My plans are finalized:
Enter the park via De Havilland Beaver (bucket list check mark) on June 17th. Dropped off on Haven Lake, and I have 6 nights to work my way back to Douglas lake for a water shuttle back to Red Lake Outfitters some time on Saturday, June 23rd.

Anyone familiar with this route? I will be hammock camping, so any recent burn info, campsites, hard to locate portages, hot fishing spots, etc., are appreciated.

My plan is to set up camp on Haven (known for lots of walleye), and depending on what time I get dropped off, possibly head to Adventure Lake for some Lake trout action.
Then I will work my way back to Douglas lake, I am still undecided on if I should change camps daily, and shorten the travel each day, or if I will cover lots of ground, and spend a few days on a lake. If any of you have a lake you would stay on for 2 days along that route, please let me know.
Planned lakes traveled:
Haven, Gulch, Jigsaw, Wrist, Mexican Hat, Glenn, Optic, Telescope, Embryo, Hatchet, Douglas.
I am hoping to surpass my personal best catch in all 3 of the main fish in the area, and have had only 1 moose sighting. Discounting a parking lot black bear in Great Smokey National Park in the 70's, that is the only large mammal sighting I have had in the last 3 years canoeing BWCA (twice) and Quetico (once). I hope to add something (wolf, caribou, black bear, more moose) to that list as well.

137 days until I head North!

I've been along the route on a couple of different trips. Many good campsites, A few tough portages between Telescope and Douglas but you'll be fine just take your time on the portages surrounding the Hatchetts. Awesome campsites on Glenn, Mex Hat, Optic, Telescope.

You have plenty of time to do the route-you won't have to rush and probably can have a layover day along the way.

Enjoy-it will be a great trip with good places to fish.

Going solo or with company? I have seen quite a bit of wildlife in WCPP.........Moose, bear, Lynx at about 5 yards, otters and a Woodland Caribou which I paddled behind. The key is being completely quiet, all the time. And that includes paddle strokes.

Its rather odd. The park can appear noticeably absent of life. And then bingo a gem is revealed. The Lynx was absolutely amazing.......sitting in camp writing and drinking coffee in the still of the early morning. Then I heard a single small twig snap. I quickly walked to the edge of my campsite and stood quietly for about 4 or 5 minutes and suddenly along comes this big lynx at about 15ft away just like a ghost. The most surprising thing was, that once it stopped, I could barely see it even though it was very close. If you didn't know it was there it would be very easy to look right at it and never see it.

The Caribou was a stroke of luck..........paddling and seeing something big in the water. I put the jets on and got fairly close. I was surprised at just how big they are once it got out of the water.

The bear was at a portage landing (of all places LOL). I told it to git, but walked the trail with my spray in hand just for good measure.

Snowshoe rabbits are around as well and can make quite a ruckus at night jumping around chasing each other.

I seen all of this on one trip. It helps to have a praying wife ;-)
My wife prayed for me before I left (as she always does) and she prayed that I would be safe from any animals but that I would get to see them. The Lord God answers prayer and is faithful to honor requests made in His Sons name.

I like to walk around outside of camp, preferably in the more open cliff like areas above camp which look like would harbor mountain lion. Are there mountain lion in WCPP? I oft wondered as I scampered about. The one animal I don't want to see!!

It is a solo trip, Harlan said that the Caribou will most likely still be on islands with calves, so that increases the chance of seeing them.
I can attest to the difference solo and with a group. This will be my third canoe trip, two solo, and one with 3 others. I enjoyed the trip, but it was completely different. No quiet solitude, but lots of laughter. No spur of the moment decisions, but better food. (more people = less for each to carry, so fresh food and dry ice!) For me, I enjoy the solo aspect. I would trip with my wife, if she would go, and I would trip with my son if he asked, but going solo has been almost spiritual, and I am not a spiritual person.

Quiet solitude is what I seek first, observing nature up close, and the awesome fishing is the cherry on top!

...good route...portage from Gulch to Jigsaw is through a burn...good uphill climb, then long gradual downhill with regrowth of jackpines...the rock is slippery when wet/wonderful views...Jigsaw is neat...full of islands...most of the shoreline is burnt giving wonderful views of hillsides/rock faces once hidden...good walleye fishing...wonderful paddle between Glenn and Optic...lots of water...few portages...figure out the wind and remember that you can paddle long hours with the coming of summer daylight...little bits of travel each day give you a chance to see animals, and not put pressure on yourself to have to battle the weather on your paddle days...from Hatchet through Douglas the campsites aren't as numerous/the flat rock shores leave the landscape...enjoy the Woodland...a special place...leave a gift/tobacco for the old lady/the wind...

