Hey there, my buddy and I are planning a 5-day trip fishing for smallmouth as a celebration for finishing the school year... except we have zero clue where to go. We have everything fishing and camping wise, all we need is information on where to drive to, portage across, etc. I feel as though I'm trying to drink water out of a fire hydrant Googling this stuff, so I figured I might as well ask some of the people on here who know what they're doing. So, if you were planning your first trip to the BW, what would you do in regards to:

-driving to
-camp sites
-portaging
-permits
-any odd equipment

Being a newbie to this all, any advice would be much appreciated.
Thanks, Tate.

Welcome to the board... you may get "fire-hydranted" here as everyone loves to give basic advice.

Your first choice will be Ely or Gunflint. Both are good and your deciding factor may be the closer of the two. Minimize your travel to maximize your canoeing and fishing time while on vacation.

Make sure to communicate with your partner on equipment that he/she is bringing so that you don't double-up on basics. 2 axes and 3 lbs coffee is wasted effort.

Planning is a big part of the fun. Enjoy all the time researching, discussing, and deciding. Establish a relationship with an outfitter who can provide lots of answers. Use an outfitter for lodging the night before entry. And buy stuff from their business.

I think you will hear plenty of advice but it would help to know: is the trip mainly fishing focused? How much do you want to travel...in a long day and set up basecamp and fish? Travel everyday or most everyday? If fishing is the main purpose we can put you on some good fishing lakes within a moderate days travel(or less) but if fishing is only part of the deal then we could point you to an entry point lake or area and let you design your trip. The more info you can give us the better answers we can give.

BTW, I see this often that the choices are the Ely area or the Gunflint Trail and they are both great options. But I think discounting the Sawbill Trail area and the multiple entries and routes from there is a mistake.

Tell us more...

This is what I would do ...

I'd want to experience the small Northwood town and get face to face expert advice. I'd also want to rent a canoe. So I'd pick my dates and call an outfitter. ASAP.

I would choose Ely and I would choose Voyageur North Outfitter (though there are many, many others you could choose.

Over the phone they will help you decide where to go and ensure you have the proper permit and canoe. Also arrange for a bunkhouse the night before the trip. Then you can get excited and wait.

When you get there, they'll have your permit, canoe, and any other gear you may need. They will give you detailed driving instructions to the entry. They will go over your map with you and tell you about campsites, portages, good fishing spots, good baits and lures, and answer all questions.

Let us know the approximate date you're looking to enter, that will also help immensely.

The trip would very much be fishing oriented, from May 26- June 2. It’d be ideal not to have to travel far for a fishing lake. Would we need to set things up with an outfitter if we’ve got kayaks, tents, and all?

tlittlef: "The trip would very much be fishing oriented, from May 26- June 2. It’d be ideal not to have to travel far for a fishing lake. Would we need to set things up with an outfitter if we’ve got kayaks, tents, and all?"

I would definitely leave the kayaks at home and rent a canoe.

As suggested before, I would go through VNO in Ely. If you want to base camp and don’t mind 1 long portage and a couple of short ones,I would suggest Cummings lake. 4-5 hrs of travel and you will have solitude and great smallmouth fishing. Many nice sites to choose from. If you don’t want to go all the way to Cummings you could stay on Crab. I Never fished it but have heard good things.

walllee: "

tlittlef: "The trip would very much be fishing oriented, from May 26- June 2. It’d be ideal not to have to travel far for a fishing lake. Would we need to set things up with an outfitter if we’ve got kayaks, tents, and all?"

I would definitely leave the kayaks at home and rent a canoe."

I would definitely leave the kayaks at home and rent a canoe.

I would choose the Gunflint Trail and I would choose Seagull Outfitters (though there are many, many others you could choose.

If the focus is fishing and you are interested in just going in a half a day or so and set up camp, there are tons of options.

Enter at Clearwater Lake and take one fairly long portage to Caribou Lake and set up camp on this long and pretty lake. Excellent smallmouth fishing and good walleye fishing too. Bonus daytrip of a few hours to Johnson Falls which is one of the prettier spots in the BWCA. Clearwater Outfitters are great for equipment rental and launch and an awesome breakfast prior to entering.

Put in at Homer Lake entry point and head west. There are two campsites on Homer that are actually just outside the BWCA and they are both nice. A third in the western end that is in the BWCA, But I would encourage you to move on to Vern Lake over a couple short and easy portages and get one of the two sites there. It is a very good fishing lake for smallies and walleyes and not usually particularly busy. If you can get the mid lake site on the north shore you will be right across from the mouth of the Vern River. Great daytrip up a small river with beautiful scenery and great fishing for smallies and walleyes. Sawtooth Outfitters on Hwy 61 near the beginning of the Sawbill Trail can get you set up with all the equipment you need and will mount the canoe on your vehicle too.

