Sportsmen for the Boundary Waters

06/07/2026

What’s better than coffee around the fire at your favorite BWCA campsite?

06/05/2026

Join us on the evening of Thursday, July 9th, for a special live concert from Dave Simonett & Friends with special guest Doug Duren, and an evening celebrating the Boundary Waters. Enjoy live music, food trucks, an exclusive auction, canoe sweepstakes, and more!

Proceeds from the event and show will benefit Sportsmen for the Boundary Waters and the organization's work to protect and conserve the BWCA, our very own Singing Wilderness. This event is brought to you by onX Hunt. Sponsored in part by Sportsmen for the Boundary Waters, The Hook and Ladder Event Center, Redfeather Outdoors, and Frost River.

Purchase your tickets ahead of the event at the link below!

https://concerts.thehookmpls.com/singing-into-wilderness

06/02/2026

Water temps are rising, and the fish are biting! Check out this week's Ely area fishing report from Arrowhead Outdoors before hitting the water this weekend.

Photo #1 captured by Superior Pursuits with SFBW Board Member during a fishing outing as part of our 2025 Silent Auction

Photo #2 captured by

Photo #3 captured by

Photo #4 captured by

Walleye - Thanks to the jump in water temperatures, now averaging 68 degrees, walleyes are actively feeding on everything. During the day fish them in that 12-15ft of water range, right along the mud/rock transition lines. During the evenings the walleyes slide up to 2-8ft of water, again over the rocks.

Smallmouth Bass - Bass through the Ely area are in full spawning mode. Many lakes may already be done. Classic topwater baits like torpedoes, skitter pops, spooks, poppers and whopper ploppers will be the baits to throw.

Panfish - Crappies and sunnies are both being reported being seen in water so shallow their fins are coming out of the water. Anglers have been having the best luck fishing with small hair jigs, fished under a bobber. Oftentimes anglers are doing best fishing these jigs without anything on them, just under a bobber.

Pike - lots and lots of anglers reported excellent pike fishing this last week while fishing a large sucker, under a bobber, right off the dock in 6-12ft of water. Areas to focus on are emerging weeds, river mouths and the mouths of shallow bays.

Lake Trout - Lake trout anglers continue to enjoy some good lake trout fishing this last week. Success seemed equal rather you were trolling deep diving minnow baits, spoons or vertically jigging tubes or bucktails over deep water. Thanks to the jump in water temps, the majority of lakers are being found in 25-50ft of water now.

Stream Trout - Thanks to reports of freshly stocked trout in many of the more popular stream trout lakes, fishing was very good this last week. Many anglers reported that casting small spoons, small brightly colored minnow baits, and floating a crawler under a bobber or off the bottom has been very effective.

05/29/2026

05/27/2026

What’s your must have piece of gear for a BWCA trip?

05/25/2026

Today, we remember the brave men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice to protect our freedoms — and the wild places we hold dear.

From quiet mornings on the water to nights around a campfire beneath the stars, these moments exist because of those who gave everything in service to this country.

This Memorial Day, we honor and remember them.

05/22/2026

Smallmouth bass are among the most popular sport fish in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, possibly trailing only walleye in time, money and legend among today’s anglers. But this wasn’t always the case. As often happens in history, the rise in popularity of smallmouth bass reflects a combination of intentional efforts by both professional and amateur (“bucket”) biologists, as well as the compromises and regulatory gaps shaped by political considerations.

The story begins in the early decades of the 20th century, when sport fishing, along with hunting, became a leading attraction for visitors to canoe country, many of whom were enjoying more leisure time with the development of a large middle class and increased transportation options (roads, cars, fly-in resorts, outboard motors) to get them to lakes in northern Minnesota and southern Canada.

Read more from SFBW board member Mark Neuzil at the link below.

Photo Credit: Wisconsin Historical Society "Stocking Fish" Conservation advocate Sigurd F. Olson stocking smallmouth bass in the canoe country near the Minnesota-Canadian border {Sigurd F. and Elizabeth Olson papers, 1916-2003}

Canoe Country Angler Vol. 5

05/21/2026

With wonky spring weather and changing water temps, fishing in and around the BWCA can be hit or miss as we slowly transition from spring to summer. Before hitting the water, check out the latest report from Arrowhead Outdoors below! Good luck out there.

Walleye - Water temps reached 53 degrees this last week and with that minnows continue to be the name of the game for walleye anglers. 4-12ft of water near current areas or shallow rocky flats, continues to be the best depth for walleye right now. Anglers should expect this bite to continue this next week, but signs of change are already being reported. Anglers fishing shallower lakes where water temps reached 57 degrees, leeches out produced minnows. Here paddle tails and twisters also out produced minnows. Gold, pink and black/orange were top selling colors this last week.

Smallmouth - Many walleye anglers reported this last week that smallmouth bass are really starting to show up on their hot walleye spots. Bass anglers should be looking for rocky shoreline areas that get a good amount of sun. This warms up the water a few degrees warmer than surrounding areas. Square bill crankbaits and suspending minnow baits have been red hot for triggering bites. Anglers should focus their efforts in 5-12 feet of water.