Any campsites available on Jigsaw? Trees for hanging my tarp and hammock?
Trying to plan how far to travel each day.

There is a really nice campsite but no trees for hanging. Lots of young jack pines. I spent the summer solstice there in 2015 and it was a very enjoyable evening. Caught walleyes from shore, loons were singing all night and no bugs. There were some dead trees in 2015 that might have worked but I would not count on them being there now. There is a pic of the portage into jigsaw. I really enjoyed these portage’s with nice views. If you don’t camp there, take some time to enjoy this part of the trip.

AndySG and I did the east part of that route is 2014.
Here is my trip report.
We saw moose and bear.

Thanks for the link, I loaded the page so I can read it on my flight home.

Great read, thanks for posting!

Right now, I think I want to fly in, unload, set-up camp on Haven, and head for Adventure Lake for some lake trout fishing. Then back to Haven for the night, and possibly the next day. Anyone have a favorite campsite on Haven? I have heard great walleye fishing on Haven, and great lake trout on Adventure. I would hate to put in there, and paddle away the first day!

gymcoachdon: "Great read, thanks for posting!


Right now, I think I want to fly in, unload, set-up camp on Haven, and head for Adventure Lake for some lake trout fishing. Then back to Haven for the night, and possibly the next day. Anyone have a favorite campsite on Haven? I have heard great walleye fishing on Haven, and great lake trout on Adventure. I would hate to put in there, and paddle away the first day!"

That sounds like a good plan. I can't recommend a good camp site as I paddled through but I am sure the pilot can recommend one. If you go to Adventure you should get into the 2016 fire area. That should be interesting to see.

Can anyone point me to a map that shows the area burned in 2016? I have found that it started in Manitoba, and was called Red Lake 003 fire, but havent been able to find a map.

I don't have the link to the map handy, however one note if someone does provide it before I can, the fire was spotty (as forest fires generally are). When you look at the map of the fire, most people just think the area affected was completely burned out and this was simply not the case. Lots and lots of green in there too!

solotrip: "I don't have the link to the map handy, however one note if someone does provide it before I can, the fire was spotty (as forest fires generally are). When you look at the map of the fire, most people just think the area affected was completely burned out and this was simply not the case. Lots and lots of green in there too!"

Thanks Harlan, I did find a way to see a map of the fire's perimeter, so I will put a link up.

Interactive Map

With this site, you are able to retrieve previous dates. I put in a June 8, 2016, and on the layers chose "active fires", and "fire perimeter estimate"

Pretty powerful tool! Looks like most of Adventure lake was burned, and the southern part of Haven and into Gulch.

Maybe have a backup bivey sack if you need to sleep on the ground under a tarp. I'd think though you'd be good to go. I've done a couple trips in the area you are thinking about, but never Haven or adventure. Glenn to me is a great lake. We've done as well on walleye there as Mexican Hat. Out of Mexican Hat you could run up through Glenn for a side trip and check out the chute into Hansen. The Hansen side is a killer walleye hole for sure. Haha. But Glenn is a great lake to paddle, fish and relax. My vote would be to spend an extra day here. I've seen Moose on both Mexican Hat and Glenn. Optic, Telescope, and Hatchet all have outposts and you'll probably see boats at one end or the other on all lakes in between. Great route... My choice would be to go north through Donald and Royd Creek through Royd and the minjim route. You'd get a variety of fishing and experience. Maybe a rougher trip, but worth every stroke and portage. Moose, bear and Caribou seen by members at least with me as I've always missed the caribou because I've spent too much time fishing and lingered too much. I've both started and ended up through Donald on to Johnson lake. There is a campsite just as you enter Donald a little cramped for two tents but perfect for a solo. The route you have planned is a good route. You will enjoy... Embryo if I recall is a pretty lake also as is upper hatchet. In wet weather some of those portage's can have water running right down some es of the portages. Savor every moment, I'd about die to get back in there. When I'm able I may just go in for the whole dang summer. Your route is ambitious for seven days so don't linger to long early in the trip if fish aren't cooperating. From Glenn you have an easy two day paddle to Douglas... But remember, you have a good portage out of Douglas to your shuttle. Make sure you leave time for that. Going your direction I'd go from Glenn to embryo... Couple campsite options then to Douglas... You should be able to make your shuttle in time if you keep moving the last day.
Note : my prefered option through Donald would be too much for seven days. Just tossing idea for future trip ideas. WCPP is so addiçting... Be careful, you may want to move there. Haha.

