Hi All,
This will be our first time to the BWCA for any of us. Five males. We were going to make a loop from EP16 to EP23. However due to the hurricane we had to reschedule for a week later, to Sept 15-21. When rescheduling we decided to enter and exit at EP16 and basecamp for the entire time.

The reasoning was that it would be better to leave camp in the morning, go fishing and sightseeing, and return to our established camp that evening. Thus enabling us to spend more time on the water and not worry about finding and setting up a camp every night. Also the shorter days helped with this decision.

With that being said I was hoping to make it to the Tiger Bay area the first night. Would that be a good area to basecamp or should we go elsewhere and if need be make it in two legs. Our priorities are fishing (more northern and walleye than lake trout and smallies) then sightseeing. Also if anyone has a particularly good camp sight for us to seek it would be appreciated.
Thanks, Dean

Sounds like a perfect plan. That will be a long first day making it to Tiger Bay. Very doable though, just get an early start if possible. Great fishing in that area too. Can’t go wrong. You could day trip to Warrior Hill, the LLC pictographs, Curtain Falls, etc. have a great trip.

Tony

Hi Dean, this will be our first time in the BWCA and will be in that same area over the same time period. Should be a great time, can't wait to get out there! Hope you have an awesome time!

We base camped and stayed on a nice campsite, 178, 5 or 6 years ago. Site 177 on the island just north of it was full when we arrived and is a great site. Most of the campsites in the area are very nice. When 177 was vacant, we fished in front of the site a couple of evenings and had great luck with walleye in the shallows.

We double portaged and made it in/out in a long day just fine. Have a great time. You will likely see boats towing people and their canoes along the border.

Tiger Bay in a day for first timers sounds like a lot. Less daylight and no experience, I'd plan for Agnes and if you feel great and have a few hours left in you keep going. I figured it takes 2 days, your second is a short one and you'll be setup in the morning to the rest of the day still ahead of you. (Or have your pick of any of those areas in that end of LLC

Side note, I did see a Facebook post from Voyageur north about a nuisance bear on Agnes lately. Maybe call the ranger station ahead of your entry day and see what they know

Takes about 6 hours of casual but steady traveling, double portaging for me to get to Tiger Bay from EP 16. You should have no problem. With 5 guys you can set up camp pretty fast if it takes you a bit longer, which I doubt. Have a great trip. you picked a really nice area to base camp. Probably good that you are going in on a Sunday. Hopefully most others are exiting that day and you have camp site choices.

cyclones30: "Tiger Bay in a day for first timers sounds like a lot. Less daylight and no experience, I'd plan for Agnes and if you feel great and have a few hours left in you keep going. I figured it takes 2 days, your second is a short one and you'll be setup in the morning to the rest of the day still ahead of you. (Or have your pick of any of those areas in that end of LLC "

Good advice. "First Timers" can mean many to traveling time. Portaging/paddling time can vary ; and remember you are only as fast as your weakest link. Our first time back after a long absence resulted in overpacking even for a basecamp. Plus we were 50 and out of shape.
We got a late start , dallied,are lunch,got rain delayed, heavy double portaged....etc.....When we hit Boulder Bay (on our way to Iron), we wilted and crashed just North of Agnes. We have made iron in one long tiring day since, but the days were longer and we got an early start and packed much lighter. There are some good sites there.
Figure 2 days and if you make in 1 take it as a bonus.

If you have time, head up to see the Pictographs on the wall of Irving island - they are some of the very best. On the Canadian side but you don't have to set foot on Canadia to get a great view of them.

There were recent bear problems on Agnes - the sites on the peninsula, mid-lake.

Did the exact same route last days of July into August.
We hit the entry point just as it was light enough to see without a flashlight and we were at the tip of lake Agnes before noon. That was with my 68 year old father who has a heart condition and must travel slow.
Three of us paddled a Wenonah Seneca 19'6" Kevlar and we double portaged.

Everything was full in Tiger Bay and we got the last open site just to the west of there on an island. The site was elevated and afforded a great view.

We fished down into Boulder Bay one day and caught walleye, pike and smallies.

We fished the next day all the way up into Never Fail bay and popped out across from the pictographs and paddled back. Caught a ton of fish that day.

I would shoot for a campsite that is protected from the prevailing winds as they may make it a little chillier.

It's a fun area but the lake can get pretty choppy on a windy day so be careful and know when to to head for camp.

All of the portages are easy and pretty scenic too.

Depending on recent rains I would recommend the double portage into Boulder Bay instead of the longer single. The single can get pretty soft on the Boulder bay side.

On our way out we stopped at one of the northwestern sites on Agnes for a night. Pretty easy paddle out from there.

Dad caught a 37" Northern close to the rocky portage south of Boulder Bay.

Have fun! Be safe!

Thanks everyone for the input. No problem if it takes two days to get to tiger bay although the bear may be additional motivation to keep going.

Also appreciate the advice on the double portage.

Portaging will slow you down if you are not prepared. The key is to keep loose items to a minimum for several reasons - 1) they take time to gather, 2) they easily get left behind, 3) they are hard to carry through the trees/brush. Have a fun trip.

I just got back from Tiger Bay. Every group we passed mentioned seeing or hearing about the bear(s). We never had an encounter.

I really like this EP and would encourage making it to LLC on your first day. Agnes is fine but LLC offers amazing views and really nice campsites.

You could always go to snow bay on the west end of Lac LaCroix the fishing is excellent and the campsites are all pretty nice. We did it in a day with 3 kids with us double portaging.

Grandma L: "There were recent bear problems on Agnes - the sites on the peninsula, mid-lake."

I've seen more bears on Agnes than all the other lakes I've ever visited combined. I've also seen a lot of chewed up food packaging in the woods behind the campsites.

Got back on Friday afternoon from the trip. Everything worked out good. We stayed a couple days in Tiger Bay and did a couple day trips. Wind on LLC was a problem. Also had a rain day. We then stayed on Nina Moose was fishing was better.
Below is a picture of an Eagle that visited our camp in Tiger Bay. He hung out for a couple hours and then left. We got as close as 2 ft to him and he wasn't startled. He was full size but didn't have his white feathers yet. Just a couple on his tail were white.

Deanr: "He was full size but didn't have his white feathers yet. Just a couple on his tail were white."

Juvenile bird. If memory serves, they get the white feathers after two years.

Our group was graced by this beautiful bird just a few weeks ago on LLC. Were you staying on the island near Warrior Hill?

We were in a campsite on tiger bay, the west end, up on a hill.

Yes it was a juvenile. The computer says at about 5 years they get white feathers.