So we usually do the Ely side, Iron, Crooked, LLC area. If we looked at the east side for fishing and getting away from people, where would you recommend? We usually spend seven days total, two days at each campsite. Anyone????

What species are you fishing for?

Smallies, walleye mainly

If you plan on going all the way to the end of the Gunflint there are a bunch of choices you can make. But for a 7-day paddle I will recomend one of my favorite loops.

Staring on Big Sagyou head down into Ottertrack Lake then hook into Ester and Hansen. Good fishing for smallies. It is a good area for seeing fewer people because most stick to the Ottertrack / Knife route. Staying a night or two on either Ester or Hansen will work great. When you depart, you can loop out via Hansen into Knife South Arm, Eddy, then over into Ogish, which also has good fishing. Then return to the end of the Gunflint via Alpine and Seagull.

The Smallies were biting hard in Alpine in August last year so I imagine they bite equally well all Summer long.

I am doing a solo in May from Seagull out to Ogish, then up through Hansen and Ottertrack, back down through Red Rock, Alpine, and then Seagull back out. I'm guessing it will take me 4-5 days if I stay 2 nights at one site. If I'm feeling froggy I'll probably extend that loop and go dip down into Kekabic then up through Knife to add a day. I suspect that would be a perfect 7 day loop with 2 nights per camp. Weather can be a factor on Seagull but there's a tow to the end of the motorized zone available which puts you pretty close to the portage.