Considering an early July trip to Quetico with my sons. Two boats. A week or so. We have bwca experience, never been to Quetico, it’s a big bucket list item. Need to rent one canoe up there, otherwise we’re all geared up. Considerations…

Getting well into my geezer years but still reasonably fit. However, these days the fewer (no?!) portages the better. Boys carry the boats and other gear, I carry a 30lb ish max pack. Not much for for the long routes anymore. Desire getting to a base camp with day tripping opportunities within a day or day and a half of the EP, double portaging.

No problem driving up to the northern EPs from MPLS. OK with bunkhouse / motel up there on night one. That’s my usual BW M.O. Is it less busy out of the north than via BW? Seems like less of hassle to me than doing tows, etc.

I’m looking for awesome scenery, quiet, walleye in numbers, lake trout as a big bonus, and avoiding the summer BW hub bub (I only go there in the fall now). Just perusing the map…maybe beaverhouse to a hangout on Jean? That’s just one idea. Thanks mucho in advance for your suggestions!

I would recommend going out of Nym into the Pickerel narrows. We used Michelle with Voyageur Wilderness. They outfit off an island in Nym. She will pick you up in their pontoon, take you to their island, feed you dinner and give you a room for the night. In the morning they will fix breakfast and then you can push off from their dock. Paddle half way across Nym, one portage into Batch and you’re done portaging for the trip. Highly recommend their services.

That’s an interesting option although maybe a tad more travelled area than I’d prefer . I’ll put on the list for further research. Thx.

Beaverhouse looks like a nice entry point. You’d most likely want to pull a Quetico Lake entry permit and that is 6 total group permits per day. Quetico Lake is highly recommended by one of the board members I watched on a Save the boundary waters podcast. Huge lake but in like 3 tiers. Quetico lake has 4 Pictograph sites. Beaverhouse lake has 2 pictograph sites but they are west from the entry point.

Beaverhouse to Jean Lake double portaging is about 19 miles. 0.8 miles of portaging. Long day but mostly paddling.

Ryan

Thx. And if we camped one night on eastern Quetico
It should be a fairly easy paddle down to Jean. Not seeing
a downside to this plan as of yet and fishing info on Jean is very positive.

Wispaddler: "Thx. And if we camped one night on eastern Quetico
It should be a fairly easy paddle down to Jean. Not seeing
a downside to this plan as of yet and fishing info on Jean is very positive.
"

You're right, there is no downside. And doing it in two days is probably a better idea. Lots to see on Quetico.

preacherdave: "I would recommend going out of Nym into the Pickerel narrows."

I concur with PreacherDave. Batch and the Pickerel Narrows have both been phenomenal Lake Trout fishing spots for me. And if you want to get a little more off the beaten path, camp down on Maria. I've had good Walleye fishing on Jesse which would be an easy day trip.

That being said, I reserved my own Quetico Lake permit last weekend. I'll be going out to Jean and then looping southwest to return via Badwater.

Lots of great info for a couple trips. Thanks to all. I guess I’m leaning toward that BH, Quetico, Jean and return idea for this year. Quetico gets a lot of raves and Jean seems like a great base for fishing.

Back in 2016 I entered from Beaverhouse, and headed up to Cirrus. We had only the two portages through the little no name lake and into Cirrus. They were not bad. Saw only two other groups. One was camped, and we saw a single canoe way off in the distance one day.
Great fishing! We caught a few walleye, and a lot of smallies. My son hooked a huge northern. It broke his 12lb test and stole the lure. We were throwing lots of lures, not specifically targeting walleye.
My $0.02

pcallies: "

preacherdave: "I would recommend going out of Nym into the Pickerel narrows."

I concur with PreacherDave. Batch and the Pickerel Narrows have both been phenomenal Lake Trout fishing spots for me. And if you want to get a little more off the beaten path, camp down on Maria. I've had good Walleye fishing on Jesse which would be an easy day trip.


That being said, I reserved my own Quetico Lake permit last weekend. I'll be going out to Jean and then looping southwest to return via Badwater."