There was an island for sale in Red Lake a few years ago... :)

I did the west end (Mexican Hat to Haven) of your trip in August 2015. You can see the map (including campsites) and my description of the trip in Ausable's 2015 WCPP trip Leano to Haven .

Thanks for the link to your trip! I am getting anxious to get up there, but at least I have open water here in Indiana to paddle while I wait!

69 days until I head North!

I am under 30 days left for the trip!
Currently packing my gear for the first time. (I showed much patience this year) I am trying to decide what tackle to bring. I will have my main rod, 6 1/2 foot med light spinning with 8 lb, and a 2nd spinning rod, 6 foot and a touch stiffer with 10 lb test. I want to fish for the three main species, and hope to top my personal best in each. I have a 13 lb. 33" best Northern, and a 5.5 lb Lake Trout, and I have caught some eater walleye, so topping that should be easiest.
What would you guys list as a "must" in your tackle box? Keep in mind that i am going solo, and would like to keep it simple!

Glen lake is a Great Lake for walleye and has some nice campsites. The rapids before reaching Telescope have big walleyes.

gymcoachdon: "What would you guys list as a "must" in your tackle box? "

Not to state the obvious, but spoons...that's what I had on most of the time last year.

I had spoons on because I am not the most sophisticated angler out there...but certainly caught plenty of Northerns and Walleye.

I have 4 spoons. I have 2 little cleos, one blue and silver, one firetiger; a daredevil red and white, and a 5 of diamonds.
Interestingly, one of the cleos had a split ring, the other three do not. I am curious, as I have not fished spoons much, what is the preferred method for attaching them to your line?

gymcoachdon: "what is the preferred method for attaching them to your line?"

I hope someone else will chime in - good question. I tied to a swivel clip and would occasionally switch.

But again - I am not the expert here. Just a paddler trying to catch a few fish. And generally succeeding in WCPP.

I would go with an assortment of rapalas and jigs with plastics. Rapalas that run at different depths and sizes. One of my favorites is the x-rap. They also make a deep running one which can be nice for lakers.

For big northerns it is hard to beat a 5 of diamonds or a red/white spoon. I prefer a bigger one when targeting big fish but that might be a little heavy for the rod you mentioned.

But it is hard to beat a jig with a variety of plastics, colors size and weight. You can bring a lot of different combinations and they take up little space. A few years ago I spent a half hour casting a big spoon on South Simeon. Then grabbed my walleye rod with a plastic jig and 8# test and caught this guy after a couple of casts.

gymcoachdon: "I have 4 spoons. I have 2 little cleos, one blue and silver, one firetiger; a daredevil red and white, and a 5 of diamonds.
Interestingly, one of the cleos had a split ring, the other three do not. I am curious, as I have not fished spoons much, what is the preferred method for attaching them to your line?"

Spoons are notoriously bad about inducing spin into your line resulting in numerous tangles and much frustration. But spoons are also excellent fish catching tools.......I like using ball bearing swivels which have a cross lock snap incorporated with it. It is called a snap swivel. Be sure to get ball bearing or you might be an unhappy camper.

If your line does start to show signs of becoming unruly empty 1/2 of your spool without anything attached behind your canoe and paddle around for 5 or 10 minutes and that should get rid of all the twists.

Single hook lures are good. I would definitely get some Chatterbaits in say 1/4 or 3/8 oz size. Cast them out and reel them in. Lots of vibration and catches both walleye and pike.

The Berkley Flicker shad is a cant miss bait and is very reasonably priced. I like sexy shad color.

For your lake trout I like the large size Rapala Tail dancer in Rainbow trout finish. Put it behind the boat "a good lick" and paddle around in deeper water at a medium type speed. Make sure your rod doesn't get yanked out of the boat (I'm not kidding).

Thanks for the tip MT. I have a couple deep tail dancers, as well as an assortment of Husky Jerks , originals, and shad raps from Rapala. I also have an assortment of spinners. A 1/2 day fishing spinners for smallies is more than enough to cause problems with line twist. Many times I have needed to do the empty line trolling trick. I will get some snap swivels, and look into some of your bait selections.

gymcoachdon: "Thanks for the tip MT. I have a couple deep tail dancers, as well as an assortment of Husky Jerks , originals, and shad raps from Rapala. I also have an assortment of spinners. A 1/2 day fishing spinners for smallies is more than enough to cause problems with line twist. Many times I have needed to do the empty line trolling trick. I will get some snap swivels, and look into some of your bait selections."

