My brother and I will be doing our first trip to the BWCA 9/14-9/20 this year. We are avid canoe campers and have done a multitude of trips in the Midwest, but this will be our first time in the North Woods. We are pumped!

Our route is a long one, but we wanted to see new water, and be as secluded as possible. We will be utilizing VNO. Our route will start at Snowbank and travel through 35+ lakes, cover approximately 50 miles of water, and have about 5.5 miles total of portages. We will camp at or around Jordan, Fraser, Ledge, Malberg, Alice, and Lake 3. We will be fishing and grouse hunting. As far as fishing goes, we are not picky, but have the most experience with smallmouth and pike. We'd really like to get in on some walleye (obviously) and would love to try to land our first Lakers, if we come across a body of water that holds them.

The reason for the post is primarily an information search...any and all information on any of the lakes in the following route (or a quick port off this route) would be greatly appreciated. Any sites we need to see such as pictographs/falls or interesting geography? Any fishing information/advice for any of the lakes? Grouse info? As well as general tips, tricks, or advice you'd give for any of the area we are covering or the BWCA in general?

I've thoroughly enjoyed reading through a wide array of posts in the forum over the last few months! I figured it was high time to throw my own questions out to the mass...and we appreciate any and all responses!

Enjoy the season, we'll see you all in September!

Proposed route: Snowbank, parent, disappointment, ahsub, jitterbug, cattyman, jordan, Ima, hatchet creek, thomas, fraser, shepo, sagus, roe, cap, ledge, vee, fee, hoe, makwa, makwa pond, panhandle, pan, anit, kivaniva, kawishiwi river, malberg, river, kawishiwi river, alice, insula, hudson, fire, lake 4, lake 3, lake 1.

Sounds like a fun route. A few stops worth mentioning not in your post:

Cattyman falls on the west side of Cattyman lake. A short paddle across Cattyman and walk down the portage trail is worth the stop.

There are some pictographs in the Jordan Narrows, but they are very faded and difficult to find.

You didn't mention Fishdance. It's right along your route before turning into Alice and it would be a shame to miss the pictographs along the cliff there.

Planning is half the fun. If you haven't already, spend some time on the interactive map on this site and do some research. Enjoy your trip.

The fishing from Fishdance, Alice, the river, Insula to Hudson should be great. You should be able to pick up smallmouth, pike and walleye. We've hooked up lots of fish along the river from Alice to Insula, especially around the falls. Troll a crankbait or spoon through the lakes in this area and you're bound to get hit. Enjoy the trip. We've also caught some pretty good sized largemouth on Fire.

You mentioned looking for lake trout and you listed Makwa on your route of lakes. You found them. Enjoy the thrill of hooking into a hard fighting Makwa laker and the beauty of this gem. Silver doctor spoons did the trick for our crew.
Have a great cast and blast trip!

There is a portage directly from Snowbank to Disappointment if you choose to bypass Parent.

If you have time, fish Pan for walleye and northern pike. Same goes for Kiviniva.
Alice is a favorite lake for walleye but to have the most catching you probably need a depth finder and spend time on the reefs. Some people have mentioned catching walleye where the river comes in but it didn't work for me.

if you troll crankbaits on Alice, Insula, and Hudson, be prepared to land large northern pike and large walleyes. 15- 20 pound northerns are quite possible (I've caught them) and walleye to 8-9 pounds (I've caught them too).

Ima, Thomas, and Fraser are also lake trout waters.

I've seen very few grouse in BWCA and my wife and I have been on over 80 trips. To me the grouse seem scarce. I'd probably hunt them elsewhere and avoid needing to carry the shotgun.