Pike - Pike fishing continues to be on the hit or miss side. When anglers get into the right bay, it's lights out! Get into the wrong bay, it’s really, really slow. Heavy winds are likely to blame here as the wind turns up the water and keeps it from warming up. The largest suckers, you can find or frozen baits like herring, smelt or alewives, fished under a bobber, have been very effective in the right bays. If bobber fishing isn’t your thing, large minnow baits or spoons have been catching their fair share of quality pike. Anglers should continue to focus their efforts in sheltered bays in 5-12 feet of water. Water coming in is a big plus.

Panfish - This up and down weather and high winds has made the panfishing challenging For anglers. Anglers focusing on shallower, dark water lakes have been having the best success this last week. Dark water and sheltered bays help warm the water as much as 10 degrees warmer than bigger lakes. This much of a difference means panfish are much more active. Anglers had great luck fishing with crappie minnows or small tube jigs, under a bobber near downed trees or warm bays on the northside of lakes.

Stream Trout - Stream trout reports were few and far between again this week, likely because high winds don’t make it very enjoyable to sit on the shoreline or in a boat. The few reports we got were of a slow bite. Nightcrawler fished about 4-8ft under the bobber, caught some nice trout. If the wind was blowing too hard, floating a crawler off the bottom, about 2-4ft was also effective on trout.

Lake Trout - Lake trout fishing reports were also few and far between. High winds again were to blame. Anglers reported that when they were able to get out over lake trout waters the fishing was pretty good. Anglers trolled black/silver or blue/silver deep diving crankbaits were very effective. Key depths were 25-40ft of water.

05/18/2026

After much anticipation, Sportsmen for the Boundary Waters is proud to announce that the Pine Island WMA on Lake Vermilion is now accessible by a brand new dock! Now you can conveniently pull your boat up to the north end of this amazing plot of land, where there are great hunting, fishing, birding, hiking, and foraging opportunities. This WMA also serves as an excellent canoe portage for those wishing to cross from the southern part of Lake Vermilion to the Trout Lake BWCA access point, without having to paddle all the way around Pine Island.

This project would not have been possible without the help of onX Hunt Access and Stewardship Initiative, Minnesota DNR, and the Minnesota Get Out MORE initiative.

We'll see you out there!

Wired To Hunt
MeatEater
onX Fish
onXmaps

05/13/2026

Following the 2026 Minnesota Fishing Opener, spring and early summer fishing are officially in full swing! 🎣

Before heading back out, check out this week’s Ely-area fishing report from Arrowhead Outdoors. And don’t forget — there’s still time to submit your Minnesota fishing photos for our Fishing Opener Photo Contest for a chance to win an SFBW swag pack!

Photo featuring SFBW's Matthew Schultz with Boundary Waters Fishing Guide.

Walleye - With water temps in the low 40’s walleyes were largely in post spawn, throughout the Ely area. With water temps this cold, minnows still have yet to spawn in area lakes. This is a great clue as to where anglers should be looking for active walleyes. Skinny water as shallow as 1 foot held aggressive walleyes during the evening, after dark and early morning hours. Many anglers focused their efforts in that 2-7ft of water range. Rainbows tipped on a 1/8oz jig and fan cast around shallow rock flats and river mouths. For angler fishing in the current driven areas, they had success fishing a little deeper waters in 15-24ft of water, with a jig and minnow. Many of the walleye being caught in the current were under 20'. Mostly males/eaters. No minnows, no problem. Long line trolling shallow swimming minnow baits, during the evening hours or after dark was also very effective for anglers. Swimming paddle tails and twister tails along windy shorelines, over rocks was also very effective for catching quality walleyes. Gold, blue/white and firetiger were all popular colors this last weekend.

Smallmouth Bass - Weather conditions over the weekend were not favorable for bass fishing, so as expected smallmouth bass fishing were very limited. With such cold water temps anglers need to slow way down to get bites. Medium to small suspending minnow baits are the best way to go right now. Be sure to fish these baits with an uncomfortably long pause, to get the bass to bite. Anglers should look for areas where there are shallow rocks that will absorb the warmth from the sun during the day, thus raising the water temps a few degrees around the rocks. This little difference is all it takes to really turn on the smallmouth and turn a slow day into an incredible day of bass fishing.

Pike - Pike anglers reported a slow start to their season. Only a handful of reports from anglers came in of pike being caught over 40” this weekend. The usual method was the best method. Large suckers fished under a bobber, back in the shallow muddy bays. Current areas just didn’t seem to produce as well as they normally do as water levels were higher than normal. Anglers throwing artificial baits did well with large swim baits and curly tails. Best depth for pike was 10ft of water and less during the brighter times of the day.

Panfish - Panfish anglers reported some good bites happening for crappies right now. These anglers found them at the mouths of bays where the panfish are looking to spawn in the coming weeks. Key depth for them was 15-25ft of water. Small 1/16oz jigs, tipped with a crappie minnow, were really effective.

Stream Trout - Stream trout reports were mixed this last weekend for anglers. Anglers fishing from shore reported a slow bite, fishing night crawlers under a bobber about 5ft under the surface. Anglers fishing from a boat reported better fishing, but they had to cover ground to find biters. Again key depth for them was about 5-7ft under the surface. Small, brightly colored minnow baits and copper backed trolling spoons were more effective for them.

Lake Trout - Lake trout reports were very limited as high winds keep angler seeking areas out of the wind. Still some anglers managed to connect with some big lakers with a jig and a minnow. Many of these anglers were actually looking for walleyes. Best depth was 12-20ft of water, back in bays protected from the wind.