If smallmouth fishing is your thing, consider entering on Poplar Lake off the gunflint and either taking the long portage into Meeds Lake(Meeds Lake entry) or going in through Lizz lake, Caribou Lake and over to Meeds(Lizz lake entry). 3 campsites on Meeds, great smallmouth fishing and and often overlooked spot.
Rockwood outfitters right on Poplar Lake could set you up, as could Hungry Jack outfitters nearby.

Take a look at a map and scope out these and other mentioned routes and see what grabs your fancy. If your goal is a pretty easy entry to a nice area with good smallmouth fishing, all of these would work well. I did the Homer entry last year and it was awesome, I absolutely have to go back.

Homer entry trip report:

Homer Lake July 2018

Clearwater to Caribou trip with Johnson Falls

Clearwater CAribou and Johnson Falls

It is called the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness for a reason. While kayaking a BWCA lake could be a joy, taking a long portage uphill, downhill, over rocks, roots, through mud and water or worse, portaging with a kayak could be a nightmare. Unless you got it all figured out. Rent a kevlar ultralight canoe.

Tate, shoot me an email if you want some common sense information about the BWCA and trip options, maybe more info than you want:)

Just want to help make it the best trip it can be.

lindylair@comcast.net

lindylair: "If the focus is fishing and you are interested in just going in a half a day or so and set up camp, there are tons of options.


Enter at Clearwater Lake and take one fairly long portage to Caribou Lake and set up camp on this long and pretty lake. Excellent smallmouth fishing and good walleye fishing too. Bonus daytrip of a few hours to Johnson Falls which is one of the prettier spots in the BWCA. Clearwater Outfitters are great for equipment rental and launch and an awesome breakfast prior to entering.
"

This sounds perfect to me. Some people are into trekking across the land and lakes, but we are just trying to get away from traffic to fish. It seems to be the popular consensus to rent a kayak for ease of portaging... where does one carry all their equipment when the canoe is overhead? We have kayak wheel buggies that we assumed we could use, and keep all of our stuff within the kayaks, no?

If you want to use the kayaks, there are plenty of entry lakes to choose. Check any overview map and you can see that portages can be completely eliminated. Solitude can be achieved in back bays.

Odd equipment often overlooked: Take one bug whacker for each tent. Best and cleanest way to eliminate mosquitoes in the tent. Keep it wrapped in plastic to insure dryness.

tlittlef: " It seems to be the popular consensus to rent a kayak for ease of portaging... where does one carry all their equipment when the canoe is overhead? We have kayak wheel buggies that we assumed we could use, and keep all of our stuff within the kayaks, no? "

I presume you mis-typed. No one is suggesting renting a kayak. Although there are some rare and limited advantages, or at least acceptable uses, for kayaks in the BW, canoes are far better for tandem paddling, carrying gear and portaging. And fishing from a canoe is a piece of cake.

Portage wheels are not allowed in the BW. Leave 'em at home.

Each canoe would have a portage yoke with pads. Pick up the canoe, get it resting on your shoulders and head off down the trail, then go back and get your packs. This is called "double portaging". Some folks will "single portage" by packing efficiently, then carrying the canoe AND a pack on one trip. The person who doesn't carry the canoe will carry the other pack and the peripheral items like paddles or fishing rods. Those peripheral items can also be tied into your canoe with Bungee Dealee Bobs.

Keep asking questions. The folks here are very experienced and you'll learn a lot from them.


Portaging


Efficiently packed for an 8-day trip





Portage wheels won't work here





The fight is on


Canoe country walleye

Not only will wheels not work here, they are illegal.

You can use a kayak, but you'll want to do a no portage trip, or very limited portage. To portage you'd have to empty your hatches into a pack to carry items across. You'd either need a yoke for the kayak or suffer with a shoulder carry.

You could do Sawbill Lake - no portages. Or make one short, easy portage to Alton.

Seagull Lake, Saganaga are no portages.

You need to have a permit for the exact entry date and entry point. Number of permits entry points still have are limited. If you know your dates and are firm on them, then you have to see what entry points are still available (or vice versa).

Getting a permit is not difficult, but is hard to explain. It's best if you can have someone who has done it before show you.

Start with the basics:

Here is a link to the Forest Service Rules for the BWCAW: RULES

Here are links to the now 3 Forest Service movies that introduce the BWCAW and remind everyone of some of the Leave No Trace expectations:

Movie 1

Movie 2

Movie 3

Second: The folks here are trying to gently nudge you toward what they know works best. (Remember - you asked!). When people start asking about using their own equipment (kayaks and tents) and using illegal equipment (portage wheels) their red warning flags start going off. So:

Pick a general location west, central, or east and talk to a local outfitter about your plans. At the very least, they can help make sure you have a permit to legally enter.

Whether or not you actually need to obtain (rent) equipment from them, most outfitters will help you make sure you understand the ramifications of your equipment choices. (E.g. Kayaks are doable but they will take extra time at portages and will likely slow you down.)

An outfitter can help you obtain canoe packs to carry your gear over portages. They can help make sure your gear choices will stand up to the weather and keep you safe. This year especially with the ice out likely to be later, the water is likely to be very cold yet at the time you mention. E.g. Are your sleeping bags rated for the predicted low temps on your trip? What if there is a fire ban? (Yup, they happen in May too). Do you have a campstove?

