Clearwater Lake, north of Emo

[Brad N]

Does anyone have any info about this lake? We booked a cabin for my wife & Parents for mid June.

We've never been there before so I'm just looking for any info about the fish & lake.

Thanks in advance,

Brad

[LMFlyin]

Which camp are you staying at?

[Brad N]

Voyageurs Wilderness Lodge

[superbee]

Clearwater is just past our place and is on the Pipestone chain of lakes. Clearwater has some big fish, but is tougher fishing. If you are an experienced fisherman you should do pretty good in June. The better walleye fishing on Clearwater is close to Voyuegers. If you are having a tougher time with the eyes, go over the South portage and fish those lakes. They are easier walleye fishing lakes. Most of the camps on the South end of Clearwater fish walleyes down there. Pipestone has some real good fihing, but the best fishing is on the North end of the lake.

[Brad N]

Thanks for the advice. Is there any type of map for the lake showing depths (paper or chip)?

Thanks,

Brad

[superbee]

There are no contour maps for any of the lakes on the Clearwater/Pipestone chain.

[NoWiser]

Take a day and head up to Pipestone to chase some lakers. Last year I was up there in late June, and trolling dipsy divers that went down about 50 feet with gold spoons behind was very effective. We had good fishing on both the north and south end of Pipestone. If you are interested in smallies when you are up there, check out Slender Lake just across the portage, that can be very good topwater action at times, and is close.

I have only fished Clearwater for a total of about an hour, and that was last May. We found a rockpile in the middle of the lake and casted jigs with Gulp minnows and caught smallmouth one after another, some northerns, and a muskie.

You will have a blast! That area up there simply awesome! You may never take another fishing vacation anywhere else!!! Let us know how you do!

[Brad N]

Thanks for all the info. Another question, are the portages a hassle to use for a first timer? also what is the cost?

Thanks,

Brad

[aprowl]

the portages are easy, last year they cost 20.00 round trip...

[jt24]

I've been up to clearwater the last two years and its been good fishing. Mid June should be excellent fishing unless its a cooler year like last year. Was alittle tougher but we still caught plenty of fish. It seemed that everything was about 2 weeks behind because of the cooler spring. If the weather is normal trolling big rapalas when its cloudy is very productive. The lake is really clear so finding walleyes during the day especially when its sunny is pretty tough. Portaging south like what was suggested is a better option. We went to pipestone 2 days but only 1 laker. It was our first time fishing for them so it wasnt a total loss. Should be a great time!

[GunDr]

This will be my 14th year going to Clearwater-Pipestone. I try to make at least three trips a year...Jan, May, Oct. (4.5 hour drive for me). One year I went 6 times,

Clearwater was a tough lake to figure out, but now fish it almost exclusively. We do take a few day trips up Pipestone, and to the lower end..Jackfish.

I've landed a few muskies over 30lbs, one walleye at 12lbs and many 8-10 lbs, and several pike at 18-20 lbs on Clearwater.

The most amazing sight I saw one year was an early spring trout trip on the far end of Pipestone (Shistole Lake). The walleyes were in full spawning mode. They were laying around like suckers in a creek. At night, the spot light would light up their eyes like thousands of reflectors.

Since I was a little tike, my dad would take me to Vermillion Bay (Eagle Lake), we then got into bear hunting and hunted out of Redditt (north of Kenora) and fish the English river and surrounding lakes. The Clearwater-Pipestone chain has them both beat.

Another nice thing about the chain is that if bad weather comes in and catches you, there's plenty of sheltered bays for safety.

I love it there and look forward to every trip.

Doug

[aprowl]

GunDr

Where do you stay when your on clear water,when are you going up next...

[GunDr]

I have a friend that has a place on the shores of Clearwater. I think my next trip is on Mother's day weekend. We like to rent an outpost camp on the far north end of Pipestone during the early trout.

My buddy and I prefer there still be a few icy spots....end of April or the very first part of May. Mother's Day gets a little late for us. We like to fish for lakers from the shore with frozen ciscos and sit back and play cards, eat shore-lunches, and discuss how we would solve the World's problems(haha). Because we have between 6-8 guys this year, scheduling everyone's time off, we ended up with this weekend.

[Brad N]

I just wanted to say thanks to everyone for the help & tips. We got back this past Monday & had a great time!! We caught a lot of walleyes (after we figured out they do not bite from 7am-7pm, at least for us)

My wife & I took my parents with us. My mom has never been walleye fishing before & on Saturday she caught her first, a 12"er. A few hours later she caught her second, a 29" pig that she release after a couple pictures. She had a blast.

I caught a small mouth bass & we saw a couple muskies around a rock pile but we weren't fishing for them but they were about a 30" & a 48".

The resort was more than we expected. Veru nice people that would do anything for you. We are definetly going back next year, probably for a full week.

Thanks again,

Brad