Where are the LT in Pickerel Narrows? Are they in that one section before heading into Batch just north of Mosquito Point? I paddled through the Pickerel Narrows archipelago and it doesn't resemble a LT fishery (in the summer at least).

Are you heading straight from Jean to Badwater or are you looping down to Burntside and Bentpine? I'm wondering if there was any fire damage in the area of Bentpine, Trail, Snow and Your Lakes from last summer's conflagration.

"Argo: Where are the LT in Pickerel Narrows? Are they in that one section before heading into Batch just north of Mosquito Point? I paddled through the Pickerel Narrows archipelago and it doesn't resemble a LT fishery (in the summer at least). "

I agree that the Pickerel Narrows don't resemble Lake Trout territory, but we caught them pretty much through the entire narrows. We started that day on Nym, putting lines in the water as soon as we got into Batch, and camped in the east end of the narrows. It was the best day of LT fishing I've ever had. I sincerely lost track of how many I caught. This was in the first couple weeks of June. Results could very easily differ later in the summer.

"Argo: Are you heading straight from Jean to Badwater or are you looping down to Burntside and Bentpine? I'm wondering if there was any fire damage in the area of Bentpine, Trail, Snow and Your Lakes from last summer's conflagration."

We'll be looping down to Bentpine. Looking at the image @Giadin53 posted from the Quetico Provincial Park Facebook, I think we'll see some of the burn when we get down to Trail and Little Pine.

Pickerel Narrows on the eastern end is a pretty good area for LT. There are some wonderful island campsites in that area as well. I'm looking to go in perhaps in late May depending on where border regulations are at that time. I'd like to get into Bentpine as well, however I'll see how I'm progressing through BH, Quetico and Jean. I may just basecamp somewhere in there and fish!

pcallies: "

"Argo: Where are the LT in Pickerel Narrows? Are they in that one section before heading into Batch just north of Mosquito Point? I paddled through the Pickerel Narrows archipelago and it doesn't resemble a LT fishery (in the summer at least). "

I agree that the Pickerel Narrows don't resemble Lake Trout territory, but we caught them pretty much through the entire narrows. We started that day on Nym, putting lines in the water as soon as we got into Batch, and camped in the east end of the narrows. It was the best day of LT fishing I've ever had. I sincerely lost track of how many I caught. This was in the first couple weeks of June. Results could very easily differ later in the summer.

"Argo: Are you heading straight from Jean to Badwater or are you looping down to Burntside and Bentpine? I'm wondering if there was any fire damage in the area of Bentpine, Trail, Snow and Your Lakes from last summer's conflagration."

We'll be looping down to Bentpine. Looking at the image @Giadin53 posted from the Quetico Provincial Park Facebook, I think we'll see some of the burn when we get down to Trail and Little Pine.
"

I think it may have to do with the time of year and water temps through the Narrows then. My trips are always in peak summer so the LT have gone deep.

The map from Gaidin53 is very helpful. It looks like only Trail, Little Pine and Snow were affected on your route. Deadfall on the portages may be a problem unless it gets cleaned up. Another issue through here is water levels. Hopefully it comes up this year.

Argo: "

Wispaddler: "Thx. And if we camped one night on eastern Quetico
It should be a fairly easy paddle down to Jean. Not seeing
a downside to this plan as of yet and fishing info on Jean is very positive.
"

You're right, there is no downside. And doing it in two days is probably a better idea. Lots to see on Quetico."

A timing question, looking at entering at BH to Quetico and Jean sometime from July 1 to 11…does the 4th of July really have much any effect on number of campers in NW Quetico?

Wispaddler: "

Argo: "

Wispaddler: "Thx. And if we camped one night on eastern Quetico
It should be a fairly easy paddle down to Jean. Not seeing
a downside to this plan as of yet and fishing info on Jean is very positive.
"

You're right, there is no downside. And doing it in two days is probably a better idea. Lots to see on Quetico."

