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Boundary Waters Quetico Forum :: Fishing Forum :: Best Walleye fishing lake?
 
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timatkn
06/29/2022 08:38AM
 
You know I try to go somewhere different every year…there is just no way to pick one lake.


One early fall I have fond memories on Insula picking up walleyes suspended at 22’ in 30 feet of water. I brought a co worker who hadn’t fished much and he thought they were easier to catch than bluegills…I suspect it wasn’t always that easy…and the first day we only caught a couple before we patterned them.


I always catch nice walleyes on Basswood when I am returning home from Canada. Never fails, troll on the way out to Prairie for the tow. Has to be a Great Lake to target.


I always troll Disappointment as I pass though on the way out and am never disappointed.


One mid-summer in 2007 my wife and I had the most miserable trip ever…constant sheets of rain, if it wasn’t raining the mosquitos were as thick as the rain, but for a brief moment a reef on Fraser produced walleye after walleye. 2 small ones sacrificed themselves for our fish meal that week and one of the most appreciated meals of my life.


Are these great walleye lakes? Who knows…judging lakes is such a personal thing.


T
 
Hammertime
07/04/2022 10:10PM
 
There are exceptions (which people would not give up on a public forum) but if you want a trophy you need to fish a big lake.


If you’re looking for any easy meal your best bet is to find and smallish lake with walleyes in it a few portages in. There are much fewer places for them to hide.
 
sconnie84
07/04/2022 10:23PM
 
Are there any lakes that are 5+ portages in that you would recommend? I am taking a kid on his 1st trip. He wants to do a bunch of portages and I'm hoping we catch a bunch of fish so he wants to go back... If you don't want to post your lake on here for the masses to see, feel free to shoot me an email as well.
 
jwmiller39
07/05/2022 08:32AM
 
sconnie84: "Are there any lakes that are 5+ portages in that you would recommend? I am taking a kid on his 1st trip. He wants to do a bunch of portages and I'm hoping we catch a bunch of fish so he wants to go back... If you don't want to post your lake on here for the masses to see, feel free to shoot me an email as well. "


Crooked or any of the border lakes mentioned above fit the bill. They take some work to get to but there is great walleye fishing to be had.
 
WhiteWolf
06/26/2022 11:31PM
 
You're going to get little answer to this question when it comes to smaller lakes for good reason. Some of the obvious are in bigger lakes - Crooked, Insula, Knife, Brule, Iron, LLC and the motor lakes such as Basswood and Sag. I would suggest you check out the MN DNR web page Lake Finder under "Fishery Report" and go from there.

Some that are clearly stated on social media nowadays (but weren't 15 years ago or so) were Stuart and Malberg. Others I will keep off social media to protect them even if they are more than a day's travel to and from an entry point. Ask in an email is better than on here is my two cents if you want some others "so off the beaten path, or not known". Plenty of them.

The beauty is finding them on your own. Generally speaking, walleyes are better for both numbers and size on the Ely side compared to the Grand Marias side. That's just me as I know some on the Ely side that I personally haven't fished that are said to be just as good, if not better, than those listed above. Enjoy the process!!! It's half the fun!!
 
bruleman
07/02/2022 10:12AM
 
Son with 30" walleye, last week on Sag.
 
MidwestMan
06/28/2022 04:37PM
 
bobbernumber3: "shock: "there are few good one's as WW stated , knife is definitely one of them. i feel seagull is a bit underrated and Saganaga is a bit over rated as it has seen it's better fishing days in the past , not to say a person cant catch a hog in Sag. it just has seen it's share of fishing pressure."

Get outta the main corridor on Sag. "



That’s a hog and a pretty rad picture! Very nice!
 
sconnie84
06/28/2022 09:51PM
 
Great info here, thanks for sharing.


Yeah, I knew that most would not give their "go to" lake out but figured it may still produce some good info... I should have asked for everyone's 4th best walleye fishing lake instead!
 
Me2012
07/04/2022 06:40PM
 
bruleman: " Son with 30" walleye, last week on Sag. "


Caught many nice eyes on Brule.
 
bobbernumber3
06/27/2022 01:49PM
 
shock: "there are few good one's as WW stated , knife is definitely one of them. i feel seagull is a bit underrated and Saganaga is a bit over rated as it has seen it's better fishing days in the past , not to say a person cant catch a hog in Sag. it just has seen it's share of fishing pressure."

Get outta the main corridor on Sag.
 
jwettelrin89
06/27/2022 03:18PM
 
There are so many good ones, but I think it's unlikely anyone will give you their best lake. Maybe they'd give you their 4th or 5th best lake, but favorite lakes are rarely shared and I'm not going to post mine by name.


I will say that the entire border route is phenomenal and my favorite lake was already mentioned. anywhere from Sag to LLC and everywhere in between is pretty good.
 
timatkn
07/04/2022 10:48AM
 
bruleman: " Son with 30" walleye, last week on Sag. "


Nice!
 
AmarilloJim
07/05/2022 08:30AM
 
Knife, Crooked
 
Savage Voyageur
06/27/2022 02:46PM
 
Depends on what you call “Best”. Are you talking about fishing for trophy size fish, or catching eater size walleye all day long. Some lakes you can catch fish almost every 5 minutes but they are eater size. Other lakes you can fish hard all day long and only catch one big one. So quality or quantity?
 
sconnie84
06/26/2022 11:15PM
 
I was curious to see what everyone views as the best walleye fishing lake in the BWCA?
 
shock
06/27/2022 05:45AM
 
there are few good one's as WW stated , knife is definitely one of them. i feel seagull is a bit underrated and Saganaga is a bit over rated as it has seen it's better fishing days in the past , not to say a person cant catch a hog in Sag. it just has seen it's share of fishing pressure.