I should of been more specific Don.........Ball bearing snap swivels for the spoons is what you want. And even then you will eventually encounter some line twist issues. The only real way to get away from line twist altogether is the ball bearing snap swivel at the lure and THEN a ball bearing BARREL swivel 18" above the lure. The two in combination insures no twist. Your presentation does not suffer either as the small barrel swivel imitates a small prey fish being chased by your lure, a definite trigger response from predators. If you go that route be advised that there is very little stretch between the lure and the barrel swivel and thus you might consider increasing the strength of the line somewhat to compensate. For example, if you are fishing 10lb running line you might want 12lb between the lure and the Barrel swivel.

I highly advise the Chatterbait..........you can order from Tackle Warehouse. Go into the fishing forum where there is a topic discussion on Chatterbaits as well as a link to a vid all about them. I have used them for years and they are great for walleye and Pike as well as bass as long as the fish arent real deep. An excellent choice for pro or novice........it can be as easy as tossing them out and reeling them in. I like gold blades in dark water. They will be a big emphasis for me on my WCPP trip this August........Fish definitely like to eat them.

My first trip to WCPP is also June 2018. Far as tackle, my plan which has worked on numerous Quetico trips is 8 lb mono on medium light and medium rods. I bring 3 rods for two people so we have a spare. 1/8 oz jigheads with 3" powerboat twister tails or Gulp minnows. Wiggle warts in several colors but no crayfish colors whatsoever. I also like Thunderstick Jr deep divers. Firetiger has always been a go to lure. All my crankbaits are deep divers, and I consistently catch all three species on them.

Yo Joe........why no crayfish colors? Seems sort of odd. I always have good luck with that color pattern.

And on the other side of the coin I am pretty sure I have no fire tiger patterns anywhere in the stacks and stacks of tackle boxes which reside in my shop.

Maybe we are both wrong ;-)

I had tremendous luck with a firetiger husky jerk in the BWCA 2 years ago, and last year in the Q, so I added a spoon and a couple rapalas in the pattern for this trip.

I went to fish Kawnipi and Murdoch Lakes in Quetico in 1992 and my brother seriously out fished me with his fire tiger patterns. I always have crank baits in this pattern with me now. It's no fun being out fished by a 16 year old. We were using the same bait - a 5" floating rapala cranked under the surface and the big smallies ignored my "natural" pattern. But later in the trip I landed a 43" northern so my ego stayed intact. :)

TomT: "I went to fish Kawnipi and Murdoch Lakes in Quetico in 1992 and my brother seriously out fished me with his fire tiger patterns. I always have crank baits in this pattern with me now. It's no fun being out fished by a 16 year old. We were using the same bait - a 5" floating rapala cranked under the surface and the big smallies ignored my "natural" pattern. But later in the trip I landed a 43" northern so my ego stayed intact. :)



"

I guess a mans gotta do what a mans gotta do............Even if someone was spanking me I cant bring myself to tie on one of those fire tiger patterns. Its just to loud and fake looking..........every time I would reel the thing up I would cringe. Now I do like part of my lure to have a bright color, like a yellow, white or orange belly. Chartreuse is also a good color........but Firetiger is sort of like a banana on the boat for a superstitious captain, No Firetiger for me!! LOL.

But, I must admit to using one of those bright fluorescent orangey Rapala X-raps during a low light condition and thats a color I detest and yet it was one fish after another one evening in WCPP.

I will be heading north tomorrow after work! Really excited to see what this place is all about! Weather is looking great, but I'm not sure how dry it will be, hoping that there won't be a fire ban.

gymcoachdon: "I will be heading north tomorrow after work! Really excited to see what this place is all about! Weather is looking great, but I'm not sure how dry it will be, hoping that there won't be a fire ban."

Manitoba forest fire info and rainfall

Info gives a good idea for conditions in WCPP.Select Wildfire program.

No worries about fire bans.....everything is doing well up here now

make sure to report in when you get back. Always like to hear first timer reports.

Met Harlan today, everything set to fly out tomorrow at 8:30 am.
It was a long drive up here, but it was a nice drive, and I have a feeling it's going to be worth it!
Thanks for the dinner reservations Harlan, dinner was excellent! Great service from RLO!

I just got back from paddling to and fro on a route very very similar to your's! Too bad I got back on the 15th and you are on the water by now!

The Firetiger Wiggle Wart, Rattling Rogue, and Thunderstick Jr have always produced for me in the Quetico. Go to lures, for sure. One trip, After losing the only firetiger warts I had, I went through the tackle box trying several other colors, including the brownish/orangish/reddish craw colors and never caught much on them. Ghost Shad warts were great for me last week in WCPP, but the firetiger not so much. Go figure.
Joe

Just arrived home in Indiana, great trip, record heat for the area. Fishing highlight was 38" 17 lb Northern. More to come later. Thanks to Harlan for everything!