There are a hundred whatif’s they have been handling for a long time and can help first-timers consider. By the way, do you know how to hang a bear bag?

As to the fishing and route, I will leave to others more experienced to give you their favorite spots. I think you have already gotten some good options.

Last year was my first trip in 17 years and the first trip for 3 of my friends. It can be very overwhelming given how big the bwca is. Really the best thing you can do at this point of the process is pick a side start asking questions here, and call an outfitter. We had them apply for our permit and we picked it up at the outfitter. They made everything painless and I presume that pretty much every outfitter offers the same great friendly service as the one we chose.

The one book I would get is Robert Beymer. He covers the east and then the west area in 2 books. Basically the west area is out of Ely and the East section is out of Grand Marais or The Gunflint Trail area. Robert Beymer East

Pick the appropriate book or better yet get them both and then use an outfitter to help with the details. These books outline in detail different length loop trips to do from each entry point. Lots of other good info too about rules and regs.

I don't know where you are coming from, but assuming you would be headed north on 35/61 at some point, I would want to see at least some of Lake Superior.

If you're going to Grand Marais, and up the gunflint trail, you'll get to see Lake Superior, however many people when driving north on 35 headed to Ely, will get off at the Cloquet exit, and take 33 and then 53, and will miss both Duluth, and the north shore.

If this is your first time going up there, even if you're going to Ely, I would take a little time to visit Duluth, and see the North Shore of Lake Superior.

Once you're north of Duluth, on Hwy 61, you have two options, you can travel the easiest most direct path on the main highway, or just north of duluth you can split off, and take the OLD scenic 61. If it's your first time, I would take that route. It might take you 10 or 15 more minutes to get to 2 harbors, but then you'll get to see Lake Superior.

You can still take Hwy 2, north from 2 harbors to Ely, or I would recommend driving a little bit farther along 61, then you can check out goose berry falls, and still go to Ely via Hwy 1, which comes in a little north of Silver Bay. It's a pretty drive up that way, especially right when the sun is coming up (provided there's no fog, but that can be fun/mysterious too). Route 1, is windy curvy, and pretty.

So if it were me, and I were going to Ely for the first time, I would get an early start, and see Duluth, Scenic 61, Gooseberry Falls, and just past silver bay, I'd take 1 to Ely. Then as they have said, stay over night in the VNO bunkhouse, before getting an early start the next morning.

==========

We also like to pack a clean bag of clothes for our trip home. Some people have said, either everyone showers, or no one showers. We have everyone shower. It only costs a few bucks, if you're renting stuff from an outfitter, or bunking, ask them about a shower on the way out, they'll help you with that. It feels great to take a hot shower after a week in the boundary waters. And feels good to put on some clean clothes.

If you're travling along 61 north of duluth, even in the summer time it can be cool. It's not uncommon to be 20 degrees cooler on the lake, then 20 miles up the hill. Keep a light jacket handy for grand marais, etc. When I pack a take home for gunflint side, I put a sweatshirt and light jacket in my take home, in case it's chilly.

I guess that holds for in the boundary waters too. End of May beginning of June, can be 80 degrees, but can also be 40 degrees, with overnight lows in the 30's. Pack layers.

=======

If you're going in at Clearwater or Poplar, Trail Center is a great place to eat, half way up the gunflint trail. The Gunflint is 60 miles long, and trail center is just that. Mike and Carl at Rockwood Lodge, just a mile down the road from Trail Center, will take good care of you. They have bunkhouses, and rent canoes. They'll have waterever you need.

Alright everyone, thanks much for the information so far. Fairly certain that our plan is to enter Clearwater EP 62 and portage over to Caribou for a base camp to fish. My friend is in the military, and insists that we roughneck this trip by ourselves - no outfitters... which doesn't scare me as we've gone on plenty of camping trips prior, but it would be nice to be guided in the right direction. So, if reserving a permit w/o an outfitter, do I only need to purchase one for the two of us only on the entry day?

"if reserving a permit w/o an outfitter, do I only need to purchase one for the two of us only on the entry day?"

Your permit needs (or you're taking a risk of not getting the date or entry you want) on "recreation.gov" ahead of time. The permit grants you entry on the date listed on your permit and allows you to leave whenever you want in order to better control congestion at popular entry points.

tlittlef: " My friend is in the military, and insists that we roughneck this trip by ourselves - no outfitters... which doesn't scare me as we've gone on plenty of camping trips prior, but it would be nice to be guided in the right direction. "

It's more adventurous to "not know everything" in advance. Back in the 1980's when I started all I had was the Beymer book and stories from friends who took a trip. It was exciting stuff those first trips. Do yourself a favor and leave something for the imagination. Something to be discovered. Take day trips and go exploring. Have a great time.

