Hello fellow enthusiasts,

I will be leading a group of four to six guys on a 4-5 day BWCA trip in June of 2019. I believe that it is never too early to start planning. I am looking for suggestions of base camp lakes and I want to lay out some criteria of what we're looking for.

1) We want to go to an area of the BWCA that we've never been before. Here is what we've done in years past- A) 2 Sawbill area trips, one of them a loop from Sawbill to Cherokee and around the Burnt/Smoke etc, and one from Kawishiwi up to Polly and east to Sawbill, B) EP47 Poplar down to Vista Lake and C) EP62 Clearwater Lake over to Caribou.

There are vast areas of the BWCA that we have never seen and we definitely want to go somewhere new.

2) Base Camp with day trips. Our goal is to put in a hard first day's work to get away from the crowds and then find a base camp to stay at. A bonus would be an area where fun day trips are available to area lakes. Nearby waterfalls or bluffs or hiking would be fun for day trips.

3) Fishing. The lake we base camp at must have walleyes. I know that not all lakes in the BWCA have walleyes but all of us love fishing and we love the taste of fresh walleye. There's nothing better. It doesn't need to be a trophy walleye lake. Being that it will be early June, I am optimistic that we'll find the walleyes if the lake has them.

4) Outfitter close enough. We will need to rent canoes, so we need an outfitter close enough to our starting point.

I would love to hear suggestions of lakes that fit most of all of that criteria. I have been tasked as the one in the group who figures out where we are going, so I would truly appreciate any info anyone has.

Thank you very much.

Enter Sea Gull Lake #54 and set up camp on Ogishkemuncie.

If you're not that ambitious stop at Alpine...

....or, if you're REALLY ambitious? Shoot for the South Arm of Knife. (Your best fishing will likely be here.)

Point being, there are a lot of great options using this EP/route.

Thank you. I got some information from the Seagull Outfitter's website about that trip and it sounds great. It sounds like it's not a place for solitude though since several popular loops go through it. I will definitely look into that area and research more. I will gladly take any other suggestions as well.

Drive up to Ely after work and stay at an outfitter on Moose Lake (I've had very pleasant experiences with Williams & Hall). Most if not all will accommodate a late arrival so you can crash in the bunkhouse and get up early. Then catch a tow to the Sucker Lake portage into Birch Lake which will save you 3-6 hours of paddling on Moose. Pray you don't have a bad headwind and cruise all the way to Knife, either the South Arm or "North Arm". I really like the look of the North Arm; the South Arm was alright but due to the circumstances of my arrival and departure (long September day to get in, and late departure due to dilly-dallying by others) I probably didn't appreciate it like I could have. You can get to NAK/SAK within 6-8 hours depending on the strength of your group and how much stuff you bring in with you, and weather of course. It took my groups basically 4 hours on the dot to get into Knife from the Sucker portage, both times I went through there this year, double portaging and taking a few minutes at some of the landings like Carp to enjoy the rapids (I think it was Carp).

You'll have epic fishing on Knife the entire time, for all major species (Walleye/Pike/SMB/Lakers). There are a lot of places you can visit from a central Knife camp. In the SAK there is Eddy Falls which would make a great day trip, and Eddy is supposed to have decent Laker fishing too. If you want, you can go even further into the Kek Ponds which are quite scenic from what I have read (didn't make it there this year). Kek is a beautiful lake but would probably be a bit far from your base camp unless you were staying in the SAK. If you're on the north side, you can check out Little Knife (awesome little narrow spot right on the border) and up to Ottertrack as well, which I've read has some beautiful, imposing views. Heck, you could even go Amoeber-Topaz-Cherry if you wanted a full day trip - Cherry is BEAUTIFUL with huge cliffs and some narrows that reportedly produce excellent fishing (not while I was there in Sept however).

I will say, Knife won't be super isolated; it's a destination lake for many, and I would definitely go there to base camp again if I was going to go with a group who wanted to do that instead of travel a little more. The water is beautifully clear, the fishing is great, and the surrounding area is (IMO) quite scenic with some decent elevation, and the Canadian side has a mix of burn and live trees as you get further north that makes for quite a striking view. You won't see too many newbies on Knife probably, due to the 4-6 hours of travel to get there (if you take a tow). Still, I had no problems with seeing people out fishing; no one was causing a ruckus when I was out there, which is what would bother me. Again, the moderate amount of travel probably keeps out some of the riff-raff.

We generally try to avoid the larger lakes because the wind can make it really tough if it is strong. I have never stayed on a lake as large as Knife Lake. It sounds like exactly what I am looking for though. I will research it. I am open to other suggestions as well.

TCOEGUY,

Took a trip into Entry Pt. 16 (Moose River Portage North) 2 years ago with 4 other men. All newbies. We worked hard up through the narrows, across Nina Moose, up to Agnus and then into Boulder and Tiger Bays just below Lac La Croix. While Boulder and Tiger Bays are both part of LLC, they have a small/medium lake feel to them since they are in Bay Areas. The best part about this area is that it's full of really nice camping areas that are spacious and easily accommodate 5+ people. I've been to 6 different areas of the BWCA and not one of the trips offered such a plethera of nice camping spaces. Once you get above lake agnus, you should have no problem finding a nice site to base camp. If you research the Tiger and Boulder Bay areas, you'll see what I mean. We went in mid June and had good fishing the whole trip. Took a day trip to the Canadian Boarder and checked out the Indian paintings on the cliffs. Only a few miles from this area. Also, canoed the bay area loop one day which is a nice canoe trip.

If you're up for a semi-tough first day, this is your trip. You're looking at about a 13 mile trek to get there with 8 portages. None to terribly large, more so a few small annoying ones. Took us just over 6 hours to get up there single portaging. If you're up for it, I don't think you'll be disappointed. I would strongly recommend a 5 day trip. One day to get to Boulder/Tiger Bay and set up/rest. Next two days base camping. Day 4, paddle half way back to Nina Moose for a hold over one night so you have a quicker out the day you leave on day 5. Both 1786 and 1787 are nice sites on Nina Moose. We stayed on 1787. Was a very nice site with good space for tents. Also caught a ton of fish here the night we stayed.

Good Luck finding a good location! Have a great trip!

Darin





Above is a couple photos of site #178 where we stayed on Tiger Bay. Wasn't our first choice, but still one of the nicest sites I've stayed on. Has 3 levels separated by terrace rocks. Water level, lounging level and an upper level for tents. Pretty cool site.

tcoeguy: "We generally try to avoid the larger lakes because the wind can make it really tough if it is strong. I have never stayed on a lake as large as Knife Lake. It sounds like exactly what I am looking for though. I will research it. I am open to other suggestions as well. "

Paddle up Moose Lake and swing over to Ensign. Same area as Knife, but Ensign is a smaller lake with some very nice sites for base camping and great opportunities for day trips. Ensign also has good fishing - we caught plenty of walleye while there in late August/early September.

: "

tcoeguy: "We generally try to avoid the larger lakes because the wind can make it really tough if it is strong. I have never stayed on a lake as large as Knife Lake. It sounds like exactly what I am looking for though. I will research it. I am open to other suggestions as well. "

Paddle up Moose Lake and swing over to Ensign. Same area as Knife, but Ensign is a smaller lake with some very nice sites for base camping and great opportunities for day trips. Ensign also has good fishing - we caught plenty of walleye while there in late August/early September."

I've read that Ensign is a great lake for walleye. It has a lot of structure from what we could tell when I was there, lots of sunken islands. We almost hit a boulder in the middle of the lake that was barely sticking out of the water. MIDDLE OF THE LAKE! Unfortunately it was windy when I was there and our fishing day consisted mostly of trolling because we had no option but to keep paddling unless we wanted a loooong haul back to the campsite against the wind. We did manage to secure 2 walleye on that bright sunny windy day.

The caveat with Ensign is that it will be busy, busier than Knife for sure. When we got there (June 7 I think) about 3pm, we saw no less than a dozen canoes on the water in the 30 minutes it took us to find a campsite, and every campsite we looked at, maybe 10 or so, were taken, except 2 at the northern tip which is where we stayed.

The northwest site by the Trident portage is quite nice, fairly secluded without being tucked away and buggy, has a nice view, and you get basically the whole bay to yourself. Had to paddle to a nearby shoreline to find firewood though; it was picked clean at our site in early June. Also some trash left behind by the last occupants which we packed out.

If you're willing to give up the isolation and want an easier destination, Ensign is definitely a good option. Make sure you head down to see Cattyman Falls if you stay on Ensign - it was ragin' when I was there!

That is what I am reading about Ensign as well. It is not a lake if you're looking for isolation, which is a turnoff for us. We don't mind putting in more work to get away from people. Might be leaning towards Knife Lake or South Arm Knife Lake. Anyone have a preference between the two?

Check out EP 14 and head for Lynx (or beyond that, Hustler).

Don't stop on Shell...nothing against it, but that's where the people will be.

tcoeguy: "... We don't mind putting in more work to get away from people. Might be leaning towards Knife Lake or South Arm Knife Lake. Anyone have a preference between the two? "

From what I've read....the BEARS prefer south arm : )~

TuscaroraBorealis: "Enter Sea Gull Lake #54 and set up camp on Ogishkemuncie.


If you're not that ambitious stop at Alpine...


....or, if you're REALLY ambitious? Shoot for the South Arm of Knife. (Your best fishing will likely be here.)

Point being, there are a lot of great options using this EP/route."

Did exactly this in July 2018, fishing was decent on both Alpine and Ogish, despite being the height of summer. Also spend a full day on Seagull on the return trip and had a lot of SMB success.

treehorn: "Check out EP 14 and head for Lynx (or beyond that, Hustler).


Don't stop on Shell...nothing against it, but that's where the people will be."

I have been looking into this one and I really like how Lynx or Hustler look. But every time we have gone before, we've had the outfitter right on the lake of our entry point. Since we have to rent canoes, do we just use an outfitter from Ely and get shuttled? What are you experiences with doing that?

Also, does anyone know about the campsites and fishing on Lynx or Hustler?

Thank you.

flynn: "Drive up to Ely after work and stay at an outfitter on Moose Lake (I've had very pleasant experiences with Williams & Hall). Most if not all will accommodate a late arrival so you can crash in the bunkhouse and get up early. Then catch a tow to the Sucker Lake portage into Birch Lake which will save you 3-6 hours of paddling on Moose. Pray you don't have a bad headwind and cruise all the way to Knife, either the South Arm or "North Arm". I really like the look of the North Arm; the South Arm was alright but due to the circumstances of my arrival and departure (long September day to get in, and late departure due to dilly-dallying by others) I probably didn't appreciate it like I could have. You can get to NAK/SAK within 6-8 hours depending on the strength of your group and how much stuff you bring in with you, and weather of course. It took my groups basically 4 hours on the dot to get into Knife from the Sucker portage, both times I went through there this year, double portaging and taking a few minutes at some of the landings like Carp to enjoy the rapids (I think it was Carp).


You'll have epic fishing on Knife the entire time, for all major species (Walleye/Pike/SMB/Lakers). There are a lot of places you can visit from a central Knife camp. In the SAK there is Eddy Falls which would make a great day trip, and Eddy is supposed to have decent Laker fishing too. If you want, you can go even further into the Kek Ponds which are quite scenic from what I have read (didn't make it there this year). Kek is a beautiful lake but would probably be a bit far from your base camp unless you were staying in the SAK. If you're on the north side, you can check out Little Knife (awesome little narrow spot right on the border) and up to Ottertrack as well, which I've read has some beautiful, imposing views. Heck, you could even go Amoeber-Topaz-Cherry if you wanted a full day trip - Cherry is BEAUTIFUL with huge cliffs and some narrows that reportedly produce excellent fishing (not while I was there in Sept however).


I will say, Knife won't be super isolated; it's a destination lake for many, and I would definitely go there to base camp again if I was going to go with a group who wanted to do that instead of travel a little more. The water is beautifully clear, the fishing is great, and the surrounding area is (IMO) quite scenic with some decent elevation, and the Canadian side has a mix of burn and live trees as you get further north that makes for quite a striking view. You won't see too many newbies on Knife probably, due to the 4-6 hours of travel to get there (if you take a tow). Still, I had no problems with seeing people out fishing; no one was causing a ruckus when I was out there, which is what would bother me. Again, the moderate amount of travel probably keeps out some of the riff-raff."

Did this exact trip in mid June. Agree with all that's been said. Made for a great spot for day tripping. There's a ton of great coves for fishing and we were able to catch everything but lake trout around the site. A group we were with took a long portage south of there to Sema Lake and apparently cleaned up on trout (the portage they said was hell though). Did some day tripping to Eddy Falls which was a really nice. Great smallmouth fishing at the base of the falls. Another great day trip with a portage just north of us to get onto the north arm of Lake. I was surprised by how different the scenery was. Some burnout areas but still really nice.

Bears were an issue, though not a huge one, at least not for us. Ran into one midday on the shore while solo fishing a few days in. He then showed up at our site the last night around dinner time. Took some banging of pots but he went on his way. Heard the following morning from an adjacent group that he hit them around midnight. Took their food pack apparently forced an early exit. Here was our campsite.

The other downside I didn't think would be an issue was the number of people. I had figured it'd be sparse up there, but every site around us was occupied the entire week. There was a boisterous group across the lake that wasn't exactly quiet. It's amazing how you can hear every word shouted over a card game that far away. Despite that, all in all really fun area. A group we were traveling with did a big loop from the Moose lake portage and went north into Quetico. That's on my list.

tcoeguy: "

treehorn: "Check out EP 14 and head for Lynx (or beyond that, Hustler).



Don't stop on Shell...nothing against it, but that's where the people will be."

I have been looking into this one and I really like how Lynx or Hustler look. But every time we have gone before, we've had the outfitter right on the lake of our entry point. Since we have to rent canoes, do we just use an outfitter from Ely and get shuttled? What are you experiences with doing that?


Also, does anyone know about the campsites and fishing on Lynx or Hustler?


Thank you."

Yep, we had to rent canoes as well. You could use pretty much any Ely outfitter, stay in their bunkhouse, then in the morning they'll bring canoes to the EP and you follow them or just meet there in your own car. Then arrange to meet them again on your way out. I suppose it could be arranged to just ride with them as well, if they have space in their vehicle. We used Fenske Lake Outfitters.

Campsites on Lynx are excellent, generally speaking. I think there are 5? At least 3 are primo 4* sites...the others aren't bad either.

We did not do great fishing on Lynx, but I wouldn't put much into that. We were there in late July and aren't the best anglers anyway! We did find some on Shell though.