Vacation

In 2015, I took the wife and 3 boys to Disneyworld. However, my youngest son (now in 5th grade) wanted to go fishing for vacation. He and I are the only ones that would really like to do that sort of vacation, so we got out-voted. I told him maybe just he and I could go for a short fishing vacation (2 days?) in 2016. I would like to start getting this planned. Looking for a place that we can drive (or fly a single engine plane to.) I know there are no guarantees, but I really want him to be able to catch fish (walleye) and hopefully catch at least one good sized one to insure his future interest in this hobby. I’ve only fished locally my whole life, so find myself without much direction on this.

Looking for suggestions for where to go, June or July, guide recommendation, lodging recommendation, etc.

Thank you for any help in this.

JD

For what would just be a few hours drive from NE Nebraska, my recommendations would be Chamberlain or Pierre, SD. Gary Allen is a guide that will certainly get you on a large number of walleye that time of the year. In June you may be able to get in on some good smallmouth action in addition to the Walleye. However your chance for a great walleye isn’t going to be as high as it would be in the spring/fall. Options to lodge in Chamberlain include Cedar Shore Resort (nicer, $$), Hillside Motel (owned by Allen’s, not as nice nor expensive), or camping somewhere (maybe make some memories?).

If you are wanting a little longer drive, then I’d recommend heading to Northern Minnesota somewhere for the “Up-North Experience”.

But Chamberlain, SD will certainly give you a good quantity of walleye on a shorter drive for you. More bang for your buck.

FYI, northern MN is not out of the question at all. In fact, that is where I figured the suggestions from here would be. If too far to drive, it is possible I could fly.

Take the young man to Lac Seul.

You could fly into Baudette, Mn. Then have any of the resorts on Wheelers Point/Rainey River pick you up. From there take one of the charters out fishing for a couple days. All of those resorts offer full lodging / dining packages. First week in August would be my date to hit it.

http://lakeofthewoodsmn.com/

-J.

If I were out of state looking to book a walleye trip, I’d try this:
http://leechlakeguides.com/tomwilson/

Leech Lake in June is usually on fire. Perch and Snot Rockets are always caught during this time too.

I’d stay in Walker at the Chase Hotel and book either full or 1/2 day trips with Tom. Nice guy, will put you on fish and nice boat to boot.

Plenty in Walker to keep you occupied when you’re not fishing.

______________ wrote:

Take the young man to Lac Seul.

Although not out of the question for down the road, probably a little further north than I’d prefer to go this year.

The other suggestions though are exactly what I’m looking for. Places to go, who to use for a guide (who to stay away from).

Basically, I am hoping to keep him interested in fishing for his lifetime. My older 2 boys will fish, but it isn’t something that they want to do, whereas, my youngest does.

______________ wrote:

Take the young man to Lac Seul.

X2 and take me with you!!!!

Mille Lacs in the end of June you can hardly put a bait down there with out catching a 24-26in Walleye. (10 plus fish over 24 in. in a full day is not uncommon) That would really get the little one excited. Plus alot of action with the two strong young year classes. Hire a good guide like Tony Roach and I guarantee he boats your son a trophy walleye and a trophy small mouth on a two day trip. Mike Verdeja would be a good one too. Personally have seen these guys fish with kids and they are awesome. These would be private guide boats, not charter boats so they would cater to your son. And I think he would learn more than charter fishing. More one on one. Dad would be guaranteed to be a hero if you booked that trip! lots of choices out there

If you have access to the plane take him to Canada. Getting there in the plane would be half the adventure. Red Lake, Ontario has a big airport and the fishing is great around there. The fish in my avatar came from Gullrock, which is right down the road from Red Lake.

Don’t forget Devils Lake ND. Almost guaranteed to catch bunches of fish! Many good guides and my preference would be Jason Mitchel if you can get him.

Save Lac Seul and Canada for when you have more time. A couple of days just isn’t enough time to enjoy that kind of trip and you’ll just end up wishing you had taken longer so you could both enjoy it more.

SD would be my choice given where you’re located and the amount of time you have available.

Grouse

Why not bring some poles and hit a pond or canal near Disney World?

Fly into International Falls, and stay on Rainy Lake. You get the feel of a Canadian fly in with very few cabins or boat traffic, amazing scenery, and imo the best multi species fishing in the state. You could very well catch trophy walleye, pike, smallmouth, and crappie in a two-three day trip! I’ve never used a guide up there but any of the places you stay (Island View Lodge, Thunderbird Lodge, Sha Sha Resort are a few I’m aware of) will have recommendations. Chris Granrud is a guide that by all accounts is very dialed in up there also. Also, June/July is when my friends and I make our annual trip and it is amazing fishing especially for eyes.

I’m from Minnesota too, and agree with all of the above.
But if you’ve never been to Milford Lake in Kansas,
you need to check that out too.
Nice walleye, and the ” wipers” will pull your arms off.
My son and I camped at the state park there and had a blast !!

WKW

I would go to Reel Em Inn lodge on the Canadian side of lake of the woods. They do all the cooking and cleaning. All you have to do is show up and fish. It’s super easy to catch walleyes there. It was my first time there last year and will definitely making 2 trips a year there. They do have a website.

BigWerm wrote:

Fly into International Falls, and stay on Rainy Lake. You get the feel of a Canadian fly in with very few cabins or boat traffic, amazing scenery, and imo the best multi species fishing in the state. You could very well catch trophy walleye, pike, smallmouth, and crappie in a two-three day trip! I’ve never used a guide up there but any of the places you stay (Island View Lodge, Thunderbird Lodge, Sha Sha Resort are a few I’m aware of) will have recommendations. Chris Granrud is a guide that by all accounts is very dialed in up there also. Also, June/July is when my friends and I make our annual trip and it is amazing fishing especially for eyes.

X2. Chris Grandrud will put you on fish and you will learn much about Rainy Lake and how to fish it. Rainy is a beautiful body of water. Thunderbird Lodge or Sha Sha are both great places to stay. Another great guide is Billy Dougherty from Rainy Lake Houseboats. I don’t know anyone who would know Rainy Lake better than Billy. He has been guiding around 45 years on Rainy. Rainy Lake will give you and your son many memories.

I might be a little biased,having lived in Devils Lake my whole life, but DL mid june is about as good as it gets.Walleye and northern, you can use about any presentation you want, my favorite is pitchin cranks in 3-7 fow.Bring a good supply of 7&9 countdowns,5&7 shadraps!!

With 2 days of fishing that makes the decision tougher. There is a limit to where I’ll go for a weekend outing vs a 4-5 or more day trip. Mostly I’m going to second multiple suggestions above.

X2 that isn’t enough time to hit Canada. Keep the spark in your son and make that a future wish. It really is awesome up there!

South Dakota would be my choice given your location and time constraints.

Devils Lake in mid-June could be going off! Weather dependent, how long does it take to get there via plane?

Leech/Winnibigoshish could be neat options. Mille Lacs suggestion above with one of those guides is good too. Not as far as way northern MN.

Most interesting suggestion is International Falls and the American side of Rainy. Not sure if you can pull this off with a plane and a couple days but it would be very, very cool.

I do two week long trips on the Canadian side each year and it’s my favorite place. Just wish I lived closer to make it more feasible for weekend visits.

Thank you everyone for the suggestions. Keep em coming. I will begin looking in to each of these and see what I come up with.

JD