Now that I’ve sorted out the route I want to take, out of the thousands in total, the next big obstacle is camping without any access to electricity or running water. We are used to camping in Canada with an electrical outlet for a light or tent heater, and water to wash dishes... but this is a whole new level of camping. Anything that might make the transition easier? I’ve been recommended a gravity filtration set up for water, what about cooking set ups - are those cooking kits with burners useful? Certainly can’t bring a 20lb propane tank out lol

tlittlef: " I’ve been recommended a gravity filtration set up for water, what about cooking set ups - are those cooking kits with burners useful? Certainly can’t bring a 20lb propane tank out lol"

Some people still drink right out of the lake. But most filter. You can cook your meals on an open flame, IF there isn't a fire ban. Fire Bans are somewhat common, not as much in the beginning of June. IF there is a fire ban, you will be limited to cooking on your stove, or in some cases, they will let you build a small cooking fire. Check the status of fire bans before you enter.

You have two choices. Make a reservation in advance, or get your permit the day before or day of, and risk not getting the entry point and date that you want. As minimal as the permit reservation costs, I wouldn't hesitate to make a reservation. I think it's $6.

Don't confuse the cost of the reservation, with the cost of the permit. You'll have to pay for the permit regardless. Permit fees are $15 per adult, per trip. IT's not a daily fee like parks in canada, or state parks here.

You can pick up your permit from the ranger stations in Grand Marais, or Tofte, something like that. I think they're open at 8 am. You can pick up the permit the day of, or the day before, that's it.

You can also get your permit from cooperators, like the outfitters, or Duluth Pak. I like to get mine the night before in Duluth, at the Duluth Pak in Canal Park, and get dinner while we're at it.

We like to hit the water early, and an 8 am opening by the Ranger station is too late in the day for us.

I think it's important to get out to an early start. You'll have more choices of campsites. If you get a late start, sometimes you have to go a lake or two farther than you want to, to find an open campsite. The time frame you're going isn't likely to be real busy, as many kids are still in school, and in the middle of baseball/softball.

I would create a list. Check off the list, as you pull it out and set it on your floor, and then cross of each item on the list, as you put it in the vehicle.

Think through in your mind, everything you'll need, and make a list. Keep the list on the computer, and when you go on your trip, print a copy to bring with you. As you think of stuff you should have brought, write it down, so you'll remember it next time. After the trip is over, make a note of the things you didn't use, and decide whether you reallly need them. Eventually you'll have a list that's very functional. You might even have 2 lists, one for base camping, and one for tripping/portaging. They can be very different. I actually have a 3rd for car camping.

So I close my eyes, and think about each step of the trip, and what I'll need.

Vehicle to haul.
1. Current tabs.
2. Oil changed.
3. Good tires.
4. Drivers License.
5. Insurance up to date.
6. Good spare tire.
7. Spare key hidden on the vehicle. Clearwater lake is at least 30 miles from Grand Marais. Maybe farther to the nearest locksmith.

Permit.
Map (REI sells them. I actually just picked up the exact map that you're going to use,lol).

Then you're going to paddle a canoe
Canoe
Seats (if you want one)
Cushions (if you use them)
LIfe Jackets (a must)
Current License.
Paddles.
Anchor Bag.
Fishing Gear.
Depth finder.
Bait.
Filet Knife.
Pliers.

Then you're going to sleep in a tent or hammock
Tent
Sleeping bag
Pad
innie/outie
stakes
Seam Seal in advance.

Bug spray
Toilet paper
Duct tape
blah blah blah.

You can make your own. If you want me to email you mine, I will. But keep in mind, I've been a base camper for decades, and bring EVERYTHING.

Tate, in my long winded email I did not talk about cooking. Definitely buy, rent or borrow a one burner backpacking type stove. Cooking over the fire the whole time doesn't work that great and may not even be allowed(fire ban). For just heating water for coffee or a dehydrated meal they work great. You don't need to break the bank either. I recommend the Primus Classic Trail stove as a cheap, effective and bulletproof option. Get a couple butane tanks to go with it and you are set. Here is a link to that stove on Amazon, note the overwhelmingly positive reviews.

Primus Classic


Here it is:

tlittlef: "Now that I’ve sorted out the route I want to take, out of the thousands in total, the next big obstacle is camping without any access to electricity or running water. We are used to camping in Canada with an electrical outlet for a light or tent heater, and water to wash dishes... but this is a whole new level of camping. Anything that might make the transition easier? I’ve been recommended a gravity filtration set up for water, what about cooking set ups - are those cooking kits with burners useful? Certainly can’t bring a 20lb propane tank out lol"

A book you might want to explore is "Canoe Country Camping" by Michael Furtman.

Canoe Country Camping by Michael Furtman

Tate, sounds like a lot of fun! I did the same trip with my buddy the week after we graduated high school. Ours was super spontaneous but we were experienced backpackers and knew our way around the area. I now go on at least a yearly trip with 4-5 other guys and we have a blast. There's some great advice on this site, soak it up!

