I've always done very well with the other of the Big 3 species of fish, but Lakers not so well. Have hooked a few nice ones that I've lost and have fished hard with minimal results. Usually end up giving up and going after something else. I stay on the US side since it's easier logistically us and for the people I go with. Any lakes anyone want to point me towards that has a lot of "Stupid" Lake trout just begging to be caught? Thanks in advance! TW

ozarkpaddler,
For me, the BWCA lake with the highest number of easy to catch trout is Kekekabic. Trout are all over the lake, up down and sided to side, and easy to catch all summer long. The average size is pretty small, like 1 to 2 pounds, but it is full of them. But of course there are very big fish that roam in there, just not very many of them relative to other lakes. Just trolling down the middle of Kek in June, July, or August should produce 30 fish days with ease. I would recommend trolling a small sutton spoon 3 feet behind 2 or 3oz of sinker. Simple, but effective. Lots of other spoons will work, but thinner suttons let you troll really slow while still providing good action. A rule of thumb about lake trout speed, especially for big females, is if the spoon is rotating you are trolling too fast. Sometimes speed kills for small fish, but almost never for big ones. Good luck!

The easiest way to catch lakers is to go opening weekend. They are shallow and fairly easy to catch in lakes that hold lakers. Email sent.

Good advice so far. If you ever plan to trip by yourself and with one or two others, you might consider some Quetico areas as well. I'd be more than happy to help you via email.

Thanks, guys! Have taken a few May trips specifically after lakers and still had bad luck. Have even done well at times with stream trout, but lakers I just have bad luck with. Went to West Pike with a good friend who was a retired fisheries biologist last May. He even had bad luck thanks to my luck "Rubbing off" on him (LOL)! Thanks for the imfo. Haven't been to The Tuscarora/Little Sag area in years. Maybe 2011 is time to revisit? I sure love those lakers, and would like to catch more this year! TW

The tusc little sag area should be better for lakers. West Pike has nice fish but is at times more difficult to fish than some other laker lakes.

To me no other fish symbolizes the bwca, especially the eastern bwca more than lake trout. They usually inhabit cold deep beautiful lakes and are a mysterious fish. I have no problem at all giving advice on techniques but when it comes to locations I only mention the big lakes that they are in, because they are a fragile ecosystem that can be ruined in a hurry with overharvest. Luckily theres pretty good regs on Lakers and it seems to be helping their numbers.

If you are up for a little work, try Jap lake (renamed now?). Its one heck of a portage from Seagull, but it was worth the work on a early season trip one year. We even caught some topwater at dusk!

quote togue: " West Pike has nice fish but is at times more difficult to fish than some other laker lakes. "

Very true.

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/fishing/trout_lakes/list.html

A good place to start would be the MN DNR web page. They have a list of trout lakes by county.

Sorry couldn't get the link to work.

TB

I agree 100 percent with you bass pro to me the lake trout is a wilderness icon and represents clean water and all wilderness aspects. Makes you feel more wilderness like. I too would like to give more specific trout locations,but the little lakes are to precious and little pressure can affect them. Also that is a big part of the wilderness experience,exploring been chasing lake trout for 40 some years now and love finding new lakes to fish probably more than sitting at one lake catching a lot of fish. Slowing down a little,but I use to paddle 20 miles to see if a lake had lake trout, once I fished it and maybe caught a few or two, I was ready to move on. Good luck on the trout fishing to all.

quote Basspro69: "To me no other fish symbolizes the bwca, especially the eastern bwca more than lake trout. They usually inhabit cold deep beautiful lakes and are a mysterious fish. I have no problem at all giving advice on techniques but when it comes to locations I only mention the big lakes that they are in, because they are a fragile ecosystem that can be ruined in a hurry with overharvest. Luckily theres pretty good regs on Lakers and it seems to be helping their numbers."

I can appreciate you and Pintree's sentiments. I feel the same way. I've often given advice on fishing (not LAKERS, LOL) but left out specific sites on a forum. These BWCAW lakes, especially Lake trout lakes, are not fertile lakes with an infinite supply of fish. That's why I am satisfied with 1-2 fish meals a trip and mostly "Catch & release."

