Getting my plans together for an annual early/mid june laker trip with my son who will be 13 this yea. Last year we fished Clearwater, West Bearskin, and Gunflint. We did OK on CW (poor numbers but some quality fish), and struck out on both Gunflint and Bearskin. This year we will return to CW for at least 2 days of fishing, but looking for other lakes to try for the other 2-3 days.

Looking for opinions and insight into fishing the motor areas of Sag or Seagull for lake trout. On Seagull we'd be limited to less total area, but it has the advantage of laker waters accessible pretty much immediately out from the boat ramp, like CW or Bearskin. Sag would open up more water to us, but I'm not real sure it's going to be productive for lakers. It looks like about 2.5 miles to get to any kind of deeper water from the seagull river, and more like 4 to get the interesting stuff (for example, those humps near the deep water between Munker and Camper islands?)

Any advice and insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

can't give any insight on Sag , Seagull , early to mid july , lakers in that stretch maybe hard to come by ? closer to ice out would definitely be more productive. caught a few coming off of island edges.
but yes your very limited in that motor area on seagull.

shock: "can't give any insight on Sag , Seagull , early to mid july , lakers in that stretch maybe hard to come by ? closer to ice out would definitely be more productive. caught a few coming off of island edges.
but yes your very limited in that motor area on seagull."

Our trip is June as opposed to July -- that make a difference? June 12-17 approx.

All the good trout water on seagull is in the paddle only areas of the lake. Surprisingly, the deep area outside of the restricted area doesn’t have much for fish. The boat ride on sag is worth it.

If you decide on Sag, be very cautious on that lake with the boat. Lots of rock reefs that pop out of nowhere that can be hit by your motor.

I would recommending planning your trip earlier if you are going to be targeting Lake Trout. when water temps hit 60 degrees, they can be hanging out in 40+ feet of water and hard to come by. The earlier you head out, the higher in the water column they will be and easier to target. If your dates aren't flexible and you have to go the second week in June, make sure you have 2-4oz weights to get your lures down to depth while trolling.

@GunflintTrailAngler -- Thanks for the advice. That's my concern about Seagull, it's so tempting with the deep stuff straight out from the boat launch. But rarely is it that easy :)

@walllee -- This is my other hangup on Sag. Lot of miles to cover with a 6hp motor, and since it's all new water to me and I wouldn't be able to just blow through it wide open throttle. I do have a good GPS/chart plotter with mapping, but I never rely on that to be perfect. Also have concerns about "big water" on Sag. My boat is a small, very shallow v-hull. It's comparable to a Grumman sport boat, just a bit wider.

@ericinely -- Unfortunately I can't get up there any earlier. Kids and wife have school thru June 9th and my anniversary falls in the 11th, so the 12th is go time. I was up last year same time and while not fast & furious we did find a few lakers. Getting deep isn't a problem, we bring a leadcore rig, crank baits that go 30-40 feet unassisted, and 2 oz hair jigs and white tubes.

I was looking back at my notes from last year and remembering that we logged over 16 miles one day going from Gunflint Lodge all the way to the eastern edge of Little Gunflint lake and back, with a side-trip up to the Canadian shore. Sag is intimidating but I think I can probably pull this off with good planning. Even averaging 5mph I think I can get to some pretty interesting water in under an hour.

The two areas I am looking at are west/northwest from camper island, or off the north side of Long island. Very different areas, would love to hear from anyone with experience in either spot.

I could be convinced to make the haul up to Jocks narrows? We have ontario licenses and don't mind getting an RABC.

I have a little boat with a 7.5 HP motor. I’ve always been lucky with the weather on Sag. I always get right past monker island and fish for lakers all the way to American point. From there I’ll zip down to red rock bay for bass, and work my way back to the river along the south shore. It’s definitely an all day trek.

GunflintTrailAngler: "I have a little boat with a 7.5 HP motor. I’ve always been lucky with the weather on Sag. I always get right past monker island and fish for lakers all the way to American point. From there I’ll zip down to red rock bay for bass, and work my way back to the river along the south shore. It’s definitely an all day trek."

Thanks GTA. I think this is similar to what I was thinking when I said north of long island. Do you cut up around the edge of Munker and troll north of Long island to American point, or do you go south of Long and down around Gold island?

The lake actually hasn't been mapped by Navionics, but the community data is pretty decent as shown. I'm wondering if some of these bright blue shaded shallow areas are actually just unmapped because nobody drove through there while logging sonar. I'm curious if boating up around the northeast tip of long is as sketchy as the map looks. Plenty of deeper water taking the long way around Gold and shooting up between Long & Englishmen.


Since I have no desire to fish smallmouth and won't be heading south toward Red Rock Bay, I wonder if it makes more sense to explore the larger deep water area northeast of Munker. Looks like lots of good humps up there.

Wow, that second area does look juicy. If the water is still cool, that 27' sunken island next to the 100' hole should be dynamite! I would spend all of my time trolling that area on all sides of that island. You're making me excited to troll for lakers this spring

ericinely: "Wow, that second area does look juicy. If the water is still cool, that 27' sunken island next to the 100' hole should be dynamite! I would spend all of my time trolling that area on all sides of that island. You're making me excited to troll for lakers this spring"

Did you happen to work the Piragi's booth at the sportsmen for the bwca brewfest in Hudson, WI this past fall? If so, we chatted and looked at maps for a few minutes. :)

There is a very small, narrow channel in between munker and voyageurs island, I always go through there. And I’ll typically troll close to the border line. The drop offs around honeymoon island have been very kind to me. I’ve never spent much time fishing for lakers south of long island. Mainly because I never mark anything on the depth finder. At least north of the islands, I’m marking plenty of trout and/or schools of cisco.

GunflintTrailAngler: "There is a very small, narrow channel in between munker and voyageurs island, I always go through there. And I’ll typically troll close to the border line. The drop offs around honeymoon island have been very kind to me. I’ve never spent much time fishing for lakers south of long island. Mainly because I never mark anything on the depth finder. At least north of the islands, I’m marking plenty of trout and/or schools of cisco. "

Thanks a ton GFA. It's greatly appreciated! I feel like I have a couple options now in different parts of the lake, so depending on weather or early fishing results I can feel good heading in either direction.