Northern Minnesota Advice

[djkoerbe]

My wife and I are I are planning a trip in September to N. MN. I have fished LOTWs out of Sioux Narrows for many years but have decided to stay south of the border this time. What recommendations can I get on the best Smallmouth Lake in N. MN as well as lodge/resort suggestions for the area? I have looked online at the following, Lake Kabetogama, Pelican Lake, Turtle Lake, and Birch Lake. What can I expect from these lakes? Smallmouths are my favorite but would also like to catch Walleye and Crappie if possible. Any advice would be appreciated.

[SledNeck]

Smallmouths are a little harder to catch in sept. In my experience Kab is pretty slow for bass as it is compared to other lakes...Ive fished it alot in sept...Fantastic big pike lake, but not so much for alot of bass action...(well not enough for me to spend time fishing it). Vermilion slows way down for smallies at the end of august. Sure you can hit bigger ones fishing deep or off the end of points, but not even remotely close to mid summer action. In my experience the smallmouth fishing on pelican slows when the lake weeds over. No problem for me, I just fish bucketmouths. When the water gets under a certain temp in sept the bass just shut down all together. The last good fishing day I had on pelican last sept was around the 8th. Thats about when the crappie fishing on that lake heats up.

[smnduck]

I will be in the Ely area next weekend. Any smallmouth tips? Shoot me a email, [email protected]