Anyone ever fished Elizabeth? I'm considering basecamping there or in Jesse, and so far I like the look of Jesse a little more. But that camp site on Elizabeth looks better than anything on Jesse.

Didn't fish Elizabeth but found somethings out about it that might help you decide between it and Jesse?

Jesse is a popular spot. You might not get much "solitude" as you would on Elizabeth. That campsite on Elizabeth is very nice. Go to May 17 for Elizabeth.

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That sounds about right, ST.  Elizabeth was always pretty much a "pass-through" lake for me.  I seriously doubt its Eastern half sees much traffic at all.  I seem to recall reports from years ago regarding passage to Halliday & through to Sturgeon that suggest that almost no one ever goes that way ( I'd certainly want to check in with park portage-clearing crews before I would ever attempt it).  Anyway, there ought to be little through traffic, so I'm guessing you're right about the solitude factor.  Regarding fishing, I would merely observe that you hear much more about Jesse.  Furtman's guide says it is a northern pike & walleye lake.  That's no surprise.  If you want lake trout & smallmouth, just drop down to Walter.

Jimbo   8-)

Thanks guys. I'd like to make it to Elizabeth on day one. Doable?

   Coming from Batch/Nym, if you get a early start AND the winds are not bad on Batch you could make it to Elizabeth on the first day, maybe late but doable.

Jimbo mentioned fishing on Walter Lk. Easy portage from Elizabeth to Walter. Would make a good day trip.
Walter is a nice lake but few campsites.

Yes, do-able - as ST says- IF you stay ahead of those afternoon breezes.  They can really mess you up on the larger lakes... especially when you get crossways to them, as is likely since you'll be heading north-to-south.

Jimbo  8-)

As long as things go smoothly, we generally hit the water by 7am. We made it from Stanton to Buckingham just a little after 12 last year, but I'm not getting any younger.

Walter looks like a sweet day trip to me! Im going to be experimenting with a tackle box full of tube baits this year. I'm thinking I can hit all the water columns with just tubes and inserting different weights. I fish tubes almost exclusively in Oklahoma.

Generally that time of year the winds are out of the West/NW. If that holds true you can ride the western shoreline or if lucky and they come from the NW get a push all the way down.

Walter has a trough along the east shoreline out from that peninsula campsite I stayed at before.
  Laker time right there.

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I’ve stayed the night on Elizabeth back in 2020. Great site and we just trolled crankbaits along shore and had good luck for walleye and bass. Depending how long you’re intending to base camp it’s a great spot, I just know a full day there would be plenty imo.

Regarding the Halliday/sturgeon portages, when we did them they were in good shape. No crazy mud holes or overgrown sections.

ST - which campsite is that?  We rolled through Walter last year and did not find any campsite that wasn't poor to very poor.  Did I miss that one?

pd

pd,

It's campsite PY on Paddle Planner.
It's on an island on the south end of the lake.
When I was there it was more like a peninsula because the water level was low.

It has plenty of room and easy access.

Well, we looked at all the sites on that island - there are 4 - and I do not recall any of them looking that nice.  When was that pic taken?  We checked another site on the north shore, then ended up bailing on the Walter option and made our way up to Jesse for a night, then stayed 3 nights on Batchewaung before heading out.

It was in 2004. Early in May. Maybe later on they get overused of the water level changes?

I've been thru Elizabeth several times but mostly as a pass thru & so haven't bothered fishing it.  One exception: Did Walter -> Elizabeth -> Halliday -> Sturgeon once.  Going the long way down Elizabeth with wind at our backs we trolled.  I lost one of the biggest fish I think I've ever had on between the north and south shore campsite pair toward the eastern end. Go catch it! That was 1992 so it'll be bigger now!  :)

Thinking back, I've spent two nights on Liz on more than one occasion.

I know, it really looks boring and is a quick pass through... Therein lies the beauty of attention to detail.   :)