Here in the next week or so my group will nail down dates and such for Woodland Caribou. More than likely it will fall in mid September. I have this big ole map in front of me and trying to figure out where to go. I really want to avoid Mexican Hat if I can, it seems like every report includes that area. This will be a fly in and fly out trip so getting to a lake is not an issue.

What I really want is good walleye fishing with lakers to boot. I have been in contact with Harlan at Red lake outfitters and so far I am very satisfied with his operation. Harlan has made some suggestions but I really like to plan my own route with others opinions taken.

What other lakes would you recommend, chance of seeing Caribou, rapids, fishing scenery and such. No Named lakes and bushwhacks are not out of the question.

Marten is the guy to talk to about what you want.
Look at
http://www.youtube.com/user/TheNorthwoodsman1


btw email bounced back from your posted amil address

Does Kehoe post on here or is this a " yoda is who you seek moment".
Thanks for the info lead.

He is on BWCA.com. Username: marten
He probably has more current knowledge about more lakes and creeks in WCPP than just about anyone right now. he has been exploring th backwaters and creek beds up there for 10 years or so.

If you post or e-mail Martin (Marten), it will be a couple of weeks before he is "back on the grid" ... but he is very good about getting back to you.

Do you have an area of the park that you have some interest in? (I've made 3 trips and have a 4th planned, but don't have near the level of experience that Martin has. BTW: My 4th trip will be fly-in/fly-out but its mostly a smallie/walleye fishing trip so we'll be in areas that have lodges). One oddity (when compared to Quetico, for example) is that the waters that hold lakers are often different from those that hold walleye. Waters that have both are also more likely to have lodges (e.g., Donald) and/or cabins.

Check the thread that Martin started with links to WCPP. You'll find a link to a PDF that list all of the lakes and fish species that might help.

dd

I may be wrong, but I think Mexican Hat gets mentioned a lot because everyone going out of Leano, ussually ends up there.
I also have been there 3x, Harlan knows his stuff, he is a local and just about lives out there in the bush.
nctry (BEN) on here is also a good reference. He has followed a lot of the paths of Martin.
You have great resources in DentonDoc, Martin, NCTRY (Ben) and Harlan and they all can give you great idea's.

I didn't fish a heck of a lot, so can't really give fishin advice,
I can tell you I would go to ROYD lake anytime...it is a great lake.

SunCatcher

Thanks, I will try and find this Martin fellow (yoda)! Harlan is and has been great, I just like to plan most of my own routes. However I will take in to account the advice the he gives.

Some areas that i am considering:
1. Royd, Constellation, Kennedy
2. Simeon, Crazy, Pickerel
3. Bigshell through the sabourin river to Olive to Linge
4. Glenn, Mexican hat area

One additional point: If you are going in September, my impression is even the Leano-Mexican Hat route will be essentially without any other groups. Any of you more experienced folks agree??

If I were doing this, I'd likely fly in as deep as I want to start the trip and then paddle/portage toward the eventual pickup point.
Using this canoe route map can help, especially if you draw it onto the map that you plan to use during the trip.
Most have found this lake/fish species guide helpfull. If the species you are fishing for isn't listed for your lake, then that species most likely doesn't exist, or at least is not plentiful in that lake.
Most caribou sightings this year have been around Aegean. Next fall they will likely be somewhere else. Consult with the park office as the time is near to see where they're hanging out at that time. I've been there three years running, and would really like to spend more time exploring South Aegean. It's big and has a ton of character. Looked like a good place to search out some decent fishing.
Also, check out where recent fires have been if you want to avoid the 'moonscapes'.

Edit...
The new park map was supposed to be available soon. You may prefer the updated version.

I have the lake species list and the park map. There are a lot of lakes that are unnamed and not listed for fish species. I'm sure at some point something will jump out at me or some photo will appear that sets me off.

