For those of you out there who enjoy bass fishing in the BWCA... wondering if you could give me any lake or area recommendations. I will be taking my 11 year old on our annual trip and he really enjoys catching bass. Action of the fishing is what he enjoys more than size of fish he is catching!

We try to go the earliest we can in June as soon as school is out and usually spend four nights. We have gone on the Ely side and Gunflint side so that doesn't matter too much.

Looking forward to your thoughts, and thanks in advance!
Brian

With an 11 year old I would assume you would not want to go too far in... If bass is the main species to target and you go in early June you can't really go wrong and will do well on most lakes. Because you ask I will give you a suggestion on each side. On the Ely side I would suggest the Gabbro lake area. It will be busy but there are a lot of campsites and different routes and areas to focus on. The two entry points that access this area would be Little Gabbro and South Kawishwi. Not sure how much you want to work but if you go North to the Kawishwi River you will find moving water and concentrated fish that time of year. Otherwise, going East to Gabbro has good fishing but it will be packed. If you are willing to work harder you can probably escape some crowds by exploring the lakes North of Bald eagle lake.

On the Gunflint side I would suggest Lizz and Swamp lake (Poplar lake EP). A couple easy portages to get to some real good fishing lakes and is in a high moose density area with a good chance to see one. The good lakes in this area for SMB are Caribou, Gaskin, Hensen, Pillsbery, and Meeds. Horseshoe and Vista are nice lakes but better for Walleye.

Clearwater entry to Caribou Lake and snag a campsite there or the 5 star on Little Caribou. Caribou is a good fishing lake, very good smallies and some walleyes too. Bonus daytrip to Johnson Falls which is one of the prettiest spots in the BWCA. Can do out and back or a loop down through Alder if you are willing to do a mile hike back to the car on the last day.

Another good thought...enter Homer Lake and camp on Vern. Good fishing for nice smallies, eyes and Pike. Take a daytrip and explore up the Vern River for beautiful scenery and some excellent fishing too for both eyes and smallies. I am impressed with this area for the fishing and it is an easy entry with decent campsites. For a short trip with an 11 year old I think it could be perfect.

Trip report if you are interested...


Homer Lake entry, smallies and scenery

good luck

Brian,

BWfishingfanatic12 provided a rock solid suggestion regarding the Gabbro/Bald Eagle area. I sent you an email with a specific recommendation for this area.

Dave

Honestly I feel like there are bass just about everywhere in the BWCA. Take your pick

First week of June can be hit or miss. I'd wait till the 2nd or 3rd week to find them on the beds.

Following/piggie backing.

My family is going to be spending a week up on the GFT from June 10 - June 17. We are staying on Loon Lake.

Looking for good lakes for smallies and walleye to fish with the boys (8 and 10 year olds). A Laker or two would be a bonus.

Also looking for lake or two where I can wander off (portage) by myself, and the leave the kiddos with mom. LOL

I have a ton of lakes eyed-up:
Iron lake + Little Iron
Tucker
Aspen
Northern Light Lake
Clearwater (yak rentals for the kids)
Bearskin - PT to Duncan or Daniels
East Bearskin (yak rentals for the kids)
Flour - (yak rental for the kids)

Also looking at:
Leo
Mink
Kimball

Has anyone ever fished Mayhew or Birch? Looks like they might be a bit difficult to get on the water. Would it be worth the effort to bushwhack my way in.

Would love thoughts if these are even worth our time. Am I missing anything? Sags? Gull? Is that worth paddling in a bit with the kids for fishing?

We're newbs to the area, so thanks for the help.

BWfishingfanatic12: "With an 11 year old I would assume you would not want to go too far in... If bass is the main species to target and you go in early June you can't really go wrong and will do well on most lakes. Because you ask I will give you a suggestion on each side. On the Ely side I would suggest the Gabbro lake area. It will be busy but there are a lot of campsites and different routes and areas to focus on. The two entry points that access this area would be Little Gabbro and South Kawishwi. Not sure how much you want to work but if you go North to the Kawishwi River you will find moving water and concentrated fish that time of year. Otherwise, going East to Gabbro has good fishing but it will be packed. If you are willing to work harder you can probably escape some crowds by exploring the lakes North of Bald eagle lake.


On the Gunflint side I would suggest Lizz and Swamp lake (Poplar lake EP). A couple easy portages to get to some real good fishing lakes and is in a high moose density area with a good chance to see one. The good lakes in this area for SMB are Caribou, Gaskin, Hensen, Pillsbery, and Meeds. Horseshoe and Vista are nice lakes but better for Walleye. "

Are there smallies in Swamp and Caribou? I haven't seen them listed. I've only seen Pike, Walleye and Perch for either of these two lakes.

I have never fished or paddled through Swamp so can't help you there. Did not fish Caribou much but we did catch both Walleye and Smallmouth.

For pure numbers, I have never seen anything better than Daniels. That was a mid August trip, and all of them were less than 12” in the shallows, but they were aggressive and fun.

I’m also looking for recommendations for lakes that have the Daniels condition of too many stunted SMB. The ones that are usually annoying to “adult” anglers but that the kids love. We want to go to the Ely side this year, but my kids are requesting Daniels-style fishing after a more mixed bag of larger fish but lower numbers last year. I’ve been searching past posts, but might not be using the right keywords.

How much of a wilderness experience are you looking for? You can camp on Moose lake near Ely and get decent action fishing on the chain without having to portage much. Only disadvantage are the motors, if that kind of thing will bother you. If you go through Moose, you can get away from the motors with a portage to Splash/Ensign route, or go up through Wind. You can stay on Wind, or portage over to Indiana/Basswood.