Sawbill Lake area BWCA.

[bmc]

Some buddies and I are headed up to the Sawbill Lake area of the BWCA from Oct. 15-19.

Probably gonna base camp on the north end of Sawbill and do day trips from there.

Anyone have any tips on fishing in this area of the BWCA this time of year?

I'm thinking of bringing some jigs and berkley gulp type minnow bodies, some spoons for casting, some vertical jigging spoons, and some rattle traps.

Anything else a guy "must have" for lures?

Thanks,

Brian

[finnbay]

That's a pretty good list of tackle. I think you'll have the bases covered.

[bmc]

We had our pre trip meeting last night and have decided on the Smoke, Burnt, and Flame lakes to explore.

Anyone fished any of these? Per the DNR lake finder, looks like decent #'s of eyes and gators on these lakes.

Brian

[Stick in Mud]

Cherokee (just a bit northwest of you) has some nice lakers if you can find them.

[JBMasterAngler]

Lake Trout season is closed.

[Stick in Mud]

Ah. Shows you how much time I spend chasing them in the fall.

Thanks for the correction.

[JBMasterAngler]

There are several stream trout lakes in the BWCA, but I don't think there are any in the sawbill vicinity. I'll be in grand marais in two weeks for some righteous streamer fishing!

[bmc]

Bummer laker fishing is closed. We are watching the weather close and some of us are undecided if we are still going or not.

The deaths of the couple on Alton Lake is definitely weighing on some of our minds.

Brian

[Surface Tension]

"jigs and berkley gulp type minnow bodies" for sure and I'd have some shad raps and floating raps for trolling and casting onto shallow structure.

Sorry to hear about the couple's death.

You'll be traveling in a group I take it.

[delcecchi]

Sounds like they might have been fishing and capsized?

http://www.twincities.com/localnews/ci_21729275/forest-lake-couple-die-after-canoe-accident-bwca

That what the thinking is? They could have drifted a fair ways in a day.

[bmc]

Hi Frank,

There's 6 of us going. I've got a waterproof bag that will have my sleeping bag, waterproof matches, and a set of warm clothes in it, just in case of an accident.

Hoping the weather warms up a bit next week, but we'll make do.

Brian

[nofishfisherman]

Keep an eye on the weather and play it safe but don't let the cold or the tradgedy on Alton prevent you from taking the trip.

From the reports I've seen the water is cold but if you do dump you "should" have at least some time to self rescue. If you want to play it safe stick close to the shoreline so you can get out of the water quickly. Also make sure everyone keeps a ditch kit with them at all times. It should be small enough that it can be actually on you at all times, not just in the canoe but attached to you in some way. Likely you'll never need the kit with 6 of you in the group as there should be plenty of help around to aid anyone who may capsize but its awlays a good idea just in case. Just remember the people are most important, get them out of the water and on their way to being warm and then worry about the gear.

Also don't be a hero and try to paddle through rough water or ignore what your body is telling you. If you are getting cold go get warm and if its rough stay put and wait for calmer weather.

Beyond some basic precuations and being mindful of the weather conditions and the physical condition of those in your group you should be able to have a great trip.

[bmc]

Thanks for the advice nofishfisherman.

This will be my 1st trip into the BWCA, so I'm really looking forward to it.

Hoping to do another trip next summer w/ my brother.

Brian

[FishMaster007]

Try burnt lake the campsite on the island faceing the south end was nice. Good eye's for number and size. Also pikezilla should still be there try the red/white daredevil.

[nofishfisherman]

Thanks for the advice nofishfisherman.

This will be my 1st trip into the BWCA, so I'm really looking forward to it.

Hoping to do another trip next summer w/ my brother.

Brian

You'll have a lot of fun I'm sure. The BWCA is one of those places that is hard to visit just once. Once you make your first trip you are more than likely planning your next trip on your drive home.

My wife and I have started going every year and its one of the highlights to our summer. If you do go with your brother next summer I'd suggest late August. THe fishing isn't always as good but the bugs are a lot better. For me I'll take less fish if it means less bugs.

[bmc]

Well, we made it in and out w/ no issues!

Weather was great Mon/Tues and Wed we had a few sprinkles of rain, but we fished through it. Wed night/Thurs a.m. it rained hard so we packed up and day early and headed out.

Paddling down Sawbill Lake in the fog yesterday was AWESOME!!! Wish I would've had taken a few pics of that.

Fishing was horrible!!! Only a couple of bites that felt like perch, disappointing, but that's how it goes sometimes. We tried jigs and Gulp minnows, Rapalas, and even the trustworthy red and white/yellow and red 5 of diamonds daredevils w/o a strike.

We got a couple grouse and wished we would have brought a few duck decoys and some steel shot. Enough ducks on the lake to have kept us busy for sure.

All in all a GREAT trip and I'm already looking forward to the next one.

Thanks for the tips guys!

Brian

[danfall]

fish are deeeep now...lookin for warmer water

cept for whitefish...gonna spawn soon...staging

did you work deep?

[bmc]

The lake only gets to 20' deep. We worked everything from shore out to the deepest part of the lake....

Brian

[Lucky247]

I am heading up to Sawbill with a few guys in August any tips on fishing the surrounding lakes if you didn't have much luck on Sawbill. Anything helps.

Jimbo

[fishinphilth]

I am heading up on Friday and will post if there is anything worth posting. We go every year and seem to have good luck on Smoke.

[tolle141]

It's either smoke or burnt that has an awesome campsite.