I started one year on Artery, and then went down through Simeon to Dunstan. The CREEK North of Dunstan RAN OUT OF WATER..NO CREEK, and no fun, So make sure you talk to CLAIRE at the park or Harlan on water levels if you decide to go this way. Simeon and Dunstan are Really nice lakes also. Kennedy lake is nice, but Royd Creek is a great paddle coming from Kennedy since that is down stream to Donald and upstream if you come from Donald.

SunCatcher

You will be running out of summer in September. I hope you are lucky and it's not too bad. Fishing should be great. I too like the Royd area and eventually want to get back in the smaller lakes out of Leano. But there is so much to see and experience there. I too recommend Marten... he posts more on QJ than here. He usually ends up at CanoeCopia and likes to share with people who are interested. He travels for around thirty days in WCPP each year. So he's got around three hundred days in the park compared to my just under fifty. :)

quote Widespreadpanic: "Thanks, I will try and find this Martin fellow (yoda)!"

If you have trouble finding Martin's e-mail, send me an e-mail and I'll send it to you. We were sharing e-mails earlier this month, so I know it is still active (although, as previously indicated, it might be a couple of weeks before he gets back to you).

I've been on Mex Hat and Glenn and some other areas. I've entered/exited at Leano, Onnie and Garner, so I know a bit about some of the lakes in those areas, if that would help. I'll do an entry at Bigshell in June, so I can give you a bit of recent recon when I get back, but I'm headed west on the Sabourin River ...downstream ... from there (rather than southeast).

Last year's fire (labeled "Red 124") complete encircled Murdock Lake and much of Larus (some northwestern shoreline was spared). The burn north extended to a small area around eastern Thicketwood and south east to a small portion of Knox.

Some previous burns included the Jigsaw/Adventure Lake area as well as others. So, it probably makes sense to check the Harlan or the park staff before you completely settle on a route.
dd

for the life of me i cannot understand why nobody ever considers the bloodvein river route out of woodland caribou.

quote jcavenagh: "One additional point: If you are going in September, my impression is even the Leano-Mexican Hat route will be essentially without any other groups. Any of you more experienced folks agree??"

I went in september and encountered other groups, but that was the first week. really, if you want absolute solitude you would be wise to think out of the box like the OP and seek out another route.

The park is big people.

quote jwartman59: "for the life of me i cannot understand why nobody ever considers the bloodvein river route out of woodland caribou. "

For me, when I actually do finally get into the park, I want to avoid motor traffic to the greatest degree that I can. Don't read my comment as being anti-motorized fishing out post. Those are certianly valid uses of the resources and are a valuable feature in the park. It is just my personal preference to be where motorized traffic is not allowed. So, I look at areas other than the Gammon and Bloodvein for what is likely to be my one and only chance to paddle WCPP.

We had the same overwhelming feeling when planning our WCPP trip last year. We caught fish in every lake we fished on, except on Upper Kilburn (we were too busy watching a cow moose). Our favorite lakes were: Haven and Aegean. Haven had tons of walleyes to catch and the neat part is that 1/2 the lake is burnt and the other half isn't. We saw 1 solo canoeist on Haven that was camped in the burn, otherwise we were all alone. We saw very few people on our trip this past summer and had an amazing time. We did our fly-in to Mexican Hat, but didn't spend much time there as we paddled on. No matter what, you'll have a blast and it will be a trip to remember. We posted a trip report on the site here if you're interested. :) Happy Planning!!!!!

you won't see many motor boats on the bloodvien until you near lake winnipeg, and those boats will probably be in use by native canadians. too many rapids on this river for motor use, many of them unrunnable by any boat.

quote Widespreadpanic:

What other lakes would you recommend, chance of seeing Caribou, rapids, fishing scenery and such. No Named lakes and bushwhacks are not out of the question."

You sound like a good candidate to try the "Minjim Route" from Royd, Constellation and through Lighting and "Joey" to Indian House. There are no big rapids but some of the best scenery. Walleyes in "Joey" which is the second lake east of Lightinig. Royd has the caribou and the trout. Time from