BWCA Basswood Lake with Motor Boundary Waters Trip Planning Forum
Chat Rooms (0 Chatting)  |  Search  |   Login/Join
* For the benefit of the community, commercial posting is not allowed.
Boundary Waters Quetico Forum
   Trip Planning Forum
      Basswood Lake with Motor     
 Forum Sponsor

Author

Text

logan4karl
  
11/20/2022 02:09PM  
Hello,

I have a 16' Lund Rebel with a 25hp Johnson and the guy I bought it from said he used it to fish Basswood Lake. I know motors are allowed, but I'm not sure exactly how to get it in there. Looking for more information on the Prairie Portage and also if it would be possible from Fall Lake. Any and all information is greatly appreciated. If you have suggestions on where to start fishing, that is helpful, as well. (Examples: Pipestone bay, or southern tip of Jackfish bay, etc.)

Also, if you have pros/cons of doing overnight vs day trip.
 
Reply    Reply with Quote    Print Top Bottom Previous Next
GunflintTrailAngler
distinguished member (126)distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
  
11/21/2022 09:49AM  
Prairie portage from moose lake. Portage wheels from fall lake. That’s the easy part! Getting a motor pass for basswood is next to impossible to get.
cyclones30
distinguished member(4163)distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberpower member
  
11/21/2022 08:26PM  
You need a day or overnight motor permit for Basswood. Those are hard to come by. But yes if you have one of those you can take the Moose/PP route or Fall route to get there.
Finnboy
distinguished member (160)distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
  
11/23/2022 05:49AM  
You want a PP permit with a Rebel.
11/23/2022 08:42AM  
logan4karl: ".. the guy I bought it from said he used it to fish Basswood Lake. I know motors are allowed, but I'm not sure exactly how to get it in there...."


Ask the guy you bought from?
11/23/2022 07:42PM  
I've been on this trip countless times thru Fall Lake with a motor. Your 16' boat with a 25 hp is not the boat I'd want to push over the portage unless it's empty. You'd either need 4 strong people to push it or haul the gear across by hand before attempting to move that size of a boat.

I've seen a lot of "real men" get it handed to them pushing that portage, myself included.

When you get to the portage, unload all the gear and place it well clear of the landing area. There will be other boats and lots of gear from other groups moving thru and they don't like to be slowed down. Lift up the bow in the water, strap on the wheels, pull the boat out, load up the gear and push the portage. Repeat the process on the other side.

Most use a standard 14' or 16' utility boat with 15hp or less. Any boat with a wood floor, casting deck or onboard storage is nearly impossible to use up there. I've seen them but they are few. I use my Grumman Sportboat with an 8hp and push it across full of gear with two people, no problem. It's not always fun but it is doable.

I have a 3 gallon fuel tank and bring in another 5 gals because I move around a lot. I use up about half (1.5 -2 gals) going in. Pay attention to how much you use going in because you need to save that much to come back out. My guess is you'll use twice what I use because of the size of your motor. I motor all the way up to the Lewis Narrows and hang around that area or in Jackfish Bay. People hang around all over from the second portage near Pipestone Falls up to the no motor zone east of Jackfish. Fish abound all around near the points and around the islands.

I use a two wheeled carpet dolly strapped to the boat for portage wheels. You'll want to practice loading and unloading your set-up before trying it on the first day or you'll jam up the landing zone. Don't be that person. Everyone is in a big hurry because the best camp sites are hard to get.

The portage is rocky and can be a total mud bath most of the time. Get yourself a decent pair of rubber chore boots to wear on the portages.

You may be better off going in thru Prairie Portage. There used to be a truck with a trailer there and they would haul you across for a fee so bring lots of cash. You can push yourself across there as well last I heard.

Getting a permit is next to impossible. So is finding someone to tell you where the fish are.

We live in the land of 10,000 lakes and you'll pass 9,000 of them on the way up to the BWCA and they all have fish. So don't be disappointed if you can't get in with a motor. Paddling is still a nice way to see the area.



Northwoodsman
distinguished member(2059)distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
  
11/23/2022 08:42PM  
I have a 16' Rebel and that seems like a big boat to portage across a golf course let alone a muddy, rocky trail. What year is the boat? If it's an older model there is a really good chance that the floatation foam under the floor is holding 200 - 300 lbs. of water so you really can't go by the tag. I agree on the fuel consumption. You'll use a lot to push that weight around. I would either rent a smaller boat if you can get a permit or try Voyageurs NP. You want to have fun, not kill yourself.
thegildedgopher
distinguished member(1659)distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
  
11/25/2022 08:49PM  
I have the alumacraft equivalent of that boat— 16 ft, 25hp,full floor with storage and live well. I agree that you’re not going to want to try the portage wheels option, so the fall lake entry is basically out. That leaves moose lake up to prairie portage. I’ve done it the last couple years. My thoughts:

- if you are familiar with the current reservation system on recreation.gov it’s not that hard to get a couple permits. They will all be gone 30 minutes after permits open, but if you have a plan and know what you’re doing you should be able to snag day motor permits for a few days before they’re gone.

- what was said about gas above, x10. We had a bad situation this year, miscommunication where 2 guys both thought the other filled the spare tank. Figured it out back in wind bay and got very nervous. We had to troll with the electric at about 1mph all the way back to prairie portage and the portage operator was nice enough to give us a gallon of gas to limp back to the landing at moose. Big relief. We were not prepared to camp. So yeah, highly recommend 12 gallons of gas and an electric trolling motor as backup. Which brings me to…

- I’m probably done doing day motor trips to basswood. The time and energy isn’t worth it for me right now. The hours of operation of the prairie portage truck limit which hours you can be out there, and totally eliminate the night bite. Overnight trips are still an option but I’m done waiting in line for the dumb truck in the morning and anxiously rushing to get the last trip back at the end of the day. That’s just me though!


Happy to answer any specific questions you have !
 
Reply    Reply with Quote    Print Top Bottom Previous Next
Trip Planning Sponsor:
Canoe Country