A group of 6 including myself (who are die-hard fishermen) did a fly-in to Clay Lake last June and spent most of our time on Kawnipi and had outstanding fishing for the week. We are looking into trying to make it up through McKenzie Bay of Kawnipi, through the 160 rod portage to McKenzie Lake to fish for a few days. Has anyone been up to McKenzie Lake? Is the trail open from McKenzie bay of Kawnipi? It is a helluva ways up through there, how's the fishing, is it worth the trip?

I have heard it's full of northerns.....some of the huge size!

I haven't been to McKenzie Lake, but last July we took a day trip paddling up to the north end of McKenzie Bay. We thought of portaging over into the Lake for lunch, but the weather was iffy so we had lunch on the north end of McKenzie Bay before returning to our fantastic campsite at the south end of the bay. It's a very scenic paddle up there and only takes a couple hours. I've heard that there are limited decent campsites on McKenzie Lake (despite its huge size), but there are a couple nice campsites at the very north end of McKenzie Bay. You could camp there and portage into the lake to test out the fishing, if so inclined. The beginning of the portage looks like it's hidden behind some reeds, but not too hard to find. Like I said, we didn't actually cross it.

It's a good lake to fish, I've seen bass, walleye, and pike. Watch for poison ivy on the portage.

Is the best way into Mckenzie lake through McKenzie Bay off Kawnipi? I thought there was also a way directly from Clay through Bellaire Lake. Where are the campsites located on McKenzie Lake? Has any one tried the creek between Ferguson and McKenzie lake? I heard there is some good laker fishing on Ferguson.

I only know this second hand, but the route from Clay through Bellaire to McKenzie is supposed to be VERY VERY difficult. So if you want a real challenge, it's the "best" way. The easiest way is from McKenzie Bay.

I've also wanted to go to Ferguson and have researched it some. I don't think it's hard to get from McKenzie Lake to Ferguson (or vice versa). But I'm told the portage from Ferguson to Cache River is really hard to find - especially from the Cache River side. So that makes this a hard way to get to McKenzie Lake too. What I'd like to try some time is go from McKenzie Bay to McKenzie Lake, then into Ferguson, then find that darned portage into the Cache River, and then take the river back to Kawnipi.

Campsite info for McKenzie Lake, like the rest of Quetico, can be found at the PCD.

I wonder if it is possible to go directly north from McKenzie Bay into the western end of Ferguson. The map shows a creek and a small lake on the way. This would then probably require some bushwhacking though. Looks like there are a couple options to make a loop: McK. Bay, McK. Lake, Ferguson Creek, Ferguson Lake and back to Kawnipi through the Cache R. Or just skip McK. lake like I suggest above?Does anyone know what Ferguson Creek or the creek I described above is like?

I don't know how frequent Powell's resort sends people into Ferguson anymore, but they used to drive within a couple of hundred yards of Bellaire where they have canoes stashed, and send people into Ferg for trout for the day. North end of McKenzie is relatively shallow, lots of smaller pike. Mckenzie lake has one area with deep water that holds some trout and whitefish. But Ferguson is where to head for better trout fishing. The west end of the lake is a lot of 60 foot water and that is where all of the trout are in the summer. Nothing real big, mostly all will be under 5 pounds. I found a wolf den on Ferguson that I got to see parents greeting pups at after a long night hunting. Pretty cool stuff up there like pictos and grave on McKenzie. It's still one of my favorite areas of the park although I haven't returned to that area for about 7 years.

I have heard about the grave on McKenzie a couple times now. Is this really true? I would be interested in the location. There was also a mention of it in the most recent BWJ. If you don't want to post on forum, feel free to send me an email at kmjohnson36@yahoo.com. My buddy and I are still debating our June route, I would love to do a foray into Mckenzie and/or Ferguson.

Regarding Ferguson, is it legal for an outfitter to put groups in via Belaire and daytrip to Ferguson? I would think that would be a heck of a daytrip.

Thanks.

I was up in Mckenzie probably 30 years ago, with my Mom. I remember finding a grave on a very small island.. skeleton looked complete but was missing the skull.

We paddled up to McKenzie out of Beland's on Moose lake, portaged out the north end over to Belaire, then out of Belaire into the Wawiag River. That was little piece of work.. but I was young and strong.

She planned the trips, I paddled and packed.. She loved the Boundary Waters and the Quetico. That was certainly our most challenging route.

To the top! Anyone been to McKenzie Lake this summer? Any tidbits??My brothers and I are looking to go there next summer and are already planning.

mchenzie lake has always inerested me, its remote, and huge. but my outfitter said it just had pike and trout in it, no walleye and no bass. i dont see how thats possible but whatever. i dont think many people go there and the fact its a massive lake you would think it would have good fishing but ive never been there myself.

