."

You could also pop over to Crooked if you don't have luck on that particular species in Iron. The one portage around Curtain falls at least gives you the credible option for an afternoon day-trip.