Crooked lake

[trock84]

I am heading up to crooked lake at the end of may. I will be starting at the moose river and going threw lac la croix. This will be the first time that I will be on the west end of the BWCA. I usually go to brule or knife lakes. I was wondering if anyone could give me some info on the trip in and how the fishing has been in the past.

Thanks all.

[NAMAKANWALLEYE]

Have you ever thought of getting a ride to Bottle / Iron lakes from Crane Lake?

It is probobaly the quickest / easiest way to Crooked.

Just a suggestion. Beutiful ride from Crane Lake, passing two really neat mechanical portages and then across Lac La Croix.

Tow boats from Crane lake can take your whole group / canoes / gear.

I did this two years ago and had a great time. I only spent 2 days on Crooked and fishing was excellent, wish I could have spent more!

--Mark

[Casaloma]

Trock, Have fun on FM while learning some new info!

I seem to recall threads on Crooked the last 2 springs ( as long as I've been here ). Login to the site & use the Search feature. Search for 'Crooked' Put the date range "newer than 3 years" & there is a lot there. The search on this site has ALWAYS been helpful to me.

Good luck, -CLoma

[long caster]

Trock..how long of a trip are you doing? We went to crooked last year for the walleye opener, but we started on the other end going through horse lake. Fishing was good, current was STRONG and what a gorgous lake. Since you are going on the west end, i would take time to drop a line on Iron lake, and watch out if you have a stringer of fish over the side of the canoe, the gators in those lakes are HUGE.....kinda scary when one grabs on to your stringer next to the canoe...

Good luck and always fish the pinch

[trock84]

Casaloma thanks for the info on the search.

Long Cast I would love to hear more about the fishin from ya sounds like you know the crooked very well.

Sorry but I will never take a boat ride to get into the a lake. I have been going threw seagull lake for the last couple years and we have boats racing by us bringing in cheating canoes all the time. I don't think there should be any help getting into a lake. Get in and paddle paddle paddle !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[NAMAKANWALLEYE]

Well, you can be on Crooked Lake pretty fast from Ely. I would say less than 6-8 hours of paddling, if your in shape and have a good partner.

But why bust your arse to get there, and then be wiped out?

I recommended a motor / tow boat to a point near crooked from Crane Lake! Its a beutiful trip, and the mechanical portages are really neat!!!!

Then its just a short paddle, about 1-2 hours, and you get to see Curtain Falls on the way!!!!!!!!

--Mark

[Jackpine Rob]

Sorry but I will never take a boat ride to get into the a lake. I have been going threw seagull lake for the last couple years and we have boats racing by us bringing in cheating canoes all the time. I don't think there should be any help getting into a lake. Get in and paddle paddle paddle

Would you care to define a "cheating canoe" for the rest of us? Although I grew up and cut my teeth playing around in the area, I have yet to meet a "cheating canoe".

Might I suggest that anyone with so few clues and such limited experience - and needing fishing information on the internet is cheating far beyond the perceived advantages of a tow boat?

And if you "don't think there should be any help in getting into a lake", then I heartily suggest you portage your canoe (on foot of course) from where you live up to Fall Lake, the Chainsaw Sisters, Stuart River or wherever, without the help of your car/van/truck or whatever. Walk for cripes sake and actually live what you pretend to believe.

Oh, and you might want to consider studying the difference between the words "threw" and "through". If you wish to put yourself above the pewling masses a reasonable command of the language shouldn't be too much to expect. Perhaps some lessons on sentence structure would be a good start.

Food for thought as you cast stones, tourist.

[Fur Fish and Feathers]

Ouch!

One of the funnier posts I've seen in a while but ouch!

I'd get a tow from Crane and take the rail portage in to Loon and La Croix. The rail portages, in and of themselves, are worth the trip if you've never experienced one and there are some pretty cool petroglyphs/pictographs (not sure the difference but Jackpine Rob seems to have a "reasonable command of the language" and can probably clear this up) on La Croix worth checking out.

[long caster]

trock: I understand what you are saying, our group has talked about taking a boat to bottle portage, but that defeats the purpose for US, so we always paddle,paddle,paddle. Some might want a 'less challenging' trip, so they use the boats...I am jealous when i see them drinking beers at the bottle portage after i have spent 6-7 hours busting my hump, but they have their permits and chose to do it differently than us...nothing i can do. We have found better ways to get into those lakes than going through lac lacroix so we dont see/hear the boats anymore.

Anyways, that is the way it is......but back to the fishing, only been to crooked once and the weather wasn't the best for fishing out of a canoe, but we managed plenty of walleyes to keep us happy (inbetween rain storms). We were in the table rock area, fishing drop offs around islands. Both iron and crooked have great populations of nice walleyes and northern pike. Just remember that you dont alway need to fish by everyone else......fish the pinches, all these lakes (or river systems) will have current in neckdown areas, that is where alot of the fish will be hanging out that time of year.

