Boundary Waters Quetico Forum :: Quetico Forum :: Heading to Falls Chain and Kawnipi June 10th
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HighnDry |
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timatkn |
For your other question the fishing was great all the way through Kawnippi I didn't fish Kawa but I can't imagine it not being good there either. We were there in August and the fishing was really good though the narrows near the last falls form the falls chain when it got deep enough to troll. Any strucutre anywhere in the lake produced. T |
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MarshallPrime |
quote Moosehopper: "My son and I will be up in around those parts while you are there. Very Cool Moosehopper! I will look for you. We will have two old aluminum canoes, 1 will have a BWCA.com sticker on it and there are just the 4 of us in the group. June 15th we will also be heading back but SOUTH through the falls chain again. We havnt decided which tent we will have with us so that is no help. I have not been there before either so I am no help...i started this post to accumulate as much knowledge as I can about that area. If we do meet, it would be fun to chat a little and share fishing knowledge of the area. Between the 6 of us we should be able to find something in that area. ;) Good luck and be safe! |
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Frenchy19 |
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24kGold |
Terry |
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TheBrownLeader |
The fishing in the Wawiag river is outstanding all the way up to the portage (probably beyond it as well, we just didn't fish that stretch). If you are turned off by the burn, I would suggest a campsite in or near Mckenzie bay, and a day trip into Kawa. It's big lake and you can't go wrong for fishing, though. |
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MarshallPrime |
We will be day tripping to Kawa Bay and are looking forward to it. Its getting close, this is when it get VERY EXCITING. I will give a report when we return. thanks |
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Frenchy19 |
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QueticoMike |
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MarshallPrime |
We stayed on McKenzie bay at one of the 5 star sites, ours was the main land on east side of entrance, just south east of the 5 star site on the island which was also awesome. The two sites on Kawa were both quite nice as we inspected them both, one for a shore lunch and the other just because we were curious. We also stopped for a shore lunch at one of the last campsites in McVicar and it was terrible, destroyed by wind and we could tell noone had stayed there in years. We also stayed at Bald Rock Falls right by the falls which was nice and another day right before entering wet lake, also not a great site that needs some love but could be quite nice. Noone has stayed here in quite some time either. Lots of eagles on McKenzie and all over Kawnipi. No moose or bears or wolves, a couple beavers and not as many loons and before but they were around. Also, there were LOTS of warning about the falls and portages around the falls which I appreciated. We were careful and always used the farther portages and had NO PROBLEMS, not even any close calls with the falls. They were not scary or were we ever concerned. Now if we had pushed it and tried to get to the shorter portage spots then we would have been nervous. We had NO PROBLEMS. We followed Janice's directions and no problems. As for the portages, they were on the difficult side. Bald Rock Falls and Kennebas falls were SUPER easy. The others mostly had quite tricky footing and we had a lot of wet, slippery rocks. Koko Falls and Kennebas falls portages were quite tough and being back to back took a lot of energy. All were quite doable however and no problems. Overall we had a super trip and would like to go back ASAP but it will probably be a couple years. |
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Frenchy19 |
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unshavenman |
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Frenchy19 |
quote unshavenman: "Frenchy19, it was a pleasure crossing paths with you as well. What a beautiful time to be on the falls chain. I thought about you as we just made the 4 star island site on Saganagons before the portage. We got the CCS tarp up about 10 seconds before it started to pour on us!" That day was a looong one for us; about 9 hours on the water and a roughly 20 mile round trip. Allie got fried that day; she would not heed my request to put her wide brimmed hat on. She will not make that mistake again! |
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Moosehopper |
We will hopefully see you out there. I'm sure my son will be eager to talk to you after spending a lot of time with his dad and dog. He likes to socialize with folks. We are heading in from Pickerel (Baptism Creek) June 5 so we are planning on being on Mckenzie, and Fergunson 7-11 and then on to Kawnipi during the 12th-15th or so. We just need to get back to Pickerel on the 18th. I hope you have a safe trip and have fun. Moosehopper |
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Moosehopper |
We are coming in from the north through McKenzie lake. We will be heading back on June 15 from Kawinipi to make it to pickerel. Hope you are safe. If you see a dark blue Souris River Quetico Canoe, a smaller white dog, and a little boy up front and a Sasquatch in the rear, come say Hi. Maybe even sit a spell. I don't know much about the campsites, it is my first time to this area, so I can't help you there. Good luck, Moosehopper |
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bhouse46 |
I spent some time on McVicar bay in 2014 and did not see any good campsites. There was one very little used site on an island that had some nice potential, but the northern bays offer some fantastic camp options. Old growth pine, great views, fishing everywhere. Most of the burn area is the southeast and once past Kawa bay it is pretty nice. There is good regrowth and it's a good place to watch for Moose. |
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MarshallPrime |
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unshavenman |
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Jdiddy18 |
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Jdiddy18 |
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Billgknapp |
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Wawiagamok |
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cburton103 |
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MarshallPrime |
I appreciate the warnings about the dangers of the falls chain. We are experienced BW campers (over 45 combined trips) and we have read MANY warnings about the portages both put ins and take outs. I have read many posts here...we know to be VERY CAREFUL! Could we still get wet, sure, but we will do our best to hug the shoreline and pay close attention to water flow-age...and of course wear our PFD. Anyway, I am just wondering about a couple updated things, since most posts I have found are much older, like 2013 or b4. 1) Once we make Kawnipi, which campsites should we head to? I have heard most of the nice ones r in McKenzie Bay. 2) I have heard that Kawa Bay area (while good for fishing) is not very attractive due to the burn...is this still the case or has it come back pretty well? I think the burn was years ago. Are there any viable campsites or were they all hammered pretty bad? 3) Most of the fishing reports are about the 2 north bays. Are any of the southern bays/fingers worth our time? 4) With 4 experienced men in decent shape, how long are we looking at to get to the wet/sydney lake area from the Rangers station and then the next day from wet/sydney lake area to McKenzie Bay area? thanks so much everyone, we are excited to branch out from the BW and have a Q experience. -thanks |