Minnesota River is a top-drawer walleye fishery as well, albeit an off-the-radar and largely unheralded one. And it’s especially good during the spring and fall.
When it comes to finding walleyes on the Minnesota fishing opener, it can be difficult for a lot of anglers because no one has been able to get on the water and develop a pattern.
It’s by no means a comprehensive ranking of BWCAW fishing lakes, and it is heavily skewed toward lakes accessed from the Gunflint Trail side, where 95% of my trips have originated.
Although channel catfish have shown up in lake surveys dating back to 1968 on Colby, the planets seem to have aligned perfectly in recent years for the population to expand.
The fish are ready to move in, they just need the right weather and water temperature to do so. Until then, continue to look for crappies and sunfish just outside of the traditional, spring spots as they stage before moving in to feed.