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Posted

Is Burntside "the Laker" spot to fish in the area? Is that a matter of convenience or is Lake Trout populations far better there than any other lake??

Posted
9 hours ago, mbeyer said:

Is Burntside "the Laker" spot to fish in the area? Is that a matter of convenience or is Lake Trout populations far better there than any other lake??

Quite a bit a matter of convenience but it was pretty good in the late 2000’s; early 2010’s for me.

 

It’s fully outside of the B-dub, and expansive, so plenty of places to try.  But never go out there with expectations beyond spending time on one of the most beautiful lakes the state has to offer.

 

You should count yourself blessed to get 1 trout iced but 5 trout days can happen.  Biggest I’ve gotten out of there is 32 inches.  Average had been 24-27.

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Posted

Burntside Lake is a beautiful lake and very convenient to get to.  I started fishing it in 2010 when it got to difficult for me to travel into the BWCA while I lived in the twin cities.  I averaged 1 laker/day up to 2018 when my success started to decline.  That was also when I quit going out on snowmobile and just walked to fishing spots.  That probably also contributed to my decline.  My average the last 3 years has been 0.4 lakers/day.  Now that I live in northern Minnesota I think I will travel into the BWCA more for lakers.

 

My longest Burntside laker was the skinny 33 incher shown in the 1st picture (2020).  This fish weighed only 7#-15oz, and I think it was at the end of its life.  My biggest BWCA laker was 34 inches and weighed 13#-3oz (2nd picture from 2008).  I also caught an 11 pounder in the BWCA in 1999 (3rd picture).

 

My goal is to someday catch a 20 pounder.  I had one up to the bottom of the hole once that I think was over 20 pounds.  I was jigging a large airplane jig near the bottom when I thought I snagged the rocks.  When I was able to finally move the fish I knew I had a huge one.  I saw its head at the bottom of my 7-inch hole and had a hard time getting it started into the hole.  I reached for the gaff hook but the jig caught on the bottom of the hole and the fish was gone.  Ever since then, I chisel the bottom of my holes to guide the laker's head into the hole.

 

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Posted

Those are some nice lakers. Admittedly, I just hit BWCA lakes in the spring when they come up shallow - so I cheat!

 

I fished LOW two weeks ago and caught a good sized pike on an airplane jig. It swam around and collected one of my buddy's lines and then slipped the hook on the hole's edge as well. The fish that get away are always the ones to remember.

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Posted

Running on empty at dark on a sled is definitely stress-inducing. Been there, done that. Glad that you made it out.

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Posted

Went back to Burntside on Tuesday and I got "skunked again" (LOL).  Looked like the lake was a mess over the weekend, but it was all frozen solid by sunrise Tuesday when I arrived.  The new ice cleats I got worked very well on the glare ice.  Was a beautiful sunny day but cool and quite windy.  I had a nice view of my tip-up from my warm fishhouse but the flag never went up, and I didn't mark a fish while jigging.  May have to try North Arm next, or go back into the BWCAW if the ice conditions improve.

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  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Builders
Posted

It's kind of sad. The two lakes I loved the most in this state are Mille Lacs and Burntside.  And I think we broke them both!  😕

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Posted

never been to burntside......Mille lacs they can drain for all i care!! 😊😉

Posted
1 hour ago, smurfy said:

never been to burntside......Mille lacs they can drain for all i care!! 😊😉

Smurfy there's a lot of pike in Mille Lacs tho...

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Posted
3 minutes ago, Kettle said:

Smurfy there's a lot of pike in Mille Lacs tho...

🤪 so do alot of other lakes, natives can have them to  👌

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