Super User TOXIC Posted January 4, 2019 Super User Posted January 4, 2019 So, this year on our annual trip to Waupaca/King Chain of Lakes in Wisconsin, I will officially be retired!! WoooHoooo!! We usually go for a week and I pull the big boat up from Virginia. My Brother-in law and Sister-in law always stay in the cottage for another week after we leave. This is in early August. I've decided to stay for the second week (why not!!) but my wife will fly home after the first week (somebody has to pay the bills). Apart from the risk that I will be unsupervised, I will be on no timetable for the trip back and I've decided to take a few fishing sidetrips!! First spot that comes to mind is Mille Lacs because who wouldn't want to fish there after the smashfest the pro's put on when they were there? It is about 5 hours from where we stay in Wisconsin. One of my St Clair buddies also retired at the beginning of the year and he wants to meet up and fish Sturgeon Bay. So, the question is.......If you were me, where would you fish on your way home? I'd like to keep it reasonable distance wise but no where is off the table. 1 Quote
Super User Log Catcher Posted January 5, 2019 Super User Posted January 5, 2019 Congratulations on your upcoming retirement. I would think about Kentucky or Barkley lakes. Dale Hollow is good for smallmouth. Doing this in August could be tough as it can get pretty hot around here in the summer. Quote
Super User Choporoz Posted January 5, 2019 Super User Posted January 5, 2019 What fun just planning such a trip! I would look at stopping at Alma on the way to Mille Lac and hit the Mississippi. I would certainly run up to the border and chase walleye and trophy northerns...probably on Rainy Lake. I would see what @A-Jayis doing and if he's free for a day or two, come around the top of Lake Michigan. I would drop down and spend a couple days in Dandrige TN to fish Douglas for bass and crappie. I'd consider stopping at South Holston Lake, if only because of recent report from @everythingthatswims. Could be the trip of a lifetime. Quote
Super User everythingthatswims Posted January 5, 2019 Super User Posted January 5, 2019 DUDE. Drive to Bemidji Minnesota and fish all the little lakes around there (besides Bemidji, it's run by musky and pike). I was up there for a college championship, and all of the college guys have stories about the various lakes in that area and how incredible the fishing was. I'm sure there are a lot of places in Minnesota like that too. Where we were, you could fish a different lake every 2 hours for a week and never run out of water. The bass fishing is unbelievable. Water would be 8' vis and you could flip a 1/2oz texas rig with a beaver on straight braid to a fish that is 5' from the boat and it would bite. They are fat, aggressive, and dumb as a box of rocks. Smallmouth and largemouth all over that area, I would highly recommend it. The fishing pressure there is almost exclusively for walleye, a lot of people don't even know bass live there. 2 Quote
Super User MN Fisher Posted January 5, 2019 Super User Posted January 5, 2019 1 minute ago, everythingthatswims said: DUDE. Drive to Bemidji Minnesota and fish all the little lakes around there (besides Bemidji, it's run by musky and pike). I was up there for a college championship, and all of the college guys have stories about the various lakes in that area and how incredible the fishing was. Ya, I fished most of them when I lived up there. Also not too far is Lake George and Leech Lake. For trout I fished the Straight River in Park Rapids. 2 Quote
Super User TOXIC Posted January 7, 2019 Author Super User Posted January 7, 2019 Although on my schedule, shooting South of Virginia isn't in the plans right now. I'm going to get my fix on some of my favorite water and that's up North. Mille Lacs just looked like a good lake to give some diversion and I know there are a LOT of lakes in MN that are overlooked for bass. I know about Bemidgi because as a kid we used to go to Lake Kabetogama from Nebraska. That's a 9 hour jaunt whereas Mille Lacs is 5 from where I'll be in WI. My buddy wants to meet up at Sturgeon Bay as well. All I know is this is gonna be a fun few weeks!! Quote
Troy85 Posted January 7, 2019 Posted January 7, 2019 While it would be about 7 hours out of your way. I've always thought it would be awesome to fish Thousand Islands. Quote
Super User TOXIC Posted January 7, 2019 Author Super User Posted January 7, 2019 2 minutes ago, Troy85 said: While it would be about 7 hours out of your way. I've always thought it would be awesome to fish Thousand Islands. That's on my plans as well. It will be a standalone trip though. Quote
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