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Crane/Namakan


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Heading up to Crane next week for the holiday and planning on spending most of my time out on the water. I've fished Kab and Rainy a few times but never the east end of the chain and just looking for some starting points. I'm mostly a walleye guy but if the smallies are biting I don't mind fishing for them. Is Crane worth fishing for walleyes or should I put more time into Sand Point and Namakan this time of year? Are the walleyes still relatively shallow or have they moved to deeper midlake structure? I was just on Lac La Croix last week in the BWCA and it seemed like our best fishing was still on the rivers feeding into the lake, wondering if the pattern would be similar given the proximity. Thanks in advance for the help!! The weather is looking to be great for next week!!

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A lot of people will preach that you have to fish Sand Point and Namakan to catch walleyes. However, some of my best fish came out of Crane Lake last year especially for large sized eater fish (15-17 inches). Even though I caught my biggest walleye up on Sand Point, I usually start fishing Crane before I make the run up the chain. I would bet that there are still quite a few fish up shallow, but other fish may be moving out deeper. I would start shallow and work my way deeper until I find an active school of fish. The smallmouth action is phenomenal up there, just work around the islands and the rocky shorelines especially around Indian. Anything from soft plastics, to fast moving jerk baits, and even top water seem to entice the bronze backs into biting. I'll be up there starting 7/6 until 7/11 and I'll be staying at Scott's. Maybe we will bump into each other, I will either be fishing in a blue Skeeter WX1850 or a green and tan Crestliner Fishhawk 1650!

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Thanks Fish Slayer, good to know Crane can put out some fish. That will make for some easier fishing close to the lodge. I'll probably still plan for an all day trip up to Sand Point and/or Namakan too, but I'm glad I don't have to plan on making the trek every day.

We'll be staying at Pine Point and I'm fishing out of a green Pro-V 1800, I'll keep my eye out for you.

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Pine Point Jeff & Cathy and their staff = Great people smile They'll let you in on what /where is hot or not. Wish I was u ...have fun.

Stizo

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  • 2 weeks later...

So after getting back from our trip to Crane this past holiday weekend, I have to agree with Stizo that the folks at Pine Point were great! That area is a blast over the 4th of July weekend. Fishing was good as well, focused on walleyes primarily. Did our best on Namakan, but Sand Point and Crane produced some good eaters as well. I'll definitely be looking to get up there again soon!

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Wondering what kind of temps you found on Nam? Did you stay on the east end or venture any farther west than Pike? Heading up saturday for 5 days on Nam somewhere, with the family for our first trip this year (our 16th year!).

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We didn't venture far from Namakan narrows, surface temp was reading in the low 70's. I'm jealous of you, I wish I was still up there!!

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