Hey Hey Hey heading in May 2th to base camp on South Temperance. Literally can't wait. Day trip down into Jack for one day trip and Wench for another. Will have two newbies and two 13 year old boys.

If you know of any "secret" spots and are willing to share, we are catch and release. Well, not 100% true, we will eat one or two. I have contour maps and google earth shots. Just can't wait, so excited to get back in there.

Thanks all, just had to post something. Can you tell I am wickedly excited to get in there?

Reading your post. Secret and willing to reveal does not compute. It took me years to find hot spots. I would not like to come up to a spot and not be able to fish it because I gave it away. Some things you never give up. A SECRET hot spot is one of those. That is just my opinion.

We were on South Temperance 2-3 years ago in late August and had a fish locator with us. We marked fish like crazy, but catching fish was tough, to say the least. We threw leeches, nightcrawlers, crankbaits, jigs... you name it. Just a tough bite. It was quite sunny and warm so I'm sure that had something to do with it.

Bring all of the above baits and look for reefs, humps, points, etc. and get after it. You'll find success. At least enough to eat.

And Wallyworld is right about folks being tight-lipped about fishing hot spots. Generally the worst way to get folks to share fishing information is to ask them point blank for their hot spots. Find the areas stated above, fish hard and you should be eating shorelunch.

Hey thanks for the note, I appreciate your opinion and get it. I am more of the if someone asks me of the lakes I know in the BWCA or see them on a portage and they ask, I let them know what I know. my philosophy is I want them to have as good a trip as they can, it is the BWCA not a ton of pressure, really no daily limits being taken out, fish and time of year of the trip has a big impact, so for me, I am okay with giving up what I know. However, I know it is a personal decision and everyone has the right to their own. Again I do appreciate your note and if you are going in this year I hope you have a great trip.

Thanks for the note, we will throw as much at them as we can and work what should be the most logical spots hopefully at the right times. If you are going in this year i wish you a super trip!

Just an FYI: Stu profiled all the BWCA lakes by species to illustrate where one could fish for each of these (walleye, pike, SM and LT). You could look up each specific article on the BWJ site and purchase whichever you want to add to your research. Each of those write-ups may still yield some useful clues as to where and when to go after them. JF already outlined the "how" :)

I also don't post my hot spots online. There are multiple reasons, the top 2 would be fishing pressure and dealing with other people.

Fishing spots are like campsites. You can have a real nice one, but if it gets too popular people can over use it, cut back too much, and compact the dirt so nothing grows. Fishing spots can be overfished too.

The other reason is because I don't want to be fishing right next to someone else on a popular lake like South Temperance. I've had it before where you are fishing in a spot and someone pulls up close enough to get your lines crossed.

Also, it takes effort to find fish. Getting a hot spot from some random person online is just cheating.

Scott,

I'm happy to share with anybody taking kids into the BWCA. Shoot me an email and I'll share my honeyholes with ya.

Chris

Chris, your email is not noted on your profile. Mine is scott@mnhomes.com

Also, so you know my position on fishing spots in the BWCA, this is how I responded to the others

"Hey thanks for the note, I appreciate your opinion and get it. I am more of the if someone asks me of the lakes I know in the BWCA or see them on a portage and they ask, I let them know what I know. my philosophy is I want them to have as good a trip as they can, it is the BWCA not a ton of pressure, really no daily limits being taken out, fish and time of year of the trip has a big impact, so for me, I am okay with giving up what I know. However, I know it is a personal decision and everyone has the right to their own. Again I do appreciate your note and if you are going in this year I hope you have a great trip."

As noted there are so many variables (weather, time of year ..), and the lack of pressure, and no one is taking out daily limits. So I appreciate any information that may help us.

There are some common misconceptions about BWCA fisheries.

1. The lakes are far less productive than farther south. Some BWCA trout lakes only produce about 4 pounds of fish per acre/year. A southern Minnesota lake might produce over 200 pounds of fish per acre/year.

2. Many BWCA lakes do receive a significant amount of pressure---especially easily-accessed lakes with many campsites that are mostly occupied all summer.
Some lakes handle the pressure better than others, but there is a reason lakes north of the border in Quetico have better fishing and produce a lot more large fish.

3. The winter lake trout harvest on some/most trout lakes off the Gunflint Trail in recent years has been more than these lakes can sustain over the long term. Social media and numerous articles promoting lake trout fishing is a big part of the problem.

Chris, your email is not noted on your profile. Mine is scott@mnhomes.com

Chuckles: "Scott,


I'm happy to share with anybody taking kids into the BWCA. Shoot me an email and I'll share my honeyholes with ya.


Chris
"

I had some success with Walleyes around the islands in the SE corner. Landed a nice on near a rock that resembles Homer Simpson's head in the channel near the SE Campsite.

arctic: "The winter lake trout harvest on some/most trout lakes off the Gunflint Trail in recent years has been more than these lakes can sustain over the long term. Social media and numerous articles promoting lake trout fishing is a big part of the problem."

I’d love to see the research and data that supports this statement. Im not saying it’s not true or challenging you in any way, but I haven’t read this anywhere myself so I am truly curious.

thegildedgopher: "

arctic: "The winter lake trout harvest on some/most trout lakes off the Gunflint Trail in recent years has been more than these lakes can sustain over the long term. Social media and numerous articles promoting lake trout fishing is a big part of the problem."

I’d love to see the research and data that supports this statement. Im not saying it’s not true or challenging you in any way, but I haven’t read this anywhere myself so I am truly curious."

Contact the DNR fisheries office in Grand Marais and get in contact with the recently retired area fisheries supervisor, Steve Parsons. He's an expert on the lake trout fisheries in the area, and has been for a long time.

There was a rock....near the shore....and may have had weeds nearby. That's all i remember ;)