Youngs Wilderness Muskies

Lake of the Woods is known to most musky anglers as “Lake of the Muskies.” No other water supports such a large population of muskies, with many of them being trophy-size. Further, the lake has literally thousands of musky spots. It’s the place where you can simply look around and if a spot looks good fish it, and most likely a musky will show up. It’s the best musky water in the world.

Lake of the Woods is no secret and attracts musky anglers from across North America. Having fished "LOW" for thirty years, I can say that there are muskies just about everywhere in the lake, and if you take the time to learn any section, you can be extremely successful. As a result, many areas of LOW are growing in popularity and it’s not uncommon to see other boats musky fishing across the lake.

Last fall, I had the chance to fish the Steven’s Bay area of Lake of the Woods while filming an episode of The Musky Hunter Television Show at Young’s Wilderness Camp in Nestor Falls, Ontario, Canada. Steven’s Bay is located on the southeast section of the lake and does not receive the fishing pressure compared to other sections of the LOW. As a result, it feels like turning back the clock on fishing LOW 10 years!

We stayed at Young’s Wilderness Camp in Nestor Falls and the place was incredible. They have their own boat launch, which limits boat access to this area, another reason boat traffic is limited. It’s a five-minute boat ride to the island camp, and the place is amazing. The cottages are beautiful, the dock system is the best I have ever seen, and the food is fantastic. Carol and Perry Anniuk were amazing hosts.  

Bob Turgeon and I fished with Perry, who has been a musky guide on LOW forever. We fished for two and a half days and boated six muskies, the largest being 48 inches, lost four others, and had numerous follows. Plus, conditions were far from perfect, with strong easterly winds and rain!  

Steven’s Bay is a spawning bay and muskies are obviously there in the early season, but you also have a solid population of resident muskies. In addition, in the fall there is a migration of more muskies into Steven’s Bay. So although it may appear on the map as an early-season hot spot, it holds muskies all season long. Plus, you have quick access to Sabaskong Bay to the west. We fished both Steven’s Bay and Sabaskong and encountered muskies.

On our trip, we focused primarily on islands and found fish on rock points and shelves along the islands. When the muskies were active, it was not uncommon to encounter muskies on several consecutive islands, and many islands held multiple muskies.

We caught muskies on Cowgirl spinners and smaller crankbaits but had action from muskies while fishing larger minnow baits and soft plastics as well. Lures that were productive in Steven’s Bay were the same that I have used on many other portions of LOW. Likewise, I felt really at home fishing this section of LOW; like everywhere else, if a spot looks good, fish it!

If you are looking for another LOW destination to learn and get away from some of the crowd, definitely consider Young’s Wilderness Camp. It’s easy to access, just 75 miles NW of International Falls, MN, and Carol and Perry will treat you great and get you on the muskies!

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Young's Wilderness Camp
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