I have been doing one to two trips a year for the last ten years and did not think I could get a May trip in this year, so I did not get a permit. Turns out that my need to get into the BWCA has turned that into a make it happen. I have literally been dreaming about being in the BWCA so I now have a few days. Trout Lake looks to be one of the only available EPs so I am looking at Trout Lake to Chad to Buck, Western and Glenmore.

Has anyone who has done this trip offer any advice/insight, if the fishing is any good? The paddle through Trout, can it get windy and nasty like Brule to S. Temperance?

I will be going solo. I don't mind a bit of a battle, but at 63 years old, it can wear me out a little.

Thanks for any tips.

Vermilion and Trout can get bad quickly in the wind.

I may switch to Trout in May just because I've never been there. I'm wanting to do a big loop all through that southwest quadrant. I'm guessing that any body of water that big can get a bit dicey. You can get a tow across Vermilion. Leave early and 70% of the time you won't face the stronger winds until you're in smaller water.

Thanks, I thought the same, that is why I asked, just to see if anyone had experienced it and had some insight,

Yes, Vermillion can get windy, but I’d be more concerned with boat traffic. Many boaters, in my experience, don’t see canoes or don’t care to even slow down. I haven’t fished much on Trout, but Oriniak is a good walleye lake as are Pine and Buck. The portage from Buck to Cummings is long but, if I remember correctly, relatively flat. Cummings is a great bass lake with some good sized northerns as well.