I have brought my touring kayak in the past, and even though we only had one 180 rod portage, it was an unpleasant experience. Fine when on the water, but portaging was clunky and difficult. I'll echo that renting/borrowing a canoe will make the trip much better. I know you've mostly settled on an entry point, I'll just throw this out there. You can get from Moose Lake (Ely entry point #25) all the way to Birch Lake without a single portage, making your kayaks doable, as long as they can handle the cargo. Moose Lake up to Prairie Portage is a motorized area so you'll have outboard traffic and wake to maneuver. Birch offers great smallmouth, N. Pike and walleye fishing and you could day trip an easy portage to Carp Lake. There's an awesome pool full of smallies and pike at the end of the rapids flowing into Carp. Just my $.02.

I'll email you the packing list I use as well as the meal list we've settled on.

I wore shorts only once in the BWCA. The biting flies (devils) taught me to pack only lightweight synthetic long pants w/zip offs. They bite. It stings. It Itches. It's a seasonal thing and not relevant for Fall tripping. I go in during mid to late June which is the ripe season for biting flies.

I also recommend Primus Classic for a stove. Great for 8" pots and frypans. I pair butane canisters with this stabilizer when the grate area is being used for a campfire. There are cheaper plastic versions that work as well too, but they don't fit the MSR canisters. There are plenty of backpacking stoves to suit your needs. If you go with 'micro' size stove it may not suit the pots often used for a group meal(s).
I'm thinking some, if not all, in your group will want to do repeats to BWCA in the future. Any investments you make this year will serve to that end.
Have a blast!
edit: in case you don't already have one, a LIGHTWEIGHT tarp for any rainy periods in camp.

note to lindylair: wonderful picture. wow!

GickFirk22: I'll email you the packing list I use as well as the meal list we've settled on. "

Say, would you mind emailing me your meal list? We've been base camping for 45 years, with steaks, eggs, bacon, pancakes, the hole enchilada. I could use a light weight menu.

anal_yzer_guy@yahoo.com

Thanks.

Amazing pictures in your trip reports LindyLair. I've used a few of those for screen savers. Thank you.

analyzer: "

GickFirk22:

I'll email you the packing list I use as well as the meal list we've settled on. "

Say, would you mind emailing me your meal list? We've been base camping for 45 years, with steaks, eggs, bacon, pancakes, the hole enchilada. I could use a light weight menu.

anal_yzer_guy@yahoo.com

Thanks. "

Email sent!

Congrats on making the decision to do a BWCA trip, I finally gave in and did my first last year, a solo mind you, and had a blast, and am doing one trip for sure this year, and maybe a second.

I know you said you guys do not want to involve an outfitter, but I would suggest either renting or borrowing some camping gear designed for backpack/canoe camping. The lightweight gear truly makes things so much easier than the traditional bulky gear.

I bought an MSR Dragonfly stove for my trip last year and loved it. I planned on cooking over the fire for the majority of my meals, but found it much easier to fire up the stove for boiling water for coffee and oatmeal in the morning, as well as frying fish at night due to a better temp regulation. I did however cook dehydrated hash browns on the fire, and grill a steak my first night in. The lightweight cook kits are extremely nice because they are designed to pack down inside of each other and are not bulky in your pack. A very good investment.

This site has more information than one person can take in, so just keep asking questions, and someone will give you the answers you are looking for. Everyone on here is extremely helpful and willing to share their knowledge. Good luck and have a great trip!

IowaFishinGuy: "I bought an MSR Dragonfly stove for my trip last year and loved it. I planned on cooking over the fire for the majority of my meals, but found it much easier to fire up the stove for boiling water for coffee and oatmeal in the morning, as well as frying fish at night due to a better temp regulation. "

Iowa...I also have as MSR Dragonfly and love it! Great stove for heat control and if you want to cook when solo. I'm almost ready to pull the trigger on a sound dampener for it though. It's so loud!!!

I have found myself leaving it in the pack in lieu of my Jetboil for strictly water boiling. With larger groups, we rely on the fire for a lot of our cooking. We haul in a Lodge 12" cast iron skillet...crazy heavy but the heat displacement justifies it a bit. I'm looking at getting either a vintage cast iron skillet that weighs less or get a carbon steel skillet and save 4 lbs....

I'm not sure the OP stills understands some things....like kayak vs canoe and the permit process. Rent a canoe. They are much easier to portage and get packs/gear in and out of. If you want to get off the beaten path for some solitude, you're gonna have to do some portaging. All gear goes in packs....packs into canoe....packs back out and on your back, canoe over your head....off you go. This makes getting everything across the portage much easier.
Permits.....you need to pick an entry point NOW and go to recreation.gov and reserve it. Permits must be picked up in person and that will default to the Ranger station in the area you get an entry for. You must manually change change it to a cooperator (usually an outfitter, etc) if you want to pick it up there. You can only pick it up the day before or the day of entry at the site designated on the permit. If you have more or less people going on the trip, you can make those number/charge changes at the time of pick up. If you do choose an outfitter, to stay at a bunk or rent a canoe, I'd pick one near your entry point and have the permit sent there.
Maybe this was covered in an email but it seemed hazy in reading the thread.

