Hello all, this next week will be my first ever trip to Crooked lake although my dad has been there several times and will be tagging along. Saturday May 18th we will put in Mudro lake (EP 23) and travel from Mudro to Sandpit to Tin Can Mike to Horse to the Horse River into Wednesday Bay and onto the north end of Thursday Bay, planning on single portaging and making the trip in one day. Does anyone have any suggestions about this route this time of year?

Fishing is my next topic. We will be targeting about everything, hopefully walleye in the morning and evening and bass and pike during the day. What’s the fishing usually like at this time of year? Any suggestions on locations, depths, structures? Planning to vertical jig minnows for walleye and cast cranks for pike and bass. Any colors work better than others?

This will be my first trip so any advice is appreciated. We will be fishing hard the entire trip so I will follow up our trip with a trip report. Anything you feel like sharing would be awesome!

Thank you.

Get an early start

Hoping to be in the water shortly after 6:00 am, single portaging!

It's a solid 8 hour day (depending weather/wind). Very doable though. Horse River water levels will be high, but still plan on portaging all of the marked portages plus another one or two. One might be a simple walk through shallow rocky areas. We usually take a lunch break at Lower Basswood Falls before the long paddle to Thursday Bay.

I would plan on a loop coming back through the Gun, Fourtown Lakes so you get to see some more areas and don't have to backtrack the same route.

Fishing should be good. Thursday and Friday Bay around islands seems to be great spots for Walleye this time of year. I favor the white/pink jigs tipped with a rainbow minnow. Or a plain hook/minnow with split shot tossed in the shallows at sun up/sun down. Lots of nice campsites in that area too. Enjoy the trip, it's an awesome area.

Current will be your friend for finding fish that early in the season

Good luck -- water will be cold. Eyes will be post spawn so might be deep to rest/recover.

Just got back from that area. Fish just off the currents/eddy....you are going to do well

cyclones30: "Current will be your friend for finding fish that early in the season "

+1