I love my local river, the Hay river in Western WI. It's the same each float, yet different. It can run fast, or wonder along. At times quiet, while sometimes a rush. On any given day, I see eagles, muskrat, racoon, otter, turtles, deer, and many birds. While I love the lakes in the BWCA, I spend much more time on my home waters. It's my proving ground. My test lab. My solo canoe is my sanctuary. I will be drifting again soon.

Where are your home waters?

Pool 13 and 14 of the mighty Mississippi. More to the point, Hampton dam..Illinois side.
Easier fishing from shore here. Really rocky big boulders.
Personal best 7 3/4 lb walleye. 35+ years of going to the BWCA and I catch my biggest eye 5 minutes from my house. Go figure...

St. Croix River between Marine and Taylors Falls. Usually put in at Osceola or Log House.

French Broad River although the last few years it has been taken over by drunk tubers.

smoke11: "French Broad River although the last few years it has been taken over by drunk tubers."

We had those same drunk tubers when I lived near the Chippewa River in Eau Claire. I once lived on the Wisconsin River and I loved that. I'd rise early in the morning and fish for smallmouth, but I never knew what I'd catch, from sturgeon to carp.

The St. Croix at Afton. But tougher in the summer with big fast boats outside the no-wake zone.

The Maumee river near Waterville, Ohio. We have the walleye run in a couple of weeks, then the white bass run after that into May, can't wait!

Good point H.R.D.

Seeing new country is always interesting but seeing differences in 'old" country can be more interesting.

Ute Lake, NM

Pool 2 of the Mississippi outta Saint Paul. Last year we caught walleye, sauger, pike, smallmouth, white bass, crappie, freshwater drum, common carp, smallmouth buffalo, and channel catfish.

Long Pond in Denmark, Maine

The Upper Iowa River in Decorah runs right through town. Pure Driftless bliss. Trout, Walleye, SMB. Gorgeous spots to pull over and fish while my wife paints. Great swimming holes for the kids. Camping spots, not so great, but there are a couple of private campgrounds that'll do.

The Wolf River from Lily to Langlade. It is a mixture of current, deep holes and some great wild rapids. Most people won't attempt this section in a canoe and only use kayaks but we would find some old aluminum and fiberglass canoes to run it. Some big river small mouth and a lot of dumps in the river make for a memorable trip each time.
If you try it do not take a kevlar down this stretch of the Wolf.

smoke11: "French Broad River although the last few years it has been taken over by drunk tubers."

Also on the French Broad (it's within a half-mile of the house), but most of our area's tubers hit the Davidson River instead. We also enjoy mid-week daytrips on Lake Jocassee.

TZ

“Everybody has a listening-point somewhere. It does not have to be in the north or close to the wilderness, but some place of quiet where the universe can be contemplated with awe.” - Sigurd F. Olson

Grew up in Central Minnesota near the Mississippi River. It has provided listening points for as long as I can remember.

If you have to live in the metro, you could do worse than Carver County. I skip Minnetonka and Waconia and spend a lot of evenings or early mornings in my fishing kayak on a few of the lakes in the Carver Park Reserve.

It certainly doesn't replace the BW and I hate hearing continual highway noise, but watching the sun go down as the bass hit some topwater on Steiger helps me span the gap between trips.

I am about a mile plus from the Des Moines river in central Iowa and within 15 miles of several small lakes and large lakes. I generally paddle the river going upstream leaving the city to enjoy wooded banks with a nice selection of wildlife. Those banks are honeycombed with trails and make good hiking to provide an alternate perspective.

I'm with JB on the St Croix between Taylor Falls and Marine, literally, since we have paddled there together. A close second for me is the Nelson/Trevino section of the Upper Mississippi Fish and Wildlife Refuge. I usually put in at the Pontoon Slough Landing on the highway between Nelson. WI and Wabasha, MN. There must be about 7-8,000 acres of backwater sloughs, ponds, and small creeks there and upstream on the Chippewa. Unless the Chippewa is overflowing into its delta area there is no current to deal with and you don't need to worry about a shuttle. That's a real advantage if you are solo.

The Badfish River, south of Madison, WI here. Fun fact, it comes out of the sewer treatment plant...buuuuuuutttttttt trout live in it, so it's pretty clean. Still, weird

Chicago River. It's about 1/2mile portage from my garage to the nearest place to drop in on the North Branch. Short drive to the North Shore Channel, Des Plaines River or Lake Michigan.

The N. branch can be muddy, ugly, beautiful and serene. Paddling is good year round except when it's very cold or very dry. I see deer, raccoon, beaver, mink, muskrat, owls, cranes and coyotes.

These waters keep me sane in the city.

Swan Lake in Nicollet County, MN - splendid sunset paddle.

Minnesota River between St. Peter and Henderson - wonderful daytrip options here.

And my very own "listening point" is the Le Sueur creek right out my back door.

I grew up on the upper reaches of the Shell Rock, Cedar, and Winnebago in northern Iowa with trips to the Upper Iowa when time allowed. I loved paddling and fishing those rivers for smallies, walleye, etc.

I now live within a bike ride of the Mississippi R. at Pool 17. And my house is actually below the water line. I've paddled it a few times, fished a few more out of my boat. Same with some small local lakes in IA. But nothing compares to the smaller streams

The Des Plaines River (Lake County) Upper Fox River Lake County to Kenosha County

As I type this...I realize how little I've gone to my home waters in the last few years. I'll have to make an effort to rectify that this summer.

Two of my favorite local paddles are up and downstream from the Stony River crossing at Hwy 1 & 2. My second is the Cloquet from Indian to Island.

My favorite home water in NW Minnesota is the Red Lake River. From about Thief River Falls to Crookston it has everything from flat water to class two rapids. From Red Lake to Huot it has clay cliffs that are close to a hundred feet high. The best part is it is 30 miles from my home and my daughter home is in Thief River Falls is 50 miles away. I have my own family shuttle service. There is also free camping at Old Treaty Crossing Park by Huot. I always welcome others to come along for an afternoon paddle.

Carl

RedLakePaddler: ""

Nice screen name :-)

For the last 20 years, Minneapolis chain of lakes. I can turn off the monitor's on my desk and if I push it be on the water in less than twenty minutes.

The things I have seen over the years.
Nothing like working a prime fishing spot while girls are doing bikini yoga on paddle boards 50 ft away.

There can be literally 100 paddle boards, canoes and kayaks one day on the lake......and three weeks later you are the only one on the lake.

There is nothing more satisfying than paddling past a $60,000 bass boat with his 250hp in the air and beating him to the spot.

Oh and....... nothing but carp in those lakes.

The St Lawrence River and its many tributaries. Surprisingly few other paddlers where I've been.

PapaLambeau, your post could have been mine. Around 1940, my grandfather bought 40 acres with the Wolf running right through the middle of his land. We're about a mile downstream from the Cty A crossing. We replaced the old cabin about 4 years ago. I live about an hour away in Wausau.

No person has influenced my appreciation for the outdoors more than my grandfather and no place will I ever appreciate more than our place on the Wolf. And now I get to share it with my grandsons.

Next time you're floating between the Wendigo and Strauss rapids, stop by and say hi.







The last pic was taken two days ago from the deck of the cabin.

My home waters would be the upper wabash, Tippecanoe, wildcat creek, and big pine creek in north central Indiana. I've already got one float in this year, I'll be out again this weekend.

I live in Ely. You probably know some of my home waters.