I'll be staying at silver rapids lodge the last week of July, anyone have any tips on fishing that chain of lakes or any other area lakes with motor boats? My dad and I have done several canoe trips into the BWCA but he is 65 now and has had several shoulder surgeries and knee replacement so we've decided to do a trip that isnt quite so physical. We love the Ely area so I'm taking my boat and doing a different type trip this time. Staying at Silver Rapids lodge so we'll mostly be fishing White Iron, Garden and Farm lakes but since i'm bringing my own boat we can head to some other lakes close by if there is better fishing. Also any smaller lakes in the area that have easy canoe access would be fun to hit so we can still do a little bit of paddling and a short portage would be doable for a day trip. So any info on fishing for just about any species in the non BWCA lakes around Ely would be greatly appreciated.

If you search White Iron on the search tool here you'll find some old discussions, including me asking the same thing a few years ago.

We stayed on White Iron for a week with a boat in Aug/Sept a couple years ago for a family trip. Found walleye, crappie, and pike every day but nothing amazing or steady. Live bait under a slip bobber right where White Iron necks down to go under the bridge where you're staying had a good mixed bag. Pike were up in weeds/rock up shallow in some bays. Where the river comes into White Iron on the far other end of the lake is a cool looking spot. We didn't catch much there but it looks like a quality place

I've spend many a vacation at Silver Rapids.

In addition to the spots mentioned on White Iron already, there's a mid-lake hump near the White Iron Beach resort, I've never found it but those with electronics seem to be able to. Further south, the lake narrows and there are a few rocks visible to the east off the main channel. They typically have a sea gull or two on them. Find the drop off from that structure. A bit further south again is Ring Rock.

On Farm, there is a weedy bay on the north end that you can see from the Silver Rapids docks. Some fun pike fishing in there but be very careful getting in there or you'll lose your prop on rocks. Just across Silver Rapids from the lodge's northern dock, up against the rock wall, is usually good for a breakfast sized walleye. Further east where Garden and Farm join, there is a small island with some structure that can be good. In the main lake, there's a mid-lake hump that I found even without electronics and caught 5 different species in one evening.

Never had much luck in Garden. Couple of deep spots/rock walls on the south bank as you head east from where it joins with Farm is about all I can say about it.

Also, you can always rent a canoe from in town or maybe across the Silver Rapids bridge where Canoe Country is collocated with Pine Point Resort and then tow it up to the EP31 entry with your boat. There's usually a small bouy marking the line of the BWCA in the water. The north shore has a small point of land that has a a good area to tie up your boat out of view of any other boat traffic and day trip up the North Kawishiwi. Some good fishing within an hour or so paddle.

JD

Excellent, thanks guys.

Yeah, the reef out from the beach resort (where we stayed) is very easy to find if you've got a lakemaster chip in your screen like we did. :) Never did great there but some bass and pike on top of it. Our best northern/bass spot was the large bay......have to check google maps for direction....ok not easy to describe. Near the "ring rock" mentioned earlier which is narrows between the two halves of white iron. If you look @ white iron as a whole it sort of looks like 2 main halves. Right in the middle at the narrows is a bay that sticks out to the NW. Mostly 10' or less if i recall and we were tossing spinnerbaits and stuff up in the weeds and rocks near shore