First off you're going to need a large lake, Lake of the Woods, Saganaga, ect. Not sure what large lakes are in the Ely area. I know there are a bunch of guides that operate off of Saganaga. The ones I have talked to specialize in walleye but do catch other fish as well. Pretty sure most are independant although some may be hooked up with outfitters. I know with the outfitter we get our permit through most of their customers are canoe customers. I'd start by talking to some of the outfitters. You might be better off going as an independant and advertising to get clients and specializing on just a few lakes. If you can get hooked up with an outfitter or two who will send you business more the better but I wouldn't want to depend on one outfitter to send me enough business. Most of the serious fishing guys that go up there know what they are doing although if I were fishing out of a boat a guide would be a good idea first day out.

Another thing to think about is most of those lakes up there have motor restrictions and almost everybody uses v hulls.