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Boundary Waters Quetico Forum Quetico Forum Any Reports from SW Quetico? |
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05/30/2018 10:10AM (Thread Older Than 3 Years)
We fly/drive up to Ely two weeks from today. As usual before a trip I can hardly stand waiting the last couple weeks before the trip and I get a bit impatient. I'm sure many of you can relate!
We're entering through Brewer Rapids/McAree and paddling through Wicksteed, Darkwater, and camping on Brent for a couple nights. Then we'll go through McIntyre, Cecil/Doe/Deer and into Robinson. We'll exit through the Horse River and out through Mudro where our rental car will be waiting.
Any reports from this area? How are the portages? How has the fishing been, particularly in the deep, clear lakes like Brent, McIntyre and Robinson? Even info on other similar lakes or really any lakes up that way would be appreciated!
We're entering through Brewer Rapids/McAree and paddling through Wicksteed, Darkwater, and camping on Brent for a couple nights. Then we'll go through McIntyre, Cecil/Doe/Deer and into Robinson. We'll exit through the Horse River and out through Mudro where our rental car will be waiting.
Any reports from this area? How are the portages? How has the fishing been, particularly in the deep, clear lakes like Brent, McIntyre and Robinson? Even info on other similar lakes or really any lakes up that way would be appreciated!
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06/01/2018 06:58AM
cburton103: "We fly/drive up to Ely two weeks from today. As usual before a trip I can hardly stand waiting the last couple weeks before the trip and I get a bit impatient. I'm sure many of you can relate!
We're entering through Brewer Rapids/McAree and paddling through Wicksteed, Darkwater, and camping on Brent for a couple nights. Then we'll go through McIntyre, Cecil/Doe/Deer and into Robinson. We'll exit through the Horse River and out through Mudro where our rental car will be waiting.
Any reports from this area? How are the portages? How has the fishing been, particularly in the deep, clear lakes like Brent, McIntyre and Robinson? Even info on other similar lakes or really any lakes up that way would be appreciated!"
We’ll be traveling most of same route at about the same time. We enter at Black Robe on June 12, using Andersons. We are a party of 4 in 2 tandems. If you see us, paddle over and say ‘hi’. I expect fish to be in or near summer patterns.
Livin' the dream. Just another day in Paradise...
06/01/2018 07:42AM
Felknerj, I hear Carp lake is the place to be the week before my trip. Pretty much all of the Quetico fish should migrate west shortly after your trip. And remember to only tell my wife good things about your trip afterwards so she’ll be up for our own family trip in the near future! You can include one somewhat negative comment like, “the only time the kids fussed was when we told them we had to leave Quetico at the end of our trip”, that way it’s believable.
06/01/2018 07:45AM
Timatkin,
We’re looking forward to the trip a lot, as always. This will be my first time on the western end of Brent, so we’re really looking forward to that, as well as the stretch through the Deer chain. I’ve also never exited through Mudro, so I’m excited to see a new part of the bwca as well. My tripping buddy hasn’t done any bwca portages (this will be his fourth Quetico trip), so it will be interesting to compare/contrast to Quetico style portages for him.
Anyways, thanks for chiming in! I figured I probably wouldn’t be able to get much last minute info, but I had to check anyways!
We’re looking forward to the trip a lot, as always. This will be my first time on the western end of Brent, so we’re really looking forward to that, as well as the stretch through the Deer chain. I’ve also never exited through Mudro, so I’m excited to see a new part of the bwca as well. My tripping buddy hasn’t done any bwca portages (this will be his fourth Quetico trip), so it will be interesting to compare/contrast to Quetico style portages for him.
Anyways, thanks for chiming in! I figured I probably wouldn’t be able to get much last minute info, but I had to check anyways!
06/02/2018 04:48PM
We just returned from 7 days in Argo / Crooked / Iron.
Water levels were extremely low and still are, although to a lesser extent due to rain. Fire ban was lifted while we were still in the park.