Best of luck and can't wait for the opener!!! (short trip this year so we are heading in on the number lakes and probably staying on insula)

[Jackpine Rob]

Pictographs are the rock paintings such as appear on Crooked (Basswood River according to some maps), La Croix and in many other locations. Petroglyphs are carved into the rock.

[trock84]

Yea jackpine very funny!!!!

Do you get your kicks out of being a J A

I have never been to crooked lake and I thought I would try to find some info on the lake. Isn't that why these forums are here?

I was just trying to say that I don't agree with there being motors within the bwacw. Just my opinion but there is nothing I can do about it.

Thanks Long cast for the info

[Mudcutter]

Crooked is a gem of lake. Was on the trip with longcaster last year. Fishing was good/very good with the weather we had. Longcaster's points can't be taken any more seriously. It doesn't have to be much current like most think, just subtle areas', even areas that have wind creating the current, but natural flow is the best bet.

Also-- we went in through Chainsaw sisters up the Horse/Basswood River and came back the same way. The current was pretty nuts ( points on the basswoood river we were going backwards if you stopped for a second or two) and had a guy break a paddle. Been on 25+ trips and never had that happen.

Overall, Crooked is well worth the effort. Bring live minnows--- they are worth it.

Muddy

[trock84]

I have never tried to bring in live minnows. We have only brought in leaches. What is the best way to get them in? Air pressured bag?

Im sure people have tried to catch their own minnows. If so how did you do? We tried the last couple years on Knife but there wasn't any streams around us so we only caught a few.

[Gary Rauch]

How much would a tow like that cost ?

[Mudcutter]

Best way we have found to bring in live minnows is to get them in Ely in a plastic bag packed with alot of O2, (tell the bait guy, he'll set you up) and then put them in a school backpack, doesn't hurt if it's got a little padding inside it. In the cool weather of may-- they seem to do just fine without ice around them.

One more bag for someone to carry and about 12lbs of water, but it's worth it especially on those cold frontal passage days in early may.

Muddy

[Fur Fish and Feathers]

Not sure how much they get for a tow and if that includes the cost of the portage, but they get $25 at each one ($25 in to Loon and $25 from Loon to La Croix). You'd be in to it for $50 if you motored in to La Croix yourself. My recollection is that Loon isn't to bad of a paddle but it takes forever and a day to get there. I suppose you could get a tow to Loon and hoof it from there if you wanted to save a little $. If you go to Campbell's website they have contact info on their rates page, you could always call them and ask what they get (I'd be interested in knowing) and if that includes the portages.

[trock84]

How long do you leave the minnows in the bag? Im sure they will be in the bag for at least 8 hours.

[trock84]

I was wondering if people use the 80 rod portage that goes from Lac La Croix to Iron Lake instead of doing the 320 rod? Or do you need a border crossing permit? I may be wrong but it looks like the 80 rod is in canada.

[Mudcutter]

Trock-

we go in a least 7-8 hrs of a stiff paddle/portaging every May, plus the the time from when we get the minnows in ELy and the drive and loading = at least 10hrs. their are a few straglers when we get to camp and as long as you don't introduce them too quickly to a different temp of lakewater, they do okay.

The 320 rod port in my mind may not exist anymore, but I don't know for sure. We take the bottle port in CAn (it's legal as long as you head to US waters after and have your fishing gear "unfishable" ) you will have no problem. The portage itself thou is a muddy creek, no doubt about it.

IF you plan on going to Iron from the moose landing, plan on 8-10 hrs of a stiff one. It's well worth it. My favorite lake in the BW.

muddy

[Northlander]

The minnows kept in the o2 bag will stay for a few days if kept cool. I carry them in a smaller cooler on these trips so I dont break the bag open in a back pack. It happened once and wasnt fun chasing them around in the backpack and it waisted time.

Put a good shoulder strap on the handles of the cooler or better yet get a cooler that will fit in a big Duluth Pack. I used a styrofoam liner that some steaks we ordered by mail came in. Worked great and kept them safe and cool.

No matter how you get there you are lucky to be going. I love Lac La Croix. Big Smallies, tons of eyes. huge pike and crappies when your really lucky. Man I need to get up there again before Im too old and out of shape to do it. When Im 60 I will for sure hitch a ride part way and then paddle the rest. At 6'6" and bad knees too long in a canoe aint as easy as when I was in my late teens and twenties and did trips a half dozen times a summer.

Enjoy your trip. Jackpine remember we are all "tourists".

[Fishing Junky]

Sucks gettin' old eh North?