It's just funny, that the one fish I would love to catch more of has been so elusive to me! I recall one instance many years ago when the biggest fish of my life, a Laker, was a mere 10' away from me. I was looking for my net, trying to keep the line taught. Net was in my friends canoe, the trout rolled one last time and the line snapped! That is how it's been most of the time with Lake Trout and I; almost, but no cigar!

I've heard that Jap Lake portage is a "Booger," but I've heard it's also a very pretty lake. Maybe a route worth considering would start at Round and finish up Jap to Seagull? This May, a Lake trout quest is my mission! TW

You can add Mountain, Tuscarora, Daniels, Gillis, and South to the list of lakes with a lot of small trout looking for an easy meal. Mountain is similar to Kekekabic in that the lake is full of little fish but also produces an occasional monster despite the lack of forage. A few fish must get a jump on the rest of their year class and grow big feeding on other trout.

Hey OP,
You are not alone! Others of us are out there too, just afraid to admit it here. Me, I have no excuses other than when my kids were in school, it was never a good time to take a trip in May or early June. I had a good chance last year on Knife, but a bad cold front went through and they stayed on the bottom at 70 ft plus.

Ozark I like your thought process and from this forums post it is scary most of us have much of the same ideas.

quote PINETREE: "Ozark I like your thought process and from this forums post it is scary most of us have much of the same ideas."

Heheheheh, thinking like me IS scary (LOL)! To date, I've struck out or lost at the boat Lakers on Sag, Rose, Daniels, Mountain, North, South, Gunflint, Clearwater, West Pike. I've been to other lake trout spots like Little Sag and Tuscarora but not fished because we were just passing through. Thanks all for the ideas! Hope to break that trend this year! TW

Go to Moss in May, put on a 1/4 ounce little cleo with a good snap swivel and 8 pound line, sharpen the hooks until they stick into the top of your fingernail, and run the shoreline staying out as far as you can and still cast relatively close to shore, and then show me all the pictures of the ( many) lakers you released, because there will be many .This isnt a big fish pattern but it is a Im gooooooona catch some lakers pattern .

Also looking for a good trout lake in BWCA. Only caught one trout in all my canoe trips and that was in Quetico and was that a great breakfast meal!! SURE Would like to find a good trout lake(s) in BWCA and am willing to go in May or early June. WHERE IS MOSS LAKE??? - unable to locate in my reference books ? Jap lake-Seagull portage is one of toughest portages according to ref books. Has anyone tried Cherokee or Frost for trout? Planning a trip thre in early June. - Thnks

Moss lake ? Is this South of Duncan and North of Hungry Jack ? North of gunflint trail. Not in BWCA then - just south of BWCA.

YEP Its a non bwca lake but is a very good lake trout lake with carry in access .

Thanks, Basspro et al!

R U familiar with Moss? Is Moss accessible via a boat and motor? Is there a public boat ramp/landing? Or is it only accessible via canoe? Looks like about a 120 R trail from Hungry Jack road (true/false?) Is there a lot of activity on it, especially boats and large motors on it? Does it have any camp sites? Looks like close to Duncan and Birch.

one campsite on Moss,it gets heavy pressure in the winter and moderate amount in the summer especially early. I would think but do not know,there would only be small motors at most on that lake. No ramp present. It is a numbers lake with majority of fish small. It is a pretty little lake and I thinking about doing a day trip there this summer. If you want solitude,I would look elsewhere.

quote PINETREE: "one campsite on Moss,it gets heavy pressure in the winter and moderate amount in the summer especially early. I would think but do not know,there would only be small motors at most on that lake. No ramp present. It is a numbers lake with majority of fish small. It is a pretty little lake and I thinking about doing a day trip there this summer. If you want solitude,I would look elsewhere. "

Pine Tree hit the nail right on the head, thats my exact description of Moss.If you go early or late in the season you will run into few if any people, in the summer just depends when youre there. Moss isnt the biggest lake but I mention it because it gets alot of stocking help from the dnr and thus maintains a viable population, otherwise I wouldnt even mention a lake this size.

quote ozarkpaddler: "Thanks, Basspro et al!"

Anytime :-)