Planning a Trip

[TrophyEyes]

I am planning a open water Muskie/Pike/Walleye trip and I would like some suggestions. I would like it a bit more remote so Mille Lacs and some of the other lakes around Minnesota are not all that desirable. Lakes that we are considering are Lake of the Woods out of Totem Lodge, Lac Suel, Wolleston (no muskies), but are there any others that I may be missing for some big fish?

[mainbutter]

Are you able to consider places outside of MN? There's a number of great musky lakes just across the border in Ontario.

[TrophyEyes]

Absolutely. I would rather be outside of Minnesota. I really would love to be in the middle of no where if at all possible.

[10,000 Casts]

how about the Angle? Or Sabaskong? Vermillion would be a good bet next year. Lac Suel or Eagle would be sweet.

Look up Canyon Lake in Ontario. It's a drive in Lake that has a ton of 40" fish. I don't remember if it has walleyes in it but I know that it is a really good #'s lake.

[10,000 Casts]

Canyon does have Walleyes.

I almost booked a trip there last year and it looks like a sweet lake. The resorts were booked on opener so we went to the Lower Manitou which isn't the best Muskie lake and it doesn't have walleyes, but the Lakers were unbelievable.

[brmuskie]

Most NW Ontario lakes have great fishing and scenery. From the examples you listed (on tv shows and magazine ads), I assume you don't know much about NW Ontario or the options available there. If you are comfortable with huge bodies of water, you could pick any lake that brags about good fishing and have a blast. If you aren't sure what really big water is like - I would recomend finding a smaller not so famous lake and resort. Your vacation will be a little less stressful. Check out the Sunset Country HSOforum and send for their free map and vacation guide. There are a lot of resorts that advertised in there that you could contact to see if they have what you want. I can't think of a bad musky lake in NW Ontario. Some have more fish or are more well known but there are a lot of really good musky lakes in that area.

[WollMan]

Lac Suel is my vote, it is big water but on the East side there are a lot of places to get out of the wind and go to other lakes. look for some of the small Indian lodges in the area and enjoy.

[superbee]

Pipestone Lake may be what you are looking for. It has walleye, northern, muskie, lake trout, smallmouth. It is a boat in lake accessed by a mechanical rail portage. It has some BIG muskies and offers some good walleye fishing with excellent trophy potentail. We have an outpost cabin located there and you can get more info from our HSOforum or email me.

[Croix]

how about the Angle? Or Sabaskong? Vermillion would be a good bet next year. Lac Suel or Eagle would be sweet.

Look up Canyon Lake in Ontario. It's a drive in Lake that has a ton of 40" fish. I don't remember if it has walleyes in it but I know that it is a really good #'s lake.

Hey, do you mind me asking you a few Q's about Canyon, my email is below. Thanks!

[email protected]

[b1gf1sh1]

The Saint Lawrence River gets my vote. Muskegon Bay would be another choice. no, i've never been to either but i'm planning on both only because of the amount of study i've done on dozens of potential destinations. these were a toss up as the best i found. Muskegon has major pro's but comes in second only because i'd be forced to hire a trained fish finder (a guide), don't get me wrong, i have a lot of respect for what they/you do i just like doing it myself. more rewarding i'd think. the sheer size makes a guide nessassary not to mention a boat actually made for the waters. but if it was me planning the perfect trip i'd pick one of these just for the CHANCE at the real ''HER''. Chippewa ranks up there but i'm too afraid the cat's out of the bag there. there might be better but i've not heard hide nor hair of it.

[TrophyEyes]

I am still considering all the options. I just am thinking that because my parents will be with us, the accomodations and ease of getting out if needed would be paramount. My dad and I lost a close friend when he had a heart attack on a fishing trip that they could not fly out of. I will be honest, that is the way I want to go. He was with his best friend on a fishing trip of a lifetime. Either way it freaked my dad out. We are really leaning towards LOTW at Totem. I have no problem with a big lake.