Over the last couple seasons my Dad and I had talked about taking EP16 up to Iron or LLC to take a shot at the great fishing opportunities up there. For all the trips we have taken up to the BWCA in the last 25 years we had yet to hit any EP's west of Mudro. My research had also indicated that the fishing up around LLC, Iron, or even Crooked was some of the best. Our attempts at getting a last minute permit for EP16 in 2019 failed and forced our hand at doing the tried and true Seagull-SAK-Sag loop so for 2020 we were determined to get a permit that worked for everyone in the party and we were lucky enough to grab one for entry on the 25th with me, my dad (Captn Tony), my uncle Jon, and my cousin Nick.

We had one goal in common - get up out of the crowds, find some solitude, and put on our fishing caps and catch some fish!

Day one prior to entry we booked up a camp site near our entry point at Fenske Lake so we could get up early and head out. The campground was surprisingly full (or not surprisingly for 2020) but we had a nice site to get all our food packed up since we met my uncle and cousin up there and relax prior to the morning. We enjoyed a couple Castle Danger Cream Ale's in the sticky heat. If anyone recalls the night of July 24th it was about as hot and muggy as I have had up there. Hopefully it would cool down in the coming days.