[NAMAKANWALLEYE]

If a guy had a week off for vaction and wanted to go to Crooked Lake, would he paddle or take a tow boat?

Its a day paddle there and a day paddle back. That leaves only 4 days (at the most) for fishing and relaxing.

You could spend a whole summer on Crooked in a motor boat, and not know the lake very good by the end of the summer.

My reasons for taking a tow boat were listed. I apologize for giving anyone that idea. Next time I go, I'm gonna paddle, paddle, Paddle.

Heck, maybe I should just walk to Ely from Yellowstone, with my canoe!!!!!!

[trock84]

Thank you muddcutter and northlander you have been lots of help. I told the guys going on my trip that we may run into crappies. How abbundant are they? Im sure when I am going up they should be close to spawning. But I am not sure about up der hey. Has anyone came upon any?

[Fur Fish and Feathers]

I'm with you Namakan. After all who really cares if you paddle, paddle, paddle anyway? Sometimes there is a fine line between "hero" and "idiot."

[long caster]

The crappies up on the boundary lakes are usually very big, but very few and far between. I personally have only seen a handful caught on these lakes (all around the may opener) but all were thick. If you do get into them, please only keep a few to eat that night, we ran into a group that kept more than they could chew, and they said they through out about as much as they had eaten, what a waste.

......there is nothing like finding the ideal campsite after a 10 hour day of paddling, unloading the gear from your tired shoulders and taking that first bump of B.B....don't know if i would appreciate it as much if all i did was ride in a boat for a few hours and then set up camp....that is just me

Hey Muddy....i looked at the maps last night and it refreshed my memory of the campsite 'just over your head'...if i remember right, people had camped there but wasn't a designated sight....will have to find out

[Jackpine Rob]

Jackpine remember we are all "tourists".

---

Not all of us, my friend. The term "tourist" in the Ely vernacular is reserved for a select group.

I know I'm supposed to turn the other cheek with these folks, but that cheek has long since gotten raw and bruised. Its much more satisfying to express oneself.

And Trock - I'm dead serious about using foot power to arrive up North. No sense in cheating on your big adventure, eh?

[Fur Fish and Feathers]

This is just me, but if I've got the time to paddle 10 hours to ultimately be less than an hour from motorized boats I think I'd take the hour boat ride and use the other 9 hours to "really get in there."

Jackpine, where I live the "locals" use "tourist" and "cidiot" synonymously!

[Mudcutter]

Longcaster-

Your right on about that campsite. I too thought it was unmarked and those people were not camping at a "designated campsite" but the more I think about it, that island is pretty small and so was my train of thought that day we got out and checked out that campsite. They could have been camped at the campsite--- just had a tent set up back in the puckerbrush.

Trock- We have mostly caught crappies fishing for walleyes in back bays etc with warm springs (weather wise). I don't think the crappies are going nuts 2-3 days after ice out,, the year we did OK was a record early ice out year for some N MN lakes, but that doesn't mean you can't run into them other years. Find the warmest bays leading to some deeper water on a warm early spring day, and you'll find Crappies in the the lakes that have them in the B-dub.

Muddy

[Surface Tension]

Why is it the folks that drive the long distances to get to the BWCA are the ones calling motorized boaters cheaters?

It those same folks that have made the BWCA an issuse of us against them.

I think if you knew the history of this area you'd probably think differently. At one time motorized travel was the norm there. The motorized routes that still exhist are a very small reminent of how it used to be. If you grew up in the area and lived that tranistion from motor to motorless travel you might take ofence when an outsider comes along and calls you a cheater.

I've done the BWCA both ways(motor boat or canoe)starting back in the early 70's. I've lived the changes that took place so my perspective on the topic differs quite a bit then someone new to the BWCA. I find it hard to swallow when someone living in the rat race drives to Northern Mn expecting to park within feet of wilderness, then call someone a cheater when they see a motor boat. Then when their trip is over jump back into their car and drive back to where they came from. Who cheating who?

By all means come up and enjoy yourselves but leave the my way is better attitude at home, it'll be waiting for you when you get back.

[trock84]

OK I guess I had better go back on my little comment that I had made! I guess I never should have wrote anything about a cheating canoe (it was supposed to be canoeists). I guess I really don't care for there being motorised boats within the bwca. Even though on my way out of seagull a few years I really wanted to flag one of the boats down to pull me in.

I am not trying to tell anyone not to use them. Hell in a few years I to may be using them to. I may have to get a ride in for half our group in a few years.

Thanks muddcutter. I really want to try to find some crappies this year. Mabey with a little luck and a lot of searching I will run into a few. I am guessing the last week in may the crappies might still be up around the brush or shallow humps. I guess we will see.