Heading with my roomates Family up to the Crane Lake Area for a houseboat trip in early to mid June. Any advice at all would be appreciated. I can swap salmon fishing advice on Lake Michigain or Green Bay Whitefish. We are leaving out of Crane Lake. Thanks! Any and all advice is good!
We have gone thru Voyageurs Houseboats out of Crane Lake three times.
Each time we used the food plan. The portions and quality was very good. You obviously can’t take a whole weeks worth with you so they make trips out to you. We went this route because we had large groups and two houseboats and bringing enough food and storing it would be a nightmare. All three times we brought food home due to generous portions.
We went to a new spot each day except when we reached Kab we stayed two nights on Sugarbush Island. We would send a couple guys out in one of the fishing boats to scout a spot for the night. A cheap set of walkie talkies help. They fill up quickly and this really worked out well plus you have someone to guide you in.
Ice is like gold on the boats. We had it delivered almost every day. There is a courtesy boat that will bring you just about anything you can imagine. We would always tip the driver heavily on his first trip, offer him a beer etc…and would get great service the rest of the week.
Get the insurance!! It’s cheap and there are a lot of rocks. Two out of the three trips we trashed a prop and one lower unit.
As far as bait we just took leeches and didn’t mess around with minnows. Always caught plenty of fish.
Make the trip to Kettle Falls and check out the bar. It’s unique and it feels good to walk around on land for a while. I’m sure I’ll remember more and can add it later.
It’s absolutely beautiful up there! You’ll have a great time!
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Give a shout the week before you go and we will try and get some currant info where to look for fish.
If you haven’t been there before…..Crane, Nam. & Kab. are a pretty good size area. Plan on burning lots & lots of gas if you are running the houseboat around a lot. How many people are planned for this trip? I know there are guys who act like a taxi and will pick your group up and run you to Kettle Falls or the West end of Kab. That option might be cheaper then running the houseboat all the way out there.
No matter what….you are in for a great time! Bring the camera.
As I remember we didn’t go thru a huge amount of gas and traveling all the way to Kab was a big part of the fun. I’d like to get up that way again.
My HS buddies and I go on a Rainy Lake HB every year, and it is one of the highlights of my year! One piece of advice is to be patient w/ where you choose your camp/docking site, with the family I would imagine a beach site would be prefereable. We usually go early July and Lindy-rigging deeper areas and trolling raps shallow have been consistent producers. There won’t be a shortage of structure to fish!!!
As I remember we didn’t go thru a huge amount of gas and traveling all the way to Kab was a big part of the fun. I’d like to get up that way again.
That will depend on the age & size of the houseboat. If it’s newer it will have 4 strokes pushing it and the gas won’t be as bad. It’s all relative, they all are going to use gas. 
If you go slow while driving the houseboat, you will save a lot of gas. Just fast enough to maintain steering, sit back and enjoy the ride. Push on the gas, and it can get spendy. Last time out, the dock guy refilling our tank commented on how low our gas bill was. Asked where we went and so on. He was very surprised how far down the lake we went. Running the generators all night for heat or air conditioning will run up the tab too.
Always have a spotter watching your fishing boat/s while in tow. Ropes break. Rouge waves hit. Make sure they don’t collide with the back of the boat if you stop or pull ashore.
You can keep a lot of food frozen on dry ice in a decent cooler. Week to 10 days, no problems. Block ice lasts longer than cubes!
Hand held GPS or other portable sonar is nice to have. Most houseboats don’t have electronics.
-J.
Make sure they don’t collide with the back of the boat if you stop or pull ashore.
Good tip-we always unhooked the fishing boat before beaching. And one was already on shore (the scout boat)
Always have a spotter watching your fishing boat/s while in tow. Ropes break. Rouge waves hit.
VERY IMPORTANT! We learned that the hard way a couple years back. Can look back laughing now, not the best use of valuable vacation time then however lol.
I’ve seen more then one boat with only it’s bow sticking out of the water up there.
I’ve seen more then one boat with only it’s bow sticking out of the water up there.
That’s a bad day!
Couple of years ago a group was heading out of Ebels. At least that was the intention. I first noticed life jackets and plano boxes floating down the river. Turns out they either didn’t have the plug in, were over loaded or took a wave over the transom. Felt bad for them. There were a couple of pissed off guys scurrying around trying to gather stuff up. Short time later the houseboat went past with all the railing covered with wet clothes drying out.
Not the way to start or finish a vacation.
Get a screened in porch the sketters are hell after dark. DK
Always have a spotter watching your fishing boat/s while in tow. Ropes break. Rouge waves hit. Make sure they don’t collide with the back of the boat if you stop or pull ashore.
What I used for a tow rope was an automotive tow rope. I think it is 15 ft. long and 3/4 diameter with snap hook on each end. About 15 bucks at FF. Worked great. 
Heading up on Saturday, does anyone have a current fishing report? First time heading up and still unsure where to go. Thank You!
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