Two "senior" canoers planning our first Quetico trip for Sept. We're experienced BWCAW trippers, but this will be our first trip into Quetico and we have some questions.

1. Entry points. Thinking about Beaverhouse Lake (ala Geezer trip in BWJ, winter 2014), or Prairie Portage or Lac La Croix. Beaverhouse would be a longer drive, but starts out in the park. Lac La Croix would be a full day's paddle just to get to the ranger station. Prairie Portage looks like an easy day's paddle from Moose Lake.

2. Fishing will be a primary goal.

3. Not interested in logging miles (been there, done that).

4. Scenery will be important,also.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

If you go out of La Croix or PP, I would suggest a tow at least one way, IMO on the start, faster, no issues on nasty weather, money well spent. Get to the good water AFAP.

Have a nice trip.

How many days and what fish? Have you considered the "B" chain. Start at French go through the B chain to Sturgeon and then back through Dore. Good fishing, beautiful area.

I did the B chain last year in Mid-July and had excellent fishing anywhere along the route that there was moving water. Made a side trip off the route to Antoine for lakers that was well worth doing as well. The wind on Pickeral was the only downer of the route.

B chain?

When you say you aren't interested in logging miles, what does that mean to you? Are you wanting to go just one day in? Two short days? What is short for you, in terms of paddling distance and portages?

B chain is a good choice, but the loop they discussed has some miles to it.

quote Chief Bob: "B chain?"

Bisk,Beg, Bud......south of Pickerel Lake. Would involve a drive to Atikokan area and launching at French Lake or Stanton Bay. Nice scenic area.
Another option would be PP and head for the Man Chain.

Trees,
We're looking at 6 or 7 days and 2 or 3 camps. Gut-busting portages are off the table.

If leaving out of Moose Lake, I would pay for the tow from one of the outfitters on that lake. A easy trip with great fishing would be to have them take you all the way to Washington Island. In a few hours you can be in North Bay. There are numerous good campsites there and you can also venture into Lost Bay and Hidden Bay. The fishing there is excellent for big pike, walleye, lake trout and smallmouth. North Bay is visited a lot less than it used to be and I've been very happy with the size and numbers of fish. It is big water and therefore I've chosen to camp in one of the two bays mentioned as they are small enough shelter you during a windy day.

beaverhouse is a great option! you could go to quetico and jean or cirrus....beautiful area, relaxing. kinda big water if it's windy, some pictographs... and don't forget the old rusty truck on the portage into Quetico from beaverhouse! actually, beaverhouse is a beautiful lake to explore if it's calm. some pictographs down beaverhouse, too.

If fishing is the main purpose, get a tow across LLC and hit Poohbah.

I second Mocha! Great country, limited portages, lots of nooks and crannies to disappear into. Quetico, less traveled Cirrus, even less traveled (and improperly spelt) Kashsawong.

Skip the B chain. Man chain in the south or Beaverhouse. You should have no trouble getting permit in Sept. There are some nice trip reports on those areas for your review,

B'house is probably the easiest in the sense of access to lots of water with very respectable fishing opportunities. A short portage from there gets you to Quetico Lake. From Quetico lake you can take a short portage into Cirrus Lake, a moderate portage into Kasakokwog Lake or a couple of portages to reach Jean Lake (through Conk Lake). (A quick check of my planning map suggest the port between Quetico and Kas is 580 meters ... I frankly don't remember it being half that long.)

If your plan is to go after mid-September, you can self-permit (not get a permit in advance) and just pay camping fees. If you are within the window when the ranger stations are open (which would be until mid-September) and you get a permit, I'd recommend checking in at the Ranger Station in Atikokan the afternoon before your entry and skipping the paddle across B'house to the Ranger Station there. (This allows you to head directly to Quetico Lake if you wish.)

I'd second skipping the B-chain. I did it last September and although pretty, I found it a bit confining. There isn't a lot of room for groups to spread out. In addition, the portage out of Pickerel to Bisk is not particularly long, but it is a bit of a rock garden, so you have to watch your step (and of course, it is mostly downhill going in). If you continue on, the portage between Fern and Oliphant is reasonably easy, but a tad long (about a mile).

dd (age 68)

Having done most of the routes mentioned above in September, I would recommend Beaverhouse. Minimal portaging to get to great fishing, since that appears to be your focus. Also, this area doesn't get heavy traffic.
Alternatively, you could spend a good week on Pickerel and likely enjoy excellent fishing as well; however, chances are you'll see more canoes and that notorious wind does pick up quite a bit, more days than not...
AdamX

I agree with the crowd on Beaverhouse. With 6-7 days, you can do a leisurely 2 days into Jean, stay over 2-3, and out 2 with minimal challenge physically. One short portage from BH to Quetico, then a pair going Quetico-Conk-Jean (both short, one with a pretty waterfall and some old logging relics). Heck when the water is high you can even skip the Jean-Conk portage and shoot the creek into Conk.

Jean has very good fishing, and some nice campsites. Lakers along the north side of Jean, smallies are very good in the small bay middle of south shoreline, there's a sandy spit with a couple campsites on that south side that is nice (though in May you won't be swimming so maybe the sand bar isn't a thing, haha). And once on Jean you can adventure around that pretty big lake without it feeling like huge water.

I don't know why but I never had much success fishing those northern lakes from BH like Kasakokwog/Cirrus/McAlpine. Small sample size though so you might have better luck.

I agree with the Beaverhouse to Jean route. Great fishing, easy portages, if the wind is blowing out the west you shouldn't have any problem getting there in a day. If not, then early the next morning. You can catch the grand slam on Jean, not many people up that way either. I have done the trip a few times and always had good fishing. One morning we were leaving Jean to head back to Quetico lake for the last day we ran into a wolf swimming across the lake. We paddled about 10 feet from it and I was able to look a wolf right in the eye without worrying about it attacking me. Snapped a couple of shots and then moved out of its way and let it swim to shore. Pretty cool!

If you're considering a Prairie Portage/Lac La Croix entry, please be aware that permits are a bit more expensive at those ranger stations compared to the northern entry points.

I took a crew of Scouts on their first Quetico trip (and mine) through PP, up Agnes Lake, and through the S chain (Silence, Shade, etc.) and back to Moose Lake through North Bay and Burke. We added on a small leg by Isabella to pack on miles, but the route can be shortened to your liking. I was pleasantly surprised with Agnes, it was absolutely breathtaking and it's one of my favorite "big" lakes that I went to last summer.

The B&B portages between Sunday and Agnes can be a beating, however. It's something to consider. We didn't have much luck fishing the entire trip. Good luck planning your trip! :D

I'll put in my two cents and say do the Falls Chain to Kawnipi Lake, getting a tow from the end of the Gunflint Trail to Hook Island and entering from Cache Bay. I'm doing this route on June 22nd. I haven't been there before so I can't speak to the portages, but I can't find anybody complaining about them. My understanding is that the fishing is AMAZING.

quote unshavenman: "I'll put in my two cents and say do the Falls Chain to Kawnipi Lake, getting a tow from the end of the Gunflint Trail to Hook Island and entering from Cache Bay. I'm doing this route on June 22nd. I haven't been there before so I can't speak to the portages, but I can't find anybody complaining about them. My understanding is that the fishing is AMAZING."

Fishing is that, but if you are looking for easy portages or few portages, then I wouldn't take this route. If you do go this route, hope it doesn't rain, those portages aren't fun when they are wet from what I can remember.