Arcadia Lodge
Big Turtle Lake – Bigfork, MN
June 15-22, 2025
Hosts: The Jones – Steve, Casey, & Kylie

Stacey, Joshua, and I made our eighth family vacation/fishing trip together to Arcadia Lodge up on Big Turtle Lake. We stayed in the Rustic cabin for the sixth time.

We all had fun participated in creating our own tie dye t-shirts! All of our shirts turned out great, but I think both Stacey and Joshua’s shirts turned out the best. I spent most mornings and evenings fishing alone except for one morning when Joshua joined me. Stacey and Joshua got into some fishing also, and the few times they joined they both landed some nice fish. Late mornings and evenings were spent enjoying the view of Monson Island while sipping on either some wine or cold refreshing carbonated drink. Afternoons were spent at the beach swimming, paddle boarding, venturing from one water toy to the next, getting ice cream on waffle cones in the lodge, and cozying up in the air-conditioned cabin watching movies. The weather was hot and humid. On Thursday just after midnight our cell phones tornado warning alerts went off nonstop! It was a crazy light show of thunder and lightning, and gusty winds for a good couple hour. Our dog Charlie enjoyed his stay as well with daily walks, boat rides, and a dip into the lake for a doggy swim.

Smallmouth bass action was fantastic! The mayfly hatch was in full bloom. The best technique was mid-trolling with a 3/16 oz. jighead and a 5″ Sakamata Shad. Casted it out letting in drop a few feet and begin working it back with fast twitches until the rod loads up signaling a fish is on. Other lures that worked were a Ned rig with a 2.5″ Stealth Craw in the 309 color, Sleeper Craw (caught the biggest bass at 19″), and a 1/4 oz. jighead with a live crayfish caught in the minnow trap. Mostl bass were in the 17″ to 18.5″ range.

Check my full-length vlogs below for the full action along with my family video!

We really enjoyed our stay, rebooked again for next year before we left. Counting the days until 2026…