What’s Your Summer Trip Plans???

Summer will be here before we know it, and right now is the best time to get things booked if you haven’t already

Tonight we just locked in a family trip to Kewaunee (by Algoma) to chase monster Lake Michigan kings over the 4th of July. I took the boys there for their first time last year and had a blast watching them get their asses handed to them by fish almost as big as they were lol

It was also super cool watching fireworks from our slip with cocktails and tunes playing. This year we’re adding a day and doing five days/four nights in a VRBO.

A couple weeks later I’ll be doing our annual guys trip to LOTW. It’s always awesome chasing basin eyes. We rent a big cabin and bring up four boats. Doing a Friday-Monday run.

I’m also planning on getting out to Isle Royale at least a couple times. Since we moved farther north, Grand Portage is just 3 hours away. It makes quick weekend trips a lot more feasible.

What’s your plans guys???

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I remember a video of your boys reeling in some Kings B-man. It was fantastic to watch and I can’t imagine how entertaining it was live.

Lake Michigan sounds like memories to be made with the family. Some of my fondest memories were taking my son on Lake Michigan starting at the age of 8 and the salmon just ripping out line as he is trying to reel them in. There goes out the hundred feet that he just reeled in. Having a double with just him and I in the boat. After he reeled in the first and I netted it he is tired and did not want to fight the 2nd. There is no quitting in salmon fishing! Mainly out of Algoma.

Been a few years since I have been on Lake Michigan but with new boat, rigging and dust off some gear I plan to be back this summer. If I could only convince my son to go after all of the downrigger training I have given him… I am sure the early morning requirements are going to be even more undesirable than they had been in the past.

Between 2 or 3 outings to Green Bay in April and early May I am supposed to go to Lake Erie some time in April. Never been to Erie yet and plans do not always happen… Green Bay is usually good for some hogs and closer than Erie so we will see. Have a week scheduled for a Canadian fly-in trip for Ontario opener. Followed by a week at the Northwest Angle in early June. No wonder I turned down today a Las Vegas trip for this coming mid May.

Will be out on Lake of the Woods in early August. Not sure if this is going to be the south end or back to the Angle. Generally I would go for the basin bite this time of the year that you mentioned. First time attempting this basin bite I found (stumbled on to) a huge school of walleyes with no one around as far as the eye could see. After the first 12 fish all over the 19.5″ slot my wife wanted to move to find eaters. Hell no. Something special about putting 2 fish in the net at the same time that the kids reeled in with both being over 25″. Went back to this school a week later and 50 boats were stacked on them….

Supposed to go back to Colorado Elk hunting this fall. Been interested in the Isle Royal trip that you mention. Some day…..

What is the saying? Fail to plan is a plan to fail.

Dale Hollow.

Great plans fellas.

We are going to try and make our first ever trip to Green Bay in April.

LOTW Canadian side in June and Over Labor Day

After the June trip we start golfing more than fishing here in Iowa. However fishing is usually pretty solid before that.

So much to do so lil time.

I plan on bumping up my cycling this year, root river, manitowash, gitchi gami, at least one century ride elsewhere are all set with the hopefully upgraded camper in tow. Root was a blast last year with good # of trout to shore, plan on packing a rod with each time and hitting whatever looks good.

Haven’t planned it yet but MO paddlefish this spring is possible. Typical opener stuff, 2 weeks of summer cabins with family, couple KOAs w the kiddos on weekends, CA trip w kiddos, SE MN hiking, grand marais late summer, its gonna be a busy summer. Can’t freaking wait.

September Trip to vermilion for some musky fishing! We hit it pretty hard. great time to camp when the temps drop.

Weekend AFTER opener with my old man up in the Winnie area. Second to last weekend of June will be on Lake Michigan again, hoping to have a repeat of last year. That trip is a GRIND but the little sleep and early/late days put plenty of fish in the box. Will likely do a few family camping trips with our family and my parents, and like to explore new campgrounds. Already have our eye on a few to book here soon.

First trip to the BWCA is planned. Hoping to do a houseboat trip later in the summer. Winnipeg and Tobin are planned in the fall, only a couple hours from Winnipeg so just some weekend trips.

Live an hour and change from Lake of the woods so fish it weekly and spend a bit of the time on the rainy in the spring and fall, typically weekdays. Bemidji and GR area lakes on the weekends.