How much tackle do y’all normally bring along? We aren’t live bait fisherman. Usually, I like to bring everything including the kitchen sink in my tackle box, but end up using the same chatterbait and spook. I’m assuming we will target the fish as we do in Canada, with chatterbaits, rapalas, and spooks, as opposed to drop shots and tubes on Mille Lacs? But yes Cowdoc, I purchased the permit yesterday and will pick it up at the outfitter station. The process was fairly straight forward, except for the fact that I spent 35 minutes trying to figure out why it told me that the state permit holder code was wrong..... turns out they wanted MN not Minnesota.

I'm glad you're well on your way.
Here is a pic of my tackle box. I do a fair amount of fishing but I'm not a hardcore. Also, I take about a pound of leeches that I keep in 2 wide mouth nalgene bottles. They are hardy...keep them as cool as possible and change their water often.

Tate, just curious. Did you get a permit for Clearwater and are the plans still for heading to Caribou? Are you planning on kayaks or canoes? Where are you picking up the permit?

You can catch eyes and smallies with artificials but you will likely have more success and fun if you bring some leeches. Not a hassle, easy to deal with and keep alive.

Have fun.

I'm excited for you man. I'm bringing a newbie in this year and fully outfitting him with all his fishing gear. Last year I brought WAY too much tackle and am committed to bringing one 3700 size plano box for each of us this year. It'll be stuffed full of X-Raps, Jointed Rapalas, Some lipless cranks, a squarebill or 2, chatterbaits, swimbaits, 3" Power Grubs w/jig heads, senkos w/wacky rig stuff, Mepps Dressed Agila #4 & 5, poppers, spooks, whopper ploppers and a Jackall Pompadour to try out. I throw most of my hard baits with a 12" Titanium Leader.
Good insurance for when a random pike gets interested.

I'm also thinking about bringing leeches for the first time and seriously targeting walleyes/bobber fishing from camp. If I do it'll add some slip bobbers etc to the kit and I'll scale back on something else. I like to cover water in early June as I find a lot of fish shallow. I don't bring a depth finder, mainly because I don't own one.... :) It's on the very short list of things to get in the next few years. You really don't need one if you're targeting smalleyes early season. Save the pounds.

For what its worth, I throw most of that on 20lb PowerPro Slick 8 or Berkley Advanced 826 Braid. Good touch, can handle big fish, floats for topwater and I like it.

lindylair: "Tate, just curious. Did you get a permit for Clearwater and are the plans still for heading to Caribou? Are you planning on kayaks or canoes? Where are you picking up the permit?
"

Yep, EP 62 ---> Caribou. Picking up the permit at Clearwater Outfitters. We just decided that because there's only one portage involved, and we can beat on our bodies while we're still young and stupid, to just bring out kayaks out. I have a Wilderness Systems Ride 135 and he has the Jackson Coosa, both have a crazy amount of storage within the yaks themselves. Figure we will just load them up, take them one at a time across the portage. It'll suck for the moment, but really shouldn't take too much time.

Let us know how it goes. It would definitely be fun to have kayaks up there, I am sure you will have a great time...once you get there:)

You will have to carry the yaks over a couple portages to get to Johnson Falls too but they are easier and shorter than the one from Clearwater. It 's worth it.

Remember if/when you get to Johnson Falls that there are two sets of falls there, you wouldn't know it once you are at the first falls. The second set is definitely worth seeing too. Given the time of year you are going I would think they should be running pretty good.

A few days out... weather is looking perfect - highs of mid 60s and mostly sunny. Crossing my fingers that it stays like that. The only unresolved question I have is food storage. Talking to a few buddies at college, one guy said him and his dad quadruple bag their food and trash in coolers in garbage bags instead of a critter proof bin or hanging. Is this serviceable or a problem waiting to happen?

Securing food from bears is an often discussed and contentious topic; you will get lots of opinions and you can find a lot of long threads about it by searching.

Personally I would not recommend using a cooler no matter how many bag liners you use (unless its a bear-proof Yeti or similar). If a bear should find it, get curious about it, or smell the outside residue of food it will likely pop it open with ease depending on the type.

Some people will tell you to stash your cooler (or food pack) way out in the the woods away from camp. The idea here is a bear in the habit of checking out campsites will stick close to camp and simply not find it. Personally I'm not a fan of this, but there are more than a few experienced paddlers here who are. I prefer a bear resistant blue barrel which I keep in camp and secure to a tree. If getting or renting a barrel or other bear proof container (like a bear vault or Ursack) can't happen, then I'd stick with hanging. Hanging is not perfect, but when well done still reduces the chance of a bear getting your stuff. When I hung, I used a water proof wet bag which I think helped keep odor in, and went to some effort to ensure my bag was AT LEAST the recommended height above ground and away from tree trunks. I still think most hung bag failures are due to people being lazy. I've paddled past camps with food bags hung barely 6 feet off the ground or within 3 feet of a tree.

