Hey all,

I am just starting to plan a 4 day trip with my brother and his 10 year old son We are planning on 4 days in the gunflint area in early to mid june for some fishing. We would really like to be able to catch some walleye, smb, lakers and northerns without to many portages. Looking to paddle in and base camp for a couple of days then paddle out. The opportunity to explore the woods or do some swimming would be great for the little guy but he is really into fishing so those other things might very well take a back seat if the fishing action is good!

We would prefer to stay on a smaller or midsized lake to keep us out of big waves if the weather turns.

Any recs on lakes or a route would be great! I am familiar with pp so i will be looking up stuff myself but i am not familiar with the gunflint area at all. My only trip to the bwca was out of ely.

Thanks in advance for any tips. I will be booking the canoe rental before the permits open up and using an outfitter to help with that.

Get a Lizz/Swamp entry permit (EP47). Basecamp on Horseshoe, but get there late morning to find a site (and still leave time to push further to Gaskin if the sites are all taken). You can basecamp on Horseshoe, and there are lots of great day trip options to fish or just see more lakes. Lots of families basecamp on Horseshoe and Caribou. Horseshoe is a great lake for spotting moose and eagles.

Others can speak to the specific fishing opportunities on those lakes, but they definitely have fish in them :)

Going in on East Bearskin to camp on Alder or Canoe fits your goals perfectly. Day trip to Johnson Falls will be hard to beat for an epic swimming experience. However the easy portages, fishing and natural attractions make it a very busy area so need to grab permit asap.

Here's my suggestion...
Get a hold of Seagull Outfitters. Have them (for a small fee) motor you up the Red Rock Bay on Saganaga. There will be a 10-rod portage into Red Rock Lake. There are many nice campsites on RR and you could base-camp there. RR is not a huge lake but does have decent fishing (I am told...personally not much into fishing). Tell them what day and time to meet you at the same spot and they will be there. The boy will love the boat ride.

Welcome! If you are planning on going to the end of the Gunflint Trail I recommend Seagull Lake for first timers. There are lots of sites to choose from and the vast majority of the lake is "no motor". And no portaging if that is not your thing. If you get the itch portage or explore more you can do the Red Rock loop, or even just portage into Alpine Lake.

Last year I went in EP 62 and camped on Little Caribou. Fishing on Little Caribou was fantastic from the campsite and also in front of the stream.

Day trips to Johnson Falls was a highlight for my boys. They were 10 and 13 when I went.