As I sit here and write this, it is -31 (without wind chill) here in Ely Minnesota. I didn't get out for BWCA trout opener, so I guess I am just going to have to settle for last year's epic trip up the gunflint. I love being in the woods for super cold weather, but I really do miss being out on the ice during those long and sunny March days. Enjoy Part 3!



Lake Trout Ice Fishing Winter Camping Part 3

You had a pretty good attitude about that time out on Mountain! That wind was whipping through. Overall it seemed like a pretty productive trip for you guys! No giants but some nice eaters and fairly consistent action. I stayed on West Pike back in Sept 2019 and couldn't hook into anything but a little smallmouth, but due to wind and cold drizzle we didn't have many opportunities to go out fishing. I hope to head back to try again some day!

Wind and cold drizzle?!?! That's the perfect time to go lake trout fishing!!! I do find that those lake trout dominated lakes are really tough to fish if the lakers are not cooperating. I am guessing lake trout heavy lakes are not likely to hold significant populations of the other game species. They are apex predators, and I am assuming they do not like the competition...

Yea, Mountain was tough, mostly because our lines keep icing up, which resulted in a few lost fish. The air temps were still hovering around 20 above, so it wasn't too bitterly cold. We were happy to get back to a sheltered corner of Clearwater to finish the day...I don't think I could have stayed out there exposed all day long.

We went out looking for monsters, but are not surprised we didn't find any. I think we caught 3 over 24" and lost a big one at the hole which would have been 25-27" which are a pretty good size considering the size of lakes we were on and the fishing pressure they get during the open water season. I was happy we caught so many year classes, shows reproduction/stocking efforts are going well

Yeah, the conditions might have been conducive to fish biting, but we didn't get anything when we went out, trolling deep divers and tried some jigging spoons. It was my girlfriend's first BWCA trip ever and I didn't quite have it in me to ask her to go out and rough it on semi-big water in adverse conditions (and deep down I think I didn't have it in me to go out either). I was just a little surprised we didn't hook into anything but a single fish from the campsite you stayed at - we must have put in 1000 casts between the 2 of us over 3 days with every lure I had. Such a beautiful point, it would have been great to catch something other than a 10" smallie from it.

I am slightly surprised you didn't find something in the 30" range considering the size of fish the DNR has sampled from that area, but they _are_ big lakes and the fish can be spread out. I do agree though that the variety of year classes bodes well for the fisheries. Maybe I'll try again as my first solo trip up there this fall. Something about the grand beauty and isolation of that area brings out a sort of melancholy in me, and part of me wants to embrace it fully and really explore that feeling, and the other part of me would rather share the joy of canoe country in autumn with someone as I always do. We'll see...

Hoping to see some big ones from the ice from you this season! Gotta live vicariously through someone...

Jd and Eric, thought you might appreciate a story from when I stayed on that campsite around 9 years ago with my 14 year old son. Great site, loved it, we were there last few days of May first few days of June. Fishing wasn't fast by any means but we did catch a number of lakers. We had 3 on our stringer off the campsite waiting to be filleted for dinner. I was messing around at the fire and my son heard splashing down by the stringer so he went to check it out. He yells up that there is a huge fish eating our fish. I run down and there is a huge pike that has engulfed a 3 pound lake trout with just the head of the trout sticking out of its mouth. We slowly pull up on the stringer and the pike lets go and swims away. We cooked up 2 of those lakers that night and were planning on leaving the other on the stringer and eating the other one for dinner the next night, the stringer was empty in the morning. Fun times, great memories.

Peregrine: "Jd and Eric, thought you might appreciate a story from when I stayed on that campsite around 9 years ago with my 14 year old son. Great site, loved it, we were there last few days of May first few days of June. Fishing wasn't fast by any means but we did catch a number of lakers. We had 3 on our stringer off the campsite waiting to be filleted for dinner. I was messing around at the fire and my son heard splashing down by the stringer so he went to check it out. He yells up that there is a huge fish eating our fish. I run down and there is a huge pike that has engulfed a 3 pound lake trout with just the head of the trout sticking out of its mouth. We slowly pull up on the stringer and the pike lets go and swims away. We cooked up 2 of those lakers that night and were planning on leaving the other on the stringer and eating the other one for dinner the next night, the stringer was empty in the morning. Fun times, great memories."

Wow! I've heard of turtles, otters, mink, etc., taking advantage of an easy meal left on a stringer on shore but never another fish! That was one hungry pike!

That's a new one for me as well. I'd be pretty sad considering having to work for those lakers! At least you got to eat 2 of them... I had a couple walleyes taken from me last year by some massive snapping turtles. I watch my stringer pretty religiously now. :)

Planning a trip into Basswood lake.
Is there a good location for Lake trout?

There's a good thread on here somewhere about fishing Basswood for lakers. You really have to go to the Canadian side for good lake trout fishing (North Bay), but you can get into some on the US side if you know where to look. There is deep water in Bailey bay right by the border that would hold lakers year-round and the area north of Washington Island up to US point should be good. Very hard to get to in the winter without a dogsled team