Are you going to portage a cooler? That is an awkward thing to carry. Plus just because you put stuff in bags and shut the cooler does not mean a bear won't smell it and get in it. In other words that is a problem waiting to happen imo.


I use a critter proof blue barrel. I have hung stuff before but I feel the barrel is fine. To me it depends where you are going.

tlittlef: "A few days out... weather is looking perfect - highs of mid 60s and mostly sunny. Crossing my fingers that it stays like that. The only unresolved question I have is food storage. Talking to a few buddies at college, one guy said him and his dad quadruple bag their food and trash in coolers in garbage bags instead of a critter proof bin or hanging. Is this serviceable or a problem waiting to happen?"

Hi, tlittlef, it sounds like you are excited about your trip and I hope you have a good one. To help you achieve that, I'm going to make some suggestions. Like any advice it's up to you whether you take it or not.

(1) Don't take a cooler to protect your food from bears. Don't take a cooler period. Hard to portage (more on portaging later). Don't take food that you need a cooler for - take oatmeal/granola, nuts/dried fruit/jerky, Zatarains beans & rice, etc. Double bag it. If you can borrow/rent/buy a bear canister (BearVault, etc.) or Ursack, or a blue barrel, use that. Otherwise put the food in a drybag and hang. When you leave camp to go fishing, take it with you.

(2) Portaging:

"Figure we will just load them up, take them one at a time across the portage. It'll suck for the moment, but really shouldn't take too much time."

Am I correct that you plan to take everything across the portage in two loads, three trips across the portage with each of you carrying one end of the kayak?

If so, you may want to reconsider. The portage from Clearwater to Caribou is 206 rods. There are 320 rods in a mile. 206/302 = .64375, or almost 2/3 of a mile. I'm guessing that if you add up everything you're taking, that each load would be around 125 lbs. at least.

I'd suggest trying it out before you go. Get all your stuff together, see how much it all weighs. Then measure off 7/10 of a mile from home, grab one of those loads, note the time, and try to carry it that far without stopping. See how long it takes and how hard it is. And remember that the portage will have roots, rocks, mud, slippery logs, perhaps trees down across the path. Trying to carry too much under those conditions is an accident waiting to happen. Cut those loads down to a safe amount, make a couple more trips if necessary. You don't really have that far to go from Clearwater to Caribou.

And don't forget to wear those PFDs.

Hope you have a great trip!

Lots of good advice above.
All the tackle you need will fit in one 3700 Plano. For two of you.
I use very few different lures. Berkley 3" powergrubs on 1/8 oz jigheads. Firetiger, Christmas Lights, Black, White. Deep diving crankbaits--Wiggle Warts in firetiger, bone, blue/silver. Deep Diving Thunderstick Jrs. Rattling Rogues. Rule of thumb for me...if you can see the bottom, you are too shallow. If a fish can see its shadow, you are too shallow. This holds true for Walleye especially. Of course, bedding smallmouth are shallow shallow. That's where the grubs come in.
Can't say I would ever recommend kayaks. It is a Canoe area, after all. With a canoe, your stuff goes into large packs, either waterproof or with a waterproof liner, to carry over the portages. You can't do that with kayaks. you can't carry a cooler at all, not that you ever would want to. Kayaks aren't meant for portaging, and they suck to fish out of compared to a canoe. I don't know, I guess you could have a large backpack of some type to put all the smaller bags into, the smaller bags that would fit in your kayak. Everything needs to be in a waterproof bag--clothes, tent, sleeping bags, food, etc. That's a lot of little drybags to carry or throw into a larger pack for the portages.
Mainly, you have to remember this is more like backpacking than car camping.
No Ozark Trail tents or gear. If you have WalMart gear, you need to rent better stuff. First time I went, I didn't realize this and it really sucked.
Meals--breakfast is oatmeal, grits, pancakes, stuff like that. Lunch is PB&J in tortillas, gorp, cheese, sausage, jerky, etc. Dinner for me has always been fish, and a side dish like mashed potatoes or the Knorr sides. I'm packed for a 14 day trip coming up...the only think NOT in the pack a week out is the cheese and butter. Nothing else is perishable.
I am surely NOT trying to discourage you in any way, so don't take offense! It is just a big adjustment from car camping, and very very little of the gear or the technique crosses over, especially when you have to carry your stuff over a few portages.

Tate, for many years we hung our food. Some of them were great hangs with little chance of a problem. Some not so much. Depends a lot on the campsite and the trees that are available. If you hang you should have it up 10-12 feet and out at least 4 feet from the trunk of the tree, on a limb that won't support the weight of a bear. It can be done but most hangs aren't done very well.

We now use Bear Vaults and it is a carefree way to store our food. Take them out in the woods 30 yard from camp, off a trail, and you are good to go. A lot less hassle and arguably your food is safer too. Was going to offer to lend you one but timing is not good, I leave for a week of fishing Wednesday morning. Clearwater probably has them for rent or if you think you might return, buy one and rent one. Next time you will only need one more:) Waterproof, mice and critter proof, mostly bear proof and makes a good chair in a pinch.