Okay...this thread has been dead for awhile but we officially have our trip booked and are going back via fly in to Clay Lake. This time we are planning our trip around camping in McKenzie Bay of Kawnipi and exploring McKenzie Lake for a couple days. We would love to visit the Indian grave or any painted areas if anyone has coordinates or approximate location they can send.
The main reason for making it to McKenzie is to make it to another "destination" lake this year to explore where few people go per year.
We are also very interested in any fishing stories from up there.
Feel free to post or email me kr299701@ohio.edu

If you look at a topo map it looks like it's only about 1 mile from Kawa Bay near the mouth of the Wawiak river to McKenzie. It also looks like there is a ridge of level ground that runs almost the whole way there. I don't think it would necessarily be easy to bushwack this (shortcut?), but I have thought about it. The next time I'm up that way I'm going to check it out. Having been there, that part of the forest was burned and it might not be too thick to bushwack. Just a thought. Probably stupid, but hey, not everyone can be an astronaut.

I even just went to Google Earth to check this out. It looks like it is worth investigating. It's not a ridge that runs from Kawa Bay to McKenzie, but a cut. It looks like you can get high enough on the cut to avoid potentially boggy areas. You can orient by heading NE between the two hills which you should be able to see on the whole walk.

Has anyone ever checked this out?

We will be coming from Clay Lake. Has anyone ever gone up Waiwag and portaged to Belaire Lake and then the portage to McKenzie? This is pretty much off the beaten path as well and would be alot of bushwacking. I don't expect that either of the two portages shown here are well traveled.
http://w3.cs.jmu.edu/arch/hobbies/camp/maps/quet-pcd/code/main.php?StdArg=90952261.48471721.deg.a-16mp.name.main.ismap_main&locImg=a-16mp,5725,1356?53,264

Sounds like, from the posts above that the one fellow took that route with his Mom decades ago from McKenzie to Belaire.

You should have some brushy portages when entering the area from the east. I've been through McKenzie a couple of times, once through the Cache Lake portages from the north (long, wet, and gnarly), and once up from McKenzie Bay, Kawnipi (good trail). We caught numerous pike, and the lake is known to hold some big ones, as well as some lake trout.

We only fished for part of a day before heading over to Ferguson Lake and down the Cache River to Kawnipi.

For such a big lake, McKenzie has few campsites, and they are not really great.

Hello Everyone and Diamond,

Just wanted to see if you had more info on the wolf den on Ferguson or pictographs or any other information on this area. I'm going up with my 9 year old son for a14 day trip through that area and I'm trying to just get some more details. You can email me if that is more helpful or confidential.

Thank you all in advance.
Moosehopper

I was back through McKenzie and Ferguson two summers ago, 35 years after the first time I went through there. Portage from McKenzie Bay of Kawnipi to McKenzie Lake is brushy and rolling, but not very difficult. There are two pictograph sites on McKenzie, nice, but not exceptional, and they are shown on the Fisher maps.

Ferguson Creek is about 15-20 feet wide and meanders through muskeg and spruce bog. There is one drag-over required across a high beaver dam that raises the level of Ferguson Creek and Ferguson Lake by a good three feet.

Ferguson is a nice lake, seldom visited, that contains both pike and lake trout. There are two campsites. I have only stayed on the tiny island site--which is NOT a good site in stormy weather (lightning), and is really too small for more than a couple of people to camp on.

There are two portages to the Cache River: a short one over a hill to a pond, and a long, brushy, slog through spruce bog that is about a mile long. The second portage is one of the toughest in the park. Muck and bugs.

The Chrismar map shows six portages bypassing rapids along the Cache River below the Ferguson-Cache River portage. There are only five, as the upper-most of the last four portages doesn't exist and isn't needed. The last portage on the Cache River bypasses a long series of rapids along the right side and ends below Cache Falls on a long, narrow bay of Kawnipi Lake. A nice campsite with a view lies just downstream from the falls on the east shore--well above the lake.

Thank you arctic,

I really appreciate the feedback, very useful info, I wrote you an email also enquiring about native remains some where located on Mckenzie. I would love to pay my respects with an offering of tobacco or cedar. My intentions are for reverence and appreciation. If you could or want to I would appreciate any knowledge on this subject. It would be awesome if you could email me. If not I fully understand, I will still be on the lake and offer my regards to the stars In the night. I would also be very confidential about it this sacred knowledge. Thank you for all your help. You have a lot of experience and I really like your trip report in that area with your sixteen year old.
Sincerely, moosehopper

Mostly echoing others... there are four ways onto Mac. From Kawnipi is the easiest, though that portage is somewhat challenging. The other three are all varities of... difficult. The Wawiag-Belaire route is quite tough, it's been written up on this site before, and you are dealing with one unmarked and unmaintained portage, and another only marginally maintained. The route into Ferguson is problematic to say the least, if you are trying to find a portage from a moving river into Ferguson (and that portage is itself a challenge, if you can find it). Then there is the whole Trousers-Cache-Mac two-portage 4-mile fun run.

Fishing-wise, its good for Northern we found, and others have as well. Also heard from friends that the reedy area near Ferguson is good for bass AND Northern, and supposedly there are big lakers in the deep water that runs parallel to the south/east shore along most of the lake.

Ferguson is supposedly great fishing, haven't been there though.

The real treats with that lake are solitude, archaeological sites, and being in an area with high frequency of wildlife sightings.