Hey! I am planning my first trip to the BWCA. I will be going solo with my kayak for a five day trip in August. I'm looking to get opinions on what lake to start at with good fishing. I will be setting up a base camp and paddling from there daily. I would also like to avoid the crowds if possible. Thanks for your help!

Early or late August will make a big difference in crowds.

How badly do you want to avoid portaging? It seems to be the difficult part of kayaking in BWCA. You could head up Moose and base on Basswood - one portage - lots of water to day trip on with few or no portages. Get an RABC and day trip into Quetico - you'd be almost all alone. A lot of area to roam.

The other way to avoid the crowds is to do some long, tough portages. Portaging is awkward at best with a kayak and requires careful packing and a yoke. Check out the kayak forum for advice on kayaking in the BW.

Are you looking to set up basecamp on your entry lake and avoid portaging completely or would the plan to be to go in a few lakes with moderate portages and basecamp on a good lake? Can be done both ways but it would help to know your preference.

I would like to base camp on a good lake. I don't mind portaging.

Here are a few options for you to look at with minimal portaging:

Enter at Lizz Lake(via Poplar) and head down to Vista or Gaskin lakes,both good fishing> You would be passing through Horseshoe Lake, aka the Moose Highway for frequent moose sightings...or turn west at Caribou and head over to Meeds Lake which is a very good fishing lake(a bit shorter and easier)

Enter at East Bearskin and head over to Alder or one of the smaller lakes east of Alder. Good fishing and one or two designated trout lakes. Walk the portage (sans canoe) from Canoe Lake to Pine Lake and take a short trail to Johnson Falls for a really cool spot.

Enter at Baker lake and head up to Kelly or Jack lakes - very good fishing, easy portages and also known for moose sightings. There is an abandoned gold mine to check out if you are interested just off a portage trail. If you are ambitious, go all the way to South Temperance, one of the prettiest lakes in the BWCA.

For something different, do the Hog Creek entry, a couple hours of paddling along a winding meandering creek that ultimately dumps you into Perent Lake. Perent is a very pretty lake full of bays points and islands and is known for good walleye fishing. Also known to be windy and not a lot of daytrip options.

Enter at Little Gabbro Lake and paddle through the riffle into Gabbro Lake. One long but easy portage. Beautiful lake with classic rock formations and cliffs and many nice campsites. Stay there as it is known for very good fishing or move on to Bald Eagle lake past the rapids at the south end. Lots of daytrip options. Permits could be tough to get though.

Enter at Homer Lake and take 2 easy portages to Vern lake and set up basecamp. Quiet area, very good fishing and several daytrip options including exploring the Vern River which is really cool and offers good fishing as well.


Homer Lake July 2018


Just a few thoughts, there are so many options