Heading up mid september and looking for fishing advice. Usually go to Polly and then to Malberg and love the fishing up there. But this year due to a bad back and a group of newbies, I am thinking of camping on Kawishiwi (I know that's lame) or other lake up to the north. I am primarily looking for good walleye fishing. I have only fished Kawishiwi passing through but have done pretty well. What about Square, Kawasachong, etc? Any suggestions appreciated.

I'm actually going in at the same spot, and same time (Sept 14th). I'm also bringing newbies, but I'm pushing them to malberg and beyond :-)

I have never been on those lakes in September. Fishing in August has been surprisingly easy, so September should be even better. I fished more on Kawasachong a few weeks ago than ever before. There is not a lot of structure in that lake, so the fish were fairly scattered. Trolling a crankbait that ran ~6' down in 9-10' of water produced 17-19" walleyes and pike without too much effort, even in mid-day as long as there was decent wind-chop to break up the sunlight. The water was somewhat stained, which lets the walleye move shallower and be more active during midday compared to some of the clear water lakes in the region.

According to MN DNR, Kawishiwi, Square and Kawasachong all have walleye, as well as pike and SMB. Also, all three lakes are relatively shallow (12 ft max), and about same size. I would think that time of year, those lakes will be cooling off faster than bigger, deeper lakes.....so the fall bite could be in full swing.

Lake Topo Map

Finding current and/or underwater structure would be my first places to start.

I am not qualified to give anyone fishing advice but I did take my two sons and a grandson to Kawishiwi a couple years ago for a similar reason to yours. I was unable to portage due to a bad hip.

I will tell you that we really enjoyed our trip. We have been on many BWCA trips over the decades but this was a first time to Kawishiwi Lake. For us the fishing was great in spite of our lack of expertise. We caught many walleye, bass, and pike.

Even though it is an entry lake it felt great to me. We did paddle the river to Square Lake and fished there for a couple hours but had no luck.

Tom, just wondering how your trip went?