If that's not in the cards, hang your food but hang it wisely. a two rope system with a pulley makes a big difference.
Enjoy.

I'll add a bit to my too-long post above, about clothing.
Leave all your cotton stuff at home. All of it. You want synthetic or wool everything, down to the skivvies and socks.
Think about what you will do if it rains. During the day when you are fishing. When you are breaking camp. When you are cooking dinner. When you are hanging around in camp. Little bit of stinging rain. Big ol' fat rain. Rain that'll blow in sideways. Sometimes rain that seems to come straight up, from underneath. Hell, it'll even rain at night.
You will want a tarp. Good raingear. Fast drying clothing. And by all means, have a set of warm camp clothes that you ONLY wear in camp (if it's not raining) or in the tent when it is cold. There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad gear.

tlittlef: "Alright everyone, thanks much for the information so far. Fairly certain that our plan is to enter Clearwater EP 62 and portage over to Caribou for a base camp to fish. My friend is in the military, and insists that we roughneck this trip by ourselves - no outfitters... which doesn't scare me as we've gone on plenty of camping trips prior, but it would be nice to be guided in the right direction. So, if reserving a permit w/o an outfitter, do I only need to purchase one for the two of us only on the entry day? "

I'm a former Army infantry officer and, to be blunt, your friend's insistence on being a "roughneck" is foolish and dangerous. I mean no disrespect to your friend and his service, but I saw this type of mentality when I was in. Heck, I probably even carried some of it. It doesn't make one rough and tough to forego using an outfitter. The military stresses safety above all else, and not utilizing support resources at ones disposal is unwise and proves nothing but hubris. But please: use an outfitter for all the items you will require but don't have as others have noted above. Such as:

- canoe- it's just easier. Kayaks seem like they would work, but in reality canoes are much better.

- tent- you'll need a solid one with a rain fly. Storms can get fierce. I've always used strong, quality tents. I've never had one give out on me....well worth it. After all, the tent is your last shelter in case of rain and wind and cold. If it's crappy or insufficient, you're gonna be miserable.

- stove- please bring one and learn to use it before you go. Cooking by a fire is not always an option, and you will thank yourselves for bringing it.

And a bunch of other stuff mentioned above.

Two other things:

1. Wear. Your. PFD. Always. Always. No one thinks they will tip or swamp, and everyone thinks they can swim their way out of any accident that may happen. But swamping a canoe happens in a nano-second, and you'll be in the water before you know what hit you. The water is cold, especially early. I'm an excellent swimmer. I am an even better boat-handler. I've done 50+ BWCA trips, and I still wear it all the time because I'm sure to live if I'm wearing it.

2. Get a map and KNOW HOW TO READ IT!! It absolutely floors me how many people I run into with map who have no clue where they are. I've talked with paddlers who have showed me where they thought they were on the map, but they were actually using a completely different map sheet... as in nowhere near where they thought they were. Last week I had two guys tell me they were in a bay they weren't, as they considered shooting a rapids based on their incorrect assumption. We stuck around for the wilderness rescue. Last week we also had a group seek shelter at our campsite due to severe wind. They thought they might have to camp with us until I pointed out a sheltered campsite, a quarter-mile across the bay, out of the wind. I pointed out the campsite because.......... they didn't know where they were!

Also, bring a compass and know how to use it, too. Please do not rely on GPS, or bring a map and compass "for backup" without knowing how to use them.

End of preaching.

Backchannel email me and I can help you with things or questions you might have. I don't know where you live, but I'll help any way I can.

Mike

All my preaching above, and then I notice- you're probably up there right now!!

Oh well. I hope you weren't the guys I ran into.

Mike

Well I figure I better tell y'all that we didn't die - the trip was actually a success! The portage wasn't too awful, couldn't have asked for better weather, spent the night in the beautiful campsite across from the island, and the smallmouth fishing was decent. Better yet, we didn't forget anything important lol. What worked the best was a Heddon Super Spook in the bass/walleye pattern worked along fallen timber in literally inches of water. Nearly all fish were caught in 2 FOW - 6 inches. Also, Johnson Falls was a well worth it day trip. We had GoPros, so a video will be uploaded once I finish editing!

With a good yoke and proper portage packing practice I have found no qualms with my kayak

Whatever happened to just going there and learning on your own? It's this dang internet thing.

Glad you had a good trip, good weather, and good fishing.

tlittlef: "Well I figure I better tell y'all that we didn't die - the trip was actually a success! The portage wasn't too awful, couldn't have asked for better weather, spent the night in the beautiful campsite across from the island, and the smallmouth fishing was decent. Better yet, we didn't forget anything important lol. What worked the best was a Heddon Super Spook in the bass/walleye pattern worked along fallen timber in literally inches of water. Nearly all fish were caught in 2 FOW - 6 inches. Also, Johnson Falls was a well worth it day trip. We had GoPros, so a video will be uploaded once I finish editing! "

Awesome! Glad you had fun! I’m leaving in 10 minutes for 5 days up there. Can’t wait!