Fishing in Argo and other clear water areas was terrible. We caught only 3 lakers the entire time and that included 2 full days of trolling around Argo. Smallies were still on the beds in coves and rivers. Very aggressive.
Everywhere else, fishing was stellar. Pulled walleye from trolling and from fishing currents. Pike were aggressive and shallow although that seemed to have changed when the temperature dropped. Gold / perch colors seemed to work best.
There was a crazy windstorm (50+ mph maybe) that rolled through while we were camped on the island in Argo. Many trees down. It blew one of our unsecured canoes into the middle of the lake. Portaging back, there were several freshly fallen trees across the trails. We cleared as many as we could. Other than that, the trails were in decent shape.
Cold and rainy coming out today. Extremely windy as well, so much so that I actually felt sorry for the groups we passed coming in.
Water levels were extremely low and still are, although to a lesser extent due to rain. Fire ban was lifted while we were still in the park.
Fishing in Argo and other clear water areas was terrible. We caught only 3 lakers the entire time and that included 2 full days of trolling around Argo. Smallies were still on the beds in coves and rivers. Very aggressive.
Everywhere else, fishing was stellar. Pulled walleye from trolling and from fishing currents. Pike were aggressive and shallow although that seemed to have changed when the temperature dropped. Gold / perch colors seemed to work best.
There was a crazy windstorm (50+ mph maybe) that rolled through while we were camped on the island in Argo. Many trees down. It blew one of our unsecured canoes into the middle of the lake. Portaging back, there were several freshly fallen trees across the trails. We cleared as many as we could. Other than that, the trails were in decent shape.
Cold and rainy coming out today. Extremely windy as well, so much so that I actually felt sorry for the groups we passed coming in.
"God never made an ugly landscape. All that sun shines on is beautiful, so long as it is wild." - Muir
06/02/2018 05:13PM
cburton103: "Timatkin,
We’re looking forward to the trip a lot, as always. This will be my first time on the western end of Brent, so we’re really looking forward to that, as well as the stretch through the Deer chain. I’ve also never exited through Mudro, so I’m excited to see a new part of the bwca as well. My tripping buddy hasn’t done any bwca portages (this will be his fourth Quetico trip), so it will be interesting to compare/contrast to Quetico style portages for him.
Anyways, thanks for chiming in! I figured I probably wouldn’t be able to get much last minute info, but I had to check anyways!"
We usually camp the last night close or on lower Basswood Falls on the Q side, then leave through Mudro the last day. After a week in Quetico and getting in shape, plus the last day adrenaline of leaving the BWCAW portages seem like child’s play, but a lot of that is perspective.
On Brent fish the narrows...I know everyone knows that but just in case. I fished Deer hard after seeing Lynn’s walleye form there (Voyageur North) but all I caught were nice lakers...I was actually disappointed since each time I thought I had a monster walleye :)
Ya gotta try wickstead for big Northerns—it has a lot of bass but those big gators are what I like.
T
06/02/2018 06:42PM
SummerSkin: "We just returned from 7 days in Argo / Crooked / Iron.
Water levels were extremely low and still are, although to a lesser extent due to rain. Fire ban was lifted while we were still in the park.
Fishing in Argo and other clear water areas was terrible. We caught only 3 lakers the entire time and that included 2 full days of trolling around Argo. Smallies were still on the beds in coves and rivers. Very aggressive.
Everywhere else, fishing was stellar. Pulled walleye from trolling and from fishing currents. Pike were aggressive and shallow although that seemed to have changed when the temperature dropped. Gold / perch colors seemed to work best.
There was a crazy windstorm (50+ mph maybe) that rolled through while we were camped on the island in Argo. Many trees down. It blew one of our unsecured canoes into the middle of the lake. Portaging back, there were several freshly fallen trees across the trails. We cleared as many as we could. Other than that, the trails were in decent shape.
Cold and rainy coming out today. Extremely windy as well, so much so that I actually felt sorry for the groups we passed coming in."