We wing all our fishing trips. When the bite is hot we drive to where ever we have to. Try not to plan our fishing ventures ahead of time. Lots of time on vermillion and up to ely. Kab, and Nam is a couple I want to get to more. And this spring chase crappies on crane.
We will be doing our annual 5 days on the rainy, and then detour to the fox for a few days.

We have our yearly trip to the English River at Grassy Narrows in late June and a long weekend trip in early June to Clearwater FL, spending a day out for Snapper and Grouper to bring some home

Hawaii with my bride for our 20th Anniversary in April! – Not sure I’ll get any fishing in but I’m sure I’ll be eating some awesome seafood.

Cabin on Fish Trap Lake for opener and week of the 4th of July – as well as several weekends, I’m sure.

Annual guys trip to Canada the week after Labor Day – Winoga Lodge in Sioux Lookout.

Maybe a Sturgeon Trip in Late Sept if I can motivate some people to go

lake Erie for 3 weeks end of April into May. Then spend the rest of the summer at LOTW

Deuces wrote:

So much to do so lil time.

I plan on bumping up my cycling this year, root river, manitowash, gitchi gami, at least one century ride elsewhere are all set with the hopefully upgraded camper in tow. Root was a blast last year with good # of trout to shore, plan on packing a rod with each time and hitting whatever looks good.

Haven’t planned it yet but MO paddlefish this spring is possible. Typical opener stuff, 2 weeks of summer cabins with family, couple KOAs w the kiddos on weekends, CA trip w kiddos, SE MN hiking, grand marais late summer, its gonna be a busy summer. Can’t freaking wait.

Missouri paddle fish snagging is a riot. Redneck as hell but worth doing once ! It’s too bad they don’t taste better though !

Coincidently we are also thinking of going to the Algoma area the week after the 4th of July to try our hand at catching king salmon and likely getting our butts handed to us !

Leaving for Cabo on Sunday morning. Not summer, but it’s top of mind right now!

Just like Bigstorm, we have our annual trip to the English River at Grassy Narrows the second weekend in June.

Usually a trip to a buddy’s cabin on Big Sandy the weekend after opener, but it’s less and less about fishing every year.

Oh, and one of my sons are getting married at the end of July, so that weekend is booked out and probably the weekends leading up to it.

Probably more spring than summer but I plan to knock out a bunch of river miles in the yak.
Only a few miles left until I’ve paddled the entire root river system.
Will continue to knock out the zumbro system. Got easily 45 miles of that done last year.
Really want to run upper iowa river start to finish.
Takes high water to cover some miles. We’ll see.

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Not summer, but at the rate of this winter it might be, ice fishing trip in northern Ontario for monster pike.

We might do a family trip to Rocky Mountain National park over the summer.

It’s my 10th wedding anniversary this year as well, so my wife and I are spending 2 weeks in Switzerland to see the alps. A couple days in Zermatt to see the Matterhorn, about a week in the Jungfrau region to see Grindelwald, Lauterbrunnen, etc. One night in Zurich to see Taylor Swift lol, and then a couple days in Gruyere on the way back. Couldn’t be more excited for this trip!

And then there’s a chance I’ll head back up to Canada in the fall!

We went to Barbados this Fall and just got back from Palm Springs this week. I’m looking forward to no major trips until summer and getting closer to caught up with my own stuff.

On the Summer Slate:

-Long weekend in Birchwood in May chasing spawning crappies and bluegills (we are very selective in what we keep, but last year we did have a handful of legitimate 10-10.5″ bull gills released and did catch a crappie that went 15.5″ mixed in with hundreds of eaters. My sister has a giant cabin there and we let the kids play then get them on panfish once the dads have tracked some decent ones down.

-8 days in Hayward on Round Lake in late July. This generally falls exactly when the walleye bite on Pool 4 back home slows down and becomes more of a wing dam bore fest. I want to pull the fishing boat up and see how I can do on the Hayward area lakes, but the tritoon comes with too and makes that a little tougher to accomplish.

-8 days of the first 2 weeks in August on a good ole’ fashioned family adventure across the states to Montana, Wyoming, Colorado by car for a family wedding in Montana. I feel like this trip has National Lampoons written all over it with some potential liver damage in the evenings by the dads (4 vehicles headed west), but my wife is adamant that we need to do it versus flying like we do for everything else.

***I try to push for fewer trips in the Summer as we have a tritoon and fishing boat living a mile or 2 from Pool 4. We spend a couple days/evenings a week out there and host a lot of family friends at our place from May-August. I like to travel in January + February to get out of here once the early ice bite slows and gives way to the masses with thick ice and cold temps.

