Hello,

My brother and I just planned a trip here and each are bringing our young son. He booked Badger on Crooked in early June for ease with younger kids and avoiding portages. I was disappointed to read about the motor boat allowance and not having the Sylvania wilderness restrictive regulations.

I was hoping to enjoy some of the great fishing I read about for a variety of species even if releasing but can one find that on Crooked? I would hope there isn't motor boat traffic like any old lake.

Thanks for any replies,

marbleyed

Ventured here 2 years ago when we needed a shorter trip option. Motors are limited just to the resort there on the North end of Crooked I believe. We saw one boat shortly after we launched from the North end of Crooked. I don’t recall seeing any other than that.

It’s a good mini-boundary waters but you will definitely see more canoes when out during the day. We didn’t have great luck fishing in early Sept. We stayed on Coyote and looped through Crooked and Mountain easily as a day trip while fishing and did a hike to Deer Island Lake on another. Good experience overall, just not as challenging as BWCA.

You can also potentially switch your site on arrival, as some are left as first come daily.

I've only been there a few times. As I recall "there isn't motor boat traffic like any old lake." Seemed pretty quiet overall. I don't think you will have a problem.

I love Sylvania for what it is. If you've gone to the BW before and are thinking this will be like the BW, change the way you are thinking about this trip. It is much smaller, less "wild" and you will see people and motorboats in the areas of Crooked where they are allowed. They aren't really an issue though.

Sylvania is small enough that a day tripper in a canoe can go anywhere, and plenty of people that are staying in the regular campgrounds go. This adds to the number of people you see on the lakes, especially Clark and Crooked. I still would not consider it to be crowded in any manner, unless you're trying to convince yourself that its the BW.

I have only ever camped on Loon and West Bear, two very different lakes, but have traveled through most of those lakes. I go for the fishing, which can be phenomenal in early June especially for smallmouth bass, but have not fished Crooked. I can give you some more information if you would like to email me. I plan to be back there again in early June as well if everything in my calendar comes together right.

Worth noting that the portage between Crooked and Mountain is maybe 5 rods and basically a flat beach. So your access to lakes without portage is pretty big when including that, though Mountain has a lot of sites on it for its size.

I have paddled through and camped on most every lake in Sylvania and can assure you that the motor boat allowance for Crooked is not an issue. I have maybe seen 2 or 3 at most there, and Crooked is pretty big water as Sylvania goes. Crooked can be more difficult to fish than the big SMB factories on Loon and Deer Island, and to a lesser extent Mountain. Beautiful area, and it is indeed a BWCA-lite experience.

I have been going to Sylvania since the mid 1970’s. You will encounter little motorized traffic on Crooked Lk. As was suggested earlier make sure to go to Mountain Lk (just east of Crooked), a short flat portage. Also, consider going to the large sandy beach on Clark Lk. Paddle to the west end of Crooked Lk, leave the boats in the woods at the portage landing and walk to the beach area.

I first took two nephews to Sylvania in 1990 when they were 6 and 7. We actually camped at Badger on that trip. They wanted to fish and we caught enough pan fish in Crooked for a meal. After they were cleaned and cooked the kids didn’t want to eat any. I had a very big meal that night. One of them still goes to Sylvania with me annually.

Been going to Sylvania wilderness for many years and just wanted to add that the Badger site you picked is nice because you easily hike over to Clark lake from there for a swim on the sandy beach. There is an old path that connects Clark to Crooked that leads almost to the Badger site, and also some old pilings on the Crooked end, possibly a dock if you look close. Crooked is a great fishery, though some of the biggest and hardest fighting smallies I've seen were on Deer Island.
If your struggling for fish, try Cub lake, not a ton of size but you can pull a bass in almost every cast. No joke, had a bass jump out of the water and try to get my Sendko worm that was hanging in the air over the side of my canoe.

Thank you all for the great responses! I was hoping this question wasn't too out of place on this site but I noticed some other Sylvania talk. I'm happy to hear of the lack of motor boats on that end of Crooked in particular.

