Hi all,

I'm considering grabbing a permit for a Sawbill entry and traveling west through a number of the Lady Chain lakes. I've entered at Sawbill in the past, but I've never hit the Lady Chain. I'm taking my 60 year old father so I typically like to keep the portages ~250 rods or less and this looks like a good route via the maps.

I definitely want to fish Phoebe and maybe Grace to try to pick up some walleyes, but are there other lakes along that route that I should focus on? We sometimes travel daily, and other times we base camp. Is Alton worth a night for fishing? We're really looking for some nice scenery and decent walleye and/or panfish fishing.

Any lakes to focus on? Should we definitely try to get to Polly and Koma? I'm guessing this is a pretty busy route as well?

Thanks for the help!

I'm heading that way for part of my August trip. Curious to see what people have to say. I'm 60 and going solo

It has been a while, but I remember that being a fairly relaxed trip. We always try to go West to East. (Get a shuttle to EP37-Kawishiwi Lake) If there is any wind, it helps push you along once you get to Polly and start going east. At least that was our thinking. Obviously, this trip depends on the amount of days you have available. Lots of good fishing on most of those lakes and great scenery.

Alton is pretty good fishing but can be busy/crowded as its only a short portage from the EP at Sawbill.

Hope that helps some. This was actually one of two route options my group was deciding on when planning our trip late June/early July.

I have also done this route West to East starting at Kawishiwi. It's 3-4 hours to Polly. Alton is a busy lake because it's so close to the EP which offers a fair amount of daily permits. Alton will be the largest and perhaps toughest lake that you will encounter. The shape and orientation of the lake allows to wind to create some pretty big rollers. I would try to hit this lake early in the morning or early evening, both of which could make campsites hard to find. The portage between Beth and Grace is the most difficult but you will want to take this longer one rather than the two shorter ones. It's a very pretty route and I will definitely do it again. I can't comment on the fishing.

Phoebe is a very good walleye lake....and dont overlook Hazel even though it seems shallow. When traveling from Knight to Hazel, there is a boulder field in the river, just before the 145r portage. Look to the right side to find the "hand made" channel to get you through. Portages along the river sections are short but a little tricky. We took the 2 "shorter" portages through Ella going from Grace to Beth. They are not easy. The longer portage may be better. Grace looked like a gorgeous lake. The portage from the Phoebe river to Polly is a flat nice trail through some beautiful woods. Looked like good fishing where the river dumps into Polly but we were traveling. Alton is usually very busy and Beth looks busy too. Crowds thin out a little after that. I plan to go back to Phoebe to base camp someday and chase walleyes.
Pic is a gorgeous sunrise morning on Phoebe.