A timing question, looking at entering at BH to Quetico and Jean sometime from July 1 to 11…does the 4th of July really have much any effect on number of campers in NW Quetico? "

While I have not traveled to Quetico on or around the 4th of July (my trips straddle Jul/Aug) I am moderately concerned with what the northern section of Quetico will look like in terms of numbers of groups given the RABC issue and the amount of the SW quadrant of the park that was torched last summer.

I have been spoiled in the last two years as the park was virtually empty. There was firewood everywhere on shore (although there was a fire ban last summer). There were no cars in the Beaverhouse parking lot at all. We saw one group on Quetico, one group on Burntside, then no-one on Sturgeon, Lonely nor Walter until we got to Jessie. Different route the year before but same profile.

This year is going to be different. I believe many Americans who normally enter through the south will alter their plans and try the north just to get back there after being denied for two years.

But I am also wondering if the BW may experience a drop-off in visitors. Both domestic and international travel is going to be easier this summer like it hasn't been for the past two years. The question is, will the folks who swelled the ranks of visitors in 2020 and 2021 get a taste and decide this should be an annual event? Is that the new normal? Or will they return to road trips to places in Canada and the US that are now more accessible?

And how many serious annual American paddlers - who would normally visit a variety of other proximate canoeing destinations in Canada - converged on the BW in the last two years? That number may be significant. For instance, someone from Syracuse NY may have made Algonquin Park their annual destination only to be denied for the last two years. So how do they get their fix? Maybe the BW was a stand-in. But since the border is now open, Algonquin could be back on the ticket. That's six hours on the road vs twenty-two - a consequential difference!

If still planning to head into Jean and your desire to catch a good number of walleyes and an occasional LT I might suggest camping on the north end of the south bay of Jean. G7 and G4 are very nice sites that would give you good access to short day trips into Burntside where you should have little trouble catching walleyes with a chance at LT in the north part of the lake also. On the way to and from Burntside you also have a good chance of catching LT while paddling through the south bay of Jean. Also some good walleye fishing to the north of these campsites in the eastern part of Jean but doubtful you will catch the numbers like in Burntside. If you want to break up your trip coming back, the eastern part of Quetico Lake offers some great fishing opportunities also. Throughout your route I'm guessing you won't encounter any more groups than what you would in the more remote areas of the BWCA. I would suggest bringing a weather radio along as you won't want to paddle the length of Quetico Lake coming back into a stiff westerly wind unless you have to. We often stay at a campsite on the eastern to central part of Quetico Lake on our way out for that reason. Usually at this location you can make it into Beaverhouse with an early start before a westerly wind were to pick up.

Yes, still thinking Jean and that neighborhood. Thx for great info! Looking like may go week of July 11 or so. I’m used to fishing more in the spring and fall in BW. Would you expect good walleye and LT potential for this area in this time of the summer. Understanding that LTs have gone deep.

We typically make our trips in the mid-July to early August timeframe. I would definitely suggest bringing a depth finder along if you are serious about targeting walleyes this time of year. Most off shore reefs and islands will hold fish. Once you find these areas you can troll around and through with crankbaits or jig with a plastic, spoon, or bait similar to a jigging or ripping rap. We typically don't target LT much but we still catch a handful each trip by trolling deep diving crankbaits or use spoons behind a sinker to get it down in the 25-35 ft. range. I would be happy to PM if you would like more specific info.

Wispaddler: "Yes, still thinking Jean and that neighborhood. Thx for great info! Looking like may go week of July 11 or so. I’m used to fishing more in the spring and fall in BW. Would you expect good walleye and LT potential for this area in this time of the summer. Understanding that LTs have gone deep. "

Hooked three LT on Jean inside of an hour late July last year. Jigged weighted spoons down to about 50' in the channel between 35T and the southern shore.

Only thing about Jean is that it's perfectly shaped to get whipped up by westerly winds. It can get pretty rough. Planning to get on the water early is good idea. If it gets too rough, you can explore protected coves and such and target shallow-water species.

Will do