Summer skin,
Thanks for the update, and I’m glad you guys had a good trip despite some unusual weather! We camped on the island site in Argo last trip - great spot, and I’m glad we didn’t have our canoe blown away since we’re two guys in one tandem canoe! We didn’t do as well on Argo as on other lakes either last year.
06/02/2018 06:46PM
Timatkin,
Thanks for the advice. We’ll definitely fish the narrows in Brent, hopefully a couple times. And that’s good to know about Deer - we planned on targeting walleye there as well. But we’re relatively bad at walleye fishing, so we’ll just stick to pulling rapalas around for trout, which is a heck of a lot of fun anyways!
And I can hardly wait to fish Wicksteed. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve marvelled at all of the structure in that lake on google earth!
Thanks for the advice. We’ll definitely fish the narrows in Brent, hopefully a couple times. And that’s good to know about Deer - we planned on targeting walleye there as well. But we’re relatively bad at walleye fishing, so we’ll just stick to pulling rapalas around for trout, which is a heck of a lot of fun anyways!
And I can hardly wait to fish Wicksteed. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve marvelled at all of the structure in that lake on google earth!
06/03/2018 08:44PM
Timakin, I like your picture, but wonder why you, the packs, the canoe, and even the fish look so clean? First day out? No muddy portages? Photoshop?
Glad you had a good trip. My crew is not until end of July.
Glad you had a good trip. My crew is not until end of July.
"I shall return" General Douglas McArthur
06/03/2018 11:49PM
Eyedocron: "Timakin, I like your picture, but wonder why you, the packs, the canoe, and even the fish look so clean? First day out? No muddy portages? Photoshop?
Glad you had a good trip. My crew is not until end of July."
Haha his packs are oddly clean, now that you mention it!
06/04/2018 09:10PM
Seriously...I have a pic of a weird scoliotic laker and your comment is how clean I look. LOL
I never noticed that before. You mean you guys don’t clean your packs at every portage? All I can say is looks can be deceiving...
T
I never noticed that before. You mean you guys don’t clean your packs at every portage? All I can say is looks can be deceiving...
T
06/04/2018 09:37PM
timatkn: "Seriously...I have a pic of a weird scoliotic laker and your comment is how clean I look. LOL
I never noticed that before. You mean you guys don’t clean your packs at every portage? All I can say is looks can be deceiving...
T"
Now that you mention it, that fish does look wonky ;) I'm shocked a fish could survive to maturity with that kind of defect. Looked otherwise healthy.
06/06/2018 09:47AM
SummerSkin: "We just returned from 7 days in Argo / Crooked / Iron.
Water levels were extremely low and still are, although to a lesser extent due to rain. Fire ban was lifted while we were still in the park.
Fishing in Argo and other clear water areas was terrible. We caught only 3 lakers the entire time and that included 2 full days of trolling around Argo. Smallies were still on the beds in coves and rivers. Very aggressive.
Everywhere else, fishing was stellar. Pulled walleye from trolling and from fishing currents. Pike were aggressive and shallow although that seemed to have changed when the temperature dropped. Gold / perch colors seemed to work best.
There was a crazy windstorm (50+ mph maybe) that rolled through while we were camped on the island in Argo. Many trees down. It blew one of our unsecured canoes into the middle of the lake. Portaging back, there were several freshly fallen trees across the trails. We cleared as many as we could. Other than that, the trails were in decent shape.
Cold and rainy coming out today. Extremely windy as well, so much so that I actually felt sorry for the groups we passed coming in."
Wow. What a difference a week makes. I believe it, though, with how hot it was and getting hotter. We were in Argo, Darky, McAree, and Crooked the week before you were (came out Sunday before Memorial Day). Fishing for trout was fantastic, although no real big ones anywhere, and nothing over 4 pounds in Argo. The stained water in Crooked was lights-out good for bass, pike, and walleyes to a lesser extent. We only had one windy day. It seemed weird to be trolling around Argo in dead flat calm in the middle of the day.
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