I have been wanting to go to the BWCA for many years but a trip has never materialized for one reason or another. We thought this could be a good starter spot as many of you have eluded to it being much smaller.

Doesn't sound like there's much for walleye action compared to the BWCA but hoping to find some panfish for the kids in particular as I don't know how easy it will be for them to fish for other species yet as they are 5 and 7.

marbleyed: "Thank you all for the great responses! I was hoping this question wasn't too out of place on this site but I noticed some other Sylvania talk. I'm happy to hear of the lack of motor boats on that end of Crooked in particular.


I have been wanting to go to the BWCA for many years but a trip has never materialized for one reason or another. We thought this could be a good starter spot as many of you have eluded to it being much smaller.


Doesn't sound like there's much for walleye action compared to the BWCA but hoping to find some panfish for the kids in particular as I don't know how easy it will be for them to fish for other species yet as they are 5 and 7. "

Crooked is the place for panfish for sure, take some leaf worms and they will have a good time. BTW Crooked is the only lake in Sylvania that you can have live bait in case you didn't already know.
I've heard there is Walleye in Crooked but never tied into one yet, Whitefish would be your best bet for eyes.

6in Yamasenkos hooked in the middle on a jig tossed towards the shore in 20ft of water (casting to to 10ft of water) on Loon or Deer Island or Mountain and those kiddos will be hooked for life (smallies). I'm sure the same is true on Crooked too, but it's bigger water and we just haven't fished it as much.

Crooked is also one of the few lakes with northern pike. They are not real big but they can be aggressive and will hit many of the lures you use for bass. When fishing Crooked I do not usually target them but catch them fishing for bass. I agree with everything that has been said about the motor boats. They will not be a problem. The Sylvania is a very nice place but nowhere near as wild as the BW. My favorite lakes in the Sylvania are Loon and Deer Island. If you time it right the fishing can be fantastic for bass.

I took two children to Sylvania last summer. We got hit by a freak (and very freaky) storm (July 10) that completely filled our canoe to the brim over night and brought down several trees near us. The wind shredded the tent and we were soaked. That was on Clark Lake. We left, got a new tent and came back to Crooked lake a day later and camped at Fox 1.

Never in my life have I experienced mosquitos like we did at this campsite. Not at Denali. Not in Louisiana. Not in BWCA. It was surreal. Obviously the 12+ inches of rainfall meant lots of standing water (really, it was a swamp) so that may not be typical. But I would avoid that particular campsite at all costs.

Having said that, the area is beautiful, the lakes are lovely and there was almost no motorboat traffic to speak of.

Bugs, especially mosquitoes, are really bad in Sylvania during spring and early summer. Some sites are better than others, but pretty much all the sites in Sylvania are back from the water. It’s not like the BW where you might get a site on a breezy point. I would never go to Sylvania between May and August without a bug net and long sleeves and pants. Sometimes even the buzzing sound of mosquitoes has been frustrating.

this is a small area that can really be devastated by overfishing. please don't name exact lakes. it isnt the boundary waters or quetico. thanks

egrabi1: "this is a small area that can really be devastated by overfishing. please don't name exact lakes. it isnt the boundary waters or quetico. thanks"

I think it is too late to try to keep the area fishing secret. My son-in-law is an avid bass fisherman and knew about the area over 15 years ago w/o ever having been there before. If anyone talks to any area outfitters or staff at sporting goods stores they will be tipped on what lakes to fish.

On my first trip to Sylvania in May 1975 (or 1974 ?) we camped next to several couples from Detroit who had been told about the area fishing by an uncle who ran an outdoor business in Eagle Rv or Minocqua. And they talked about other friends from Detroit who fished there having been told about it by them.

Unfortunately, this well loved and over-used area is widely known. But I still enjoy early spring and late fall trips.

I've heard how bad the bugs can be and will definitely be prepared for the worst thanks.

I guess knowing how tight of regulations they have on this area, I didn't think overfishing would be such an issue. It seems most that go there are pretty conservation minded but I suppose there's plenty of exceptions.