Good afternoon! I have a permit for South Kawishiwi for June 1. I have never been to the BWCA and the focus of the trip for my son and I is to catch smallmouth and pike and find some seclusion/adventure in doing so. I am also considering a Crab/Cummings trip instead due to the possibility of getting some seclusion due to the limited entry points in that area. For those of you who know, where would you go and why? Thanks in advance- I have never been so excited for a fishing trip in my life.

Questions first.
1. Do you have experience with a canoe and carrying a canoe?
2. Can you read a map and follow a route?
3. How far do you want to go, either paddling or on a portage?
4. Just how important is solitude? Will you be upset if you see 6 canoes a day passing by your campsite?
5. What experience do you have fishing? Can you handle a large pike without getting bitten or getting a hook in your hand?


Now for some answers.
1. I have entered BWCA at South Kawishiwi and remember the portage. It isn't a bad portage but it is over 1/4 mile in length with some ups and downs but not steep.
2. This is a good place to learn to read a map as it is a river and there are not very many places to go wrong.
3. My favorite campsite on this area is a ways. My wife and I can get there in about 3 hours of paddling but..we have lots of experience and paddle very well together.
4. While there are only 2 permits per day, sometimes people stay for several days so it can get somewhat crowded. Campsites are almost always situated so you cannot see from one to another. It is usually quiet in the late evenings and early mornings.
5. This are is where I have caught my two largest northern pike. In this location, most of the northern pike we have caught have had teeth marks where another larger northern has attacked them. The largest we saw with these teeth marks was a 15 pounder. This is the reason for question #5.

Howdy RMinMN and thank you for the reply.

I do have canoe experience, but my son does not. We are both very physically fit and venture often into the back country in WA state for multi-day trips. I can follow routes and can read maps proficiently. I want to fish more than travel and there really is no portage too far and too hard if the fishing is good. Solitude is important, don't mind sharing the water, but less is more in this case. I have caught numerous pike in Maine and feel confident in my handling abilities. Thanks!!

For the goals you stated...I'd choose the Crab Cummings area. But, both are very desirable destinations.

If you open Google Maps and put the following numbers into the search bar it will show you my favorite campsite location. I wouldn't give this out but I doubt I will have the opportunity to go there again.

47.890382 N, 91.586613 W

On the north side of the narrows directly west of that campsite is a good spot for eating size walleyes. Northern pike and smallmouth could be anywhere in that area. I have caught crappie near the next portage to the north.

Crab, Cummings, Coxey Pond are all great small mouth lakes. Pike also inhabit these waters. Crab and Cummings will be the busiest of the lakes in this area-but Silaca and Coxey have only one site each.