I wanted to fit in a LOTW early fall trip, but I’m not sure it’s going to happen. I did clear for a 4 night, 3 day fishing trip on Erie in April of 2025 though that I’m already looking forward to as well.

After spending all of last summer working on a cabin project I’m really looking forward to this summer. Besides enjoying the completed cabin and fishing more I have trips planned to Cass after opener, Redgut Bay on Rainy in June, and at least 1 trip to LOW in August.

Baseball for may and June possibly some of July if they make state. We have rented a cabin in the past for Labor Day weekend but not sure what the plan is this summer with that. Kids activities keep us pretty busy so not much time for extended trips.

Have plans to make both our annual spring ( June ) and Fall ( Sept ) trips to Reed Lake and Tobin lake in Canada. I really wanted to spend a week or so up in the Ottertail lake area just bouncing around from lake to lake fishing Bass and Walleyes. I’m thinking of trying to fit that in just before or just after the Canada Spring trip if possible. I want to spend more time chasing Muskie this summer. I have all the correct gear and only use it 2 weeks a year on the Canada trips, I might as well get more use out of it.

I’m going to try and catch a new C & R Length State Record tiger muskie. MN has added that species to the length category as of 2024.

After thinking about this, I’d probably have to reveal what lake I caught it from though. Maybe not worth it.

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Charlie W wrote:

Winnipeg and Tobin are planned in the fall,

Charlie – What dates are your Tobin trip planned for? Possibly our trips will overlap and we could meet up to have a cold one and share some fishing stories
and Info. Do you mostly chase Eye’s or BIG pike?

Head to Nashville next week.

Weather depending on annual trip to OaK Island fishing in March on sleds.

Second weekend in June go on annual trip to English River at Grassy Narrows.

Pheasant hunting trip in Froid Montana in October.

ThunderLund78 wrote:

Cabin on Fish Trap Lake for opener and week of the 4th of July

Growing up in Staples, I have lots of great Memories of fishing Fish Trap lake a lot. Fish Trap, Shamineau, and Lake Alexander was my learning grounds for fishing in my Teen years. All three have great fishing and some interesting structure. If I could retire with a cabin somewhere in that area I’d be a happy man.

Plan to hit Mille Lacs hard… finally got another boat since I moved back.

Also area smaller lakes will be on the agenda. My outfitter in Manitoba is bugging me to head up there again but, might have to wait until 2025 for that.

fishthumper wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Charlie W wrote:</div>
Winnipeg and Tobin are planned in the fall,

Charlie – What dates are your Tobin trip planned for? Possibly our trips will overlap and we could meet up to have a cold one and share some fishing stories
and Info. Do you mostly chase Eye’s or BIG pike?

We will be going at the end of October. Specifically walleyes although the first year (two years ago) we were too early in the fall and fished pike for a bit because the water temps still allowed for it.

fishthumper wrote:

Growing up in Staples, I have lots of great Memories of fishing Fish Trap lake a lot. Fish Trap, Shamineau, and Lake Alexander was my learning grounds for fishing in my Teen years. All three have great fishing and some interesting structure. If I could retire with a cabin somewhere in that area I’d be a happy man.

It’s definitely a great place and we’re lucky to have it in the family. The Lincoln Lakes area is definitely a hidden gem that kind of flies under the radar since Brainerd’s just to the east. And that’s fine with me!

Last year you all suggested Jay Cook for a camper cabin summer vacay with my nephew. It was awesome with so much to do we had to go non stop. I was thinking maybe Wisconsin this year so any tips on Wisconsins parks would be awesome, otherwise we might be doing mystery cave and then maybe another park on the Minnesota River since we hardly ever go down south.

Riverrat wrote:

Last year you all suggested Jay Cook for a camper cabin summer vacay with my nephew. It was awesome with so much to do we had to go non stop. I was thinking maybe Wisconsin this year so any tips on Wisconsins parks would be awesome, otherwise we might be doing mystery cave and then maybe another park on the Minnesota River since we hardly ever go down south.

Wisconsin Interstate Park is super cool and on this side of the world. Awesome views and hiking trails. No cabins to rent though, you’ll need a tent or camper. There’s a boat launch within the park to get on the river, and/or you can rent canoes/kayaks/tubes locally as well with a shuttle service. There’s a nice beach on a lake within the park as well.