Day 8: Last Day on Knife
Saturday, June 20th, 2026
After sawing firewood and eating breakfast, we leave the landing at 8:30 A.M., with the goal of catching as many Smallies as possible. We battle plenty of snags today, but also have some decent luck, catching 15 and 16” Smallmouths, as well as a 26” Northern. During a foolishly hopeful troll through deeper water between two bays, I finally luck into my best Smallmouth of the trip. Andrew gets the best view of this one, seeing it jump a full foot above the water behind me while I’m reeling it in. There’s less traffic on the lake today, but also slightly more wind and chop on the water. Periodically we toss the Choppo, searching for the topwater action we’ve been missing all week, but have no luck. As the day warms, the action dies down, and the waves pick up. Neither of us are looking forward to the long paddle back to camp, but know we have no choice but to start digging deep once again if we are to make it back for a leisurely final night at camp. After 48 minutes of steady, purposeful paddling, we pull into the landing, satisfied that we have given the South Arm of Knife our best shot in terms of fishing. When comparing this lake to any other we’ve fished, we both agree that while we haven’t caught as many fish, we’ve enjoyed how most of the fish we caught here have been of a decent size. Having the chance to catch the grand slam on a single lake is also fun, because you just never know what you’re going to find. And of course, we found several very nice fish this week, including one trophy fish. When coupled with a great campsite and the outstanding beauty of this lake, we are both very pleased that we made the effort to get here.

We have one bass on the stringer from the day, but upon further inspection, we can’t tell if it has eggs or not. After a successful week of fishing that included a fish dinner or two, we gladly let this one go as a way of thanking the South Arm for all it’s given us this week.

We enjoy a taco supper, and after listening to the evening weather report, we get out the maps to hash out the travel plan for tomorrow. Our plan is to camp on Ashdick just one night, getting there in plenty of time to set up and do some fishing. From there, we are both still gung-ho to take on the challenge of the portage from Ashdick into Swamp the following day, then paddling most of the way across Sag in what is forecast to be dry, calm weather. Andrew says he wants to like Sag, but that the lake has given him nothing but suffering the two times we’ve paddled on it, so he really wants to see if he can appreciate it when conditions are more amiable. Leaving just a short paddle for our exit day should result in a much easier drive home, so I also feel good about this plan, even though it requires leaving a day early.

We take down the tarp and manically organize every single item around camp to allow for a low-stress getaway tomorrow morning. Our plan is to paddle out at 5 A.M., so we turn into the hammocks while it’s still light out for one last time on this lake that has given us so much.

Stats—> Fishing time: 4:00 | Fish caught: 7 (6 SB, 1 NP) | Lakes: South Arm Knife | Top lures: Fat Albert Grub (green pumpkin), Perch X-Rap Deep