I may get to writing a full report later, but I thought I would get an overview of the trip posted here.

First, the drive up was long! I left work around 3:00 pm Eastern time, and stopped at a rest stop north of Duluth around 3 am central time. So 11 hours. I slept a few hours, then headed for the border at International Falls around 6 am. After waiting with the Saturday fishermen to cross the border for about 30-40 minutes at the border, I arrived at Red Lake around 2 pm. Another 8 hours.

Thirsty Moose Bar and Grill was great for Burger an beer before and after the trip. The Motel 8? on the hill is nice. Good place to stay.

Harlan and Lucas at Red Lake Outfitters were very helpful from marking fishing spots, general info, even getting dinner reservations for myself and my parents the night before the trip. Harlan helped me get my Dad, a former flight instructor, his first ride in a DeHavilland Beaver. Thanks again, Harlan, it was a great Fathers Day for him, I'm sure. My parents took just over a week to drive up to Red Lake, take the flight, and then drive home again.

The trip:
Flight in was awesome! To get an aerial view, that wasn't a map or satellite imagery was cool. Landing on a lake 50 miles into the bush, and setting up camp by 10:30 am, priceless. OK, not priceless...call Harlan, he'll give you a price.
the first 2 and 1/2 days were through various stages of burn recovery. From stark granite, to 6-8 years of growth, I would guess. It was interesting, but I was glad to see the green stuff starting day 3.
Weather:
HOT, HOT, HOT.
Wednesday was 35 C in Red Lake. That is 95 F. I was roasting by 11 am each day, and had to seek shade for a few hours. I was in the water everyday, and still reeked from sweating. Surrounded by water, it was still a constant focus for me to stay properly hydrated. No rain or break from the heat until Friday afternoon.

Camps:
What would be a 3 star site in BWCA or Quetico, are 5 star sites here. Meaning, a decent landing, nice views, and a couple spots for small tents. I use a hammock and had to squeeze my tarp into some tight spaces at a few sites.

Portages:
Not hard to find, but harder to find. Trails through the burn were tougher to follow, but were all marked with ribbon, cairns, or both. In areas with more use, they were obvious, and several were marked with gas cans and fishing boats. Those were the easiest to spot. Overall, they were good trails, rugged in spots, swampy in spots, a lot like the Q trails I used, with the bush growing in a bit tighter due to less use.

Landings:
Not a lot of good landings. Water was low, which made it worse. You will wet foot a lot of landings, especially solo. And, Sometimes when you step out, there won't be a solid bottom....

Solitude:
I saw the same group of 4 on day 1 and 2. I passed a group base camped on day 3, then I saw no one until day 7, and they were in fishing boats on the last lake, Douglas.

Fishing:
I caught fish every time I tried. I think the heat put a damper on it somewhat, but still excellent fishing.

Overall, it was a great trip, and I will definitely be returning to WCPP to explore other areas of the park!

thanks for the comparison. Are you doing another video this year? I enjoyed the Q one you put together last year.

gopher2307: "thanks for the comparison. Are you doing another video this year? I enjoyed the Q one you put together last year."

I have started working on the videos. I decided to use a new editing program, so learning curve right now. I will post here when I get it up.

OK, after a bit of learning I have completed a video giving an overview of this years trip. You can find it here:

2018 WCPP overview video

Let me know what you think.

Enjoyed the video, Don. I wasn't getting audio of whatever you were saying though . . . ?

Great stuff!

Really enjoyed the 'canoe's eye view'

Will be there in 60 days - living vicariously until then.

boonie: "Enjoyed the video, Don. I wasn't getting audio of whatever you were saying though . . . ?"

Yeah, I thought I would turn down the volume on this "highlight" video. I plan to make a video of each day, and will try to find some commentary worth listening to for those. ??

I didn't really mind - I just saw your mouth moving. I've watched some without any commentary - just the natural sounds - and kind of enjoy it for a change of pace. I'll look forward to the others. Glad you had a good trip. I'm thinking I should try to get up there before I get any older.

Enjoyed the video. Especially liked the way the bow-cam rocked back and forth when you lifted that big northern up in the air.

Yes, thanks for priming the pump. Starting to get a bit jazzed about going myself.

Nice thick northern.

That was my personal best Northern. Best I could tell, it was 38" and 17 lbs, but when i watched the video, I never got the tail out of the water when weighing it, and it is tough to measure a fish like that solo. The Lake trout in the video was my biggest of the trip, weighed just under 5 lbs, and I caught a 22" walleye, not a big one, but my personal best for now. I don't think I put that walleye on the video.