So my boys (ages 7 and 10) and I are planning our first BWCA trip. We will be entering into the BWCA from entry point 04 and are "planning" to make it to Cummings Lake on day 1 of our four day trip. I've heard that Cummings Lake has some fish in it. Any suggestions on lures to use and where to find some fish? We will be heading in on 6/9 so hopefully the water is warmed up a bit by then. Feel free to email me if you're not wanting your secret spots to be public. :)

And one more thing. It would be great if the kids could do shore fishing from around the camp. Site 289 and 287 look perfect for this, but I'm just guessing. Anyone have advice on where to setup camp? BTW, if you're also going to be on that lake on 6/9-6/12 and want to meet up, let me know. The boys and I are always looking to make new friends.

Just got back on Sunday from Cummings. It was our second trip to that lake. Fishing is good on most of the shore lines for smallmouth and pike. We caught a lot of smaller fish almost everywhere we fished. I think bigger fish hadn't moved up yet but we did get a few. The north bay at the west end of the lake (bay near Otter lake)warms faster and should have spawning fish by the time you arrive. We did well on white/pearl flukes and watermelon senkos fished slowly. I had pretty good luck on top water early and late in the day.
We stayed at far northeast shoreline site last year. It is wide open,west facing(good to keep bugs down),with lots of pad options. It has some shore fishing options and we did have some luck. Nice Little Rock point and cove just north of site. My buddy got 14 bass out of it on our last night this year.
This year we stayed on the northeastern island site. Also west facing. Great site with nice pads and you can almost shore fish around entire island. Be careful on rocks if they are wet,they are slippery!
Good luck and have a great trip!

You may be way ahead of me, and this doesn't address your specific questions, but seeing that entry point and the fact that it's you and two kids, I thought someone should warn you of the paddle across Burntside, if you were planning on doing that.

I've never personally done it, but reading trip reports to that entry and talking to folks, it sounds like you'd be well served to take a tow across that lake, due to the wind often stirring it up and making the paddle unsafe, especially for a big 3-man canoe fully loaded with gear and a 10 and 7 year old in it.

Enjoy the trip!

Thankx for the information and the concern. Burnside is a large lake. My hopes are we can find someone with a motor boat near by and ask them to give us a tow. My kids and I are tough, but I've been in the BWCA enough to know when you shouldn't cross a lake. If we need to take the shoreline around to the portage, then that's what we will do.

I'll have to look up the lures that the first reply mentioned since I'm not familiar with them. Any additional information or comments are more than welcome.

And I should mention, if anyone is planning on being on Burnside on the 9th and wants to give us a tow across, we would gladly pay for this help in the first stage of our trip.

Just paddled across burntside last Friday afternoon. We were being chased by a storm coming from crab and we're paddling into Whitecaps. I'll admit it was a little bit scary. I would highly recommend you pre arrange a tow. The only motor boat we saw on the lake that day was the DNR boys.

Any suggestion on how to pre-arrange a tow? I live in Minneapolis, not sure if I know a single person who lives within 200 miles of the BWCA.

I'm not sure how to word this without sounding rude. I am reading that your planning on taking two boys across Burntside in a 3man canoe.. You don't know how to pre-arrange a tow!

You make me think that you don't have a good grasp of what your getting into.

Call one of the outfitters in ELY, ie. Voyaguer North. They will arrange a tow for you. Also, have you thought about what your going to do if something was to happen to YOU while your in the BWCA. What will two young boys do without dad's help? A lot of people don't think of that. Most people take care of making sure nothing happens to the kids but don't think it through in terms of what happens if an accident happens to you.

Also, the first portage from burntside to crab is no joke. Cummings is good for smallmouth and nothing else really. Crab has a lot of smallies also but tend to be small.

Not that you asked, but I hope you reconsider your entry point. I think you are taking some unneccesary risk with the route you chose. Maybe consider going into Ella Hall lake ( good fishing easy to get to) or maybe Wood lake.

Hey fishnfreak, you bring up a lot of good questions. I can tell you have a passion for safety in the BWCA and that's a good thing because people do die up there. I know personally, when I was a kid I ran into two guys who tried to run a series of rapids in a fiberglass canoe. Things didn't go to well for them, one guys knee was turned around, both were bloody. Luckily my dad's friend was a Dr (well a plastic surgeon). Let's face it, it's easy to die in the BWCA if you do dumb things like these guys.

As far as a tow, I've never heard of using a outfitter for this. I'll reach out to one today to set this up.

As far as what to do if "dad" won't wake up, or if I fall and hit my head and don't get up, this is something my wife and I covered last night. I was surprised when my oldest son said that he would go off in the canoe on his own to get help. Of course this is the last thing he should do. We explained that he should always stay together, first try a cell phone (we have Verizon for the reason that they cover most of the BWCA) and if that doesn't work, make a flag from a long stick with your shirt at the end. Shout, scream, do whatever it takes to flag someone down. I made sure they knew that the only reason they should ever get in the canoe together would be if there was a forest fire or something crazy like that, or if no one has found them for seven days. We're experienced hikers, we've made the summit on more than 30 mountains and have done backpacking trips as long as six days. Heck, a few days after my youngest turned five, he and I climbed one of the tallest mountains in the USA. I won't have lazy kids and sometimes I do push them to their limits, but everyone know what their own limits are.

As far as the first portage which is 1.3 miles, I'm not too worried about this. Last spring we did 35 miles on the Appalachian Trail over five days. The first day was a 13 mile hike that just about broke me. They were tired at the end of it, but everyone was still in good spirits since the scenery was unbelievable. Their packs will be a little heavier for this trip, but if we need to do two trips then that's what we'll do.

I would love to reconsider the entry point, but there was only two options on the south side of the BWCA for me to choose from when I decided that we were going to do this trip. I coach soccer and I'm a BSA leader so having a weekend free is rare.

Going to finish this message on my pc since the kids are off the computer and I hate writing on my phone.

quote deadedwest: "Any suggestion on how to pre-arrange a tow? I live in Minneapolis, not sure if I know a single person who lives within 200 miles of the BWCA. "

There are any number of outfitters in Ely that will help you out.

So what I'm trying to say fishnfreak (not because I feel the need to defend myself but because I'm hearing your concern for my kids) is that I feel we are fairly well prepared for the trip. I can't plan for every bad thing that can happen though, and lets face it, I'm a little softer in the middle than I used to be. If we can't make it to Cummings lake, well then we stop somewhere else and setup camp. I spent nine years in the Army, I know what death looks like and I will do everything I can to protect my children from it. What I won't do though is teach my kids to live in fear of it, which is why I take them on trips that most parents wouldn't.

So you mentioned Crab Lake as an option. The kids are super excited to catch bass, pike and pan fish. From what I've read, Crab sounded ok for fishing, but Cummings Lake sounded a whole lot better. I've never been to either. (as a kid I went to gabimichigami ~10 times) If you have any thoughts on fishing Crab Lake instead, please share. It would shave ~4-5 hours off the trip each way if we stopped at Crab.

Again, thank you for your concern. If you want you (or anyone with some advice) can give me a call at 763-242-5006 and we can chat more.

We got a tow from Voyager North across Burntside and were glad we did. If your boys can handle the portage from Burntside to Crab,then getting to Cummings is pretty easy paddling after that. The portage doesn't have a lot of obstacles,but is long, muddy in spots and hilly. Then there are only 2 short portages if you paddle all the way across Korb and come into Cummings on the east side. As for fishing,we never fished Crab but Cummings has nice smallies and all 3 in our group got at least 1 pike over 30" this trip. Good luck!

Sounds like you have good experience and a good well thought out plan. Enjoy the trip!

Sorry if I put you on trial. Unfortunately, I've seen too many dads show up with young boys and girls and none of them have experience. Doesn't sound like this is your case though.

Hey, no worries. It's important to make sure those who go up to the BWCA know what they can run into. I called an outfitter today and booked someone to tow us.

quote deadedwest: "And I should mention, if anyone is planning on being on Burnside on the 9th and wants to give us a tow across, we would gladly pay for this help in the first stage of our trip."

Call VNO - cheapest rates of all of the outfitters, and amazing family to work with! We are also heading to the area and the peace of mind of a tow is worth any paddling accomplishment I might feel. I just don't want to contend with the possibility. After a few years of research it just sounds like when Burntside is good - its good, and when its bad its a real beast. If you do choose to paddle, I've heard paddling from Wolf Lake Road is your best bet.

As far as the portage - I'm bringing my 9 year old daughter with. Your kids will be just fine! You're smart. You'll take breaks when you need to, maybe bribe with candy etc.

If you're after top water smallies - its a great place to go. Take a look at BWJ Spring issue from last year. Lots of great fishing advice.

How long will you be there for?

Thankx for the info BasecampMom. I just started getting BWJ this winter so I can't look back at last year's magazine. :(

I did arrange a tow across the lake with VNO. Just a few days until we go. Everyone is super excited to do some fishing and exploring.

If you want to look at back issues of BWJ you can reach out to Stu and he will send them over for a couple of bucks.

fishnfreak: "Sounds like you have good experience and a good well thought out plan. Enjoy the trip!


Sorry if I put you on trial. Unfortunately, I've seen too many dads show up with young boys and girls and none of them have experience. Doesn't sound like this is your case though."

Hey fishnfreak was wondering if I could email you a few questions regarding a PMA lake you've discussed in the past on the board. I'll throw my email out to you
marcomd456@gmail.com give me an electronic shout back and I'll begin the quizzing:)

Thank you in advance and I'm sorry for hijacking this thread!

Okay, message sent.