We are planning an early Sept trip in 2019. Been there once before (early October, Brule Bay)- loved it. We are looking for some decent fishing for the three main species but most interested in Pike and Smallies.

We kind of have it narrowed down to two choices.
1. Brule Bay and into Vernon.
2. Homer and into the Pipes or Vern.

We will be taking kayaks. Yes, I have seen the portage into Vernon and I know we have our work cut out for us (Its gonna suck, LOL), but we are no strangers to dragging yaks. We are not really looking into doing any loop type trip but more setting up on one body of water and working it good for 4-5 days.

For those of you guys that have been on these bodies of water recently, I would love to hear some opinions.

When I was there in early October, I didn't see another soul the entire time we were on the water. What is the traffic like in early September in these areas? I am also a photographer. I understand that Homer, Vern, Juno, and some of the Pipes suffered a pretty serious fire some years back and the trees that have grown back are not that big. Is this area still pretty Photogenic or would I be better served in the Brule/ Vernon area for some landscape photography? Thanks for any advice you guys can give.

Have fun planning! Ordinarily, I would try to talk you into canoes (and they'd still be far better in this case), but with the short portages and very few of them, a kayak can work as long as you can properly stow your gear. Are canoes an option for you? Rentals?

Jackfish: "Have fun planning! Ordinarily, I would try to talk you into canoes (and they'd still be far better in this case), but with the short portages and very few of them, a kayak can work as long as you can properly stow your gear. Are canoes an option for you? Rentals?"

We are yakers through and through, so ultra light gear and stowing it is something we have pretty much mastered over the years. We are considering canoe rental in the future, but it's gonna be my brother's first time in the BWCA next year and we want to hit it with our yaks together.

Brule bay baby

swiftone, a buddy and I went in on Homer last July and stayed on Vern for a few days. It is an easy route and the couple portages you will have to take are not too bad. We did not see much evidence of burn areas other than on a daytrip to the Pipe Lake landing. We are both avid photographers and I felt like the area had plenty to offer.

Fishing was very good overall; we did well on daytrips but also caught numerous fish right from camp. This includes several pike and some very nice smallies but the bad news is, you might have to take some of those pesky walleyes off your hook too. :)

We stayed at the site on Homer directly across from the mouth of the Vern River. We explored up the Vern River one day and had great fishing and it was beautiful. I would like to go back and explore it further. Definitely recommend this for a daytrip.

For some reason I didn't have the highest expectations of the area (my buddy picked the entry) but was very pleasantly surprised.

Here are some pics of the area:







Along the Vern River. Great fishing in this little narrows, eyes and smallies.






More Vern River






The east-west orientation of Homer afforded some great sunset pic opportunities














At the end of a portage














Plenty of these available



Let me know if you have any questions, we had a great time.

Love the pictures Lindy. One of those are my screen saver now. Thanks for posting. looks, like a beautiful area

Are you more, or less likely to capsize in a Kayak? If more, does risk of hypothermia concern you in October?

Last year I did a quick weekend solo the weekend between opener and Memorial Day entering at Homer. I only had 2 nights so I spent a night on Pipe and a night on Vern. I did not see another person until I got back to the parking lot at the end of the trip.

I liked the area so much and wish I'd had more time to explore and fish the area so Homer to Vern is my destination on this years Daddy/Daughter trip with little duckling.

I don't see yaks causing any problems for you on this trip. All very short portages. The only place I remember seeing fire damage was East Pipe.

Pipe campsite

Vern campsite

journey from Pipe to Vern

LindyLair and Ducks,
Thanks for the replies and some very nice photos. Ya, I would have no problems with some landscape photography in those areas. Your guys' fishing reports seem to correlate with a lot of the other reports I have read too. So, again, thanks.

4 of us will be going and 2-3 of us will be sleeping in hammocks. Are the campsites on Vern and Pipe able to accommodate this? Quite frankly, I think a lot of the ratings/ reviews on the campsites are based on Canoe people that do not do or have not done ultralite camping. I am guessing that the portage back are full of gear. That's fine, but we are UL campers.

The portages at Homer, Vern, and the Pipes would most def be easier than the one at Vern. I have put my eyes on the one at Vern when I was in Brule Bay. It can be done, but it could be done much easier I think if we had canoes.

Analyzer,
I could ask a canoe person the very same questions. Hypothermia/ Capsizing are of course that should be addressed by any paddler on open water. Proper outer dry gear and a plan of action if you enter the water should be in place. That's simple paddling 101 in colder water IMO.

I stayed at the eastern most site on Pipe and the eastern most site on Vern.

The one on Pipe had an area that would hold a couple hammocks nicely. I didn't explore the other 2 sites on Pipe. Also, I caught smallies and northern from shore at my Pipe campsite.

I think a group of 9 could probably all hang at the site I stayed at on Vern. I think you'd be ok at the other one on Vern also but not certain.


The Vern campsite had this hill with a neat view from the top.

Thanks for the additional info Ducks. I'm liking Vern, Pipes, and Homer more and more.

Ducks did you go to Brule at all on the trip? I am looking at the area for 4 kids and 4 adults and keep coming back to the area. It looks very nice. I would get a homer entry permit. Do you think we will get bored in the area for 4 nights we usually put on a good amount of miles? How did the daddy daughter duck trip goes well. Still have not done one of those and still have not soloed one day.

schuetpa, if you stayed at the site on Vern across from the mouth of the river I don't think you would have any problem finding spots to hang from. Lots of trees all over the site in some nice locations. I have a couple shots of the site, one similar to what Ducks has. Keep in mind, we had 4 torrential rain episodes one morning and virtually any site might be underwater at that point. It drained quickly.

I did not think the Vernon portage from Brule was that bad...sure there's some elevation, but it's not terribly long. Nice little falls on a side trail.

Been to Vernon via Brule twice.

1st time: we were on base camping trip and day tripped from Brule. Hooked biggest Pike of my life there. No way to land it, without grabbers or net. Too big to gill or grab. Threw the hook before we could land and figure it out. Definitely a 40" class fish. 1/4 oz roadrunner with purple grub. On the same trip we day tripped to Echo and did well on Bronzebacks, but moved on due to weather.

2nd time: base camped on Vernon with family. Their first trip. Will mention that portage here...elevation is a factor, but so is footing. Lots of ankle roller stones and roots, drains across. Would definitely recommend canoes....both Vernon sites would be fine for hanging, hut the more southern one is less desirable, especially for ground dwellers. Fishing was poor, but we still ate fish. Best of trip was an 18" smallie from camp.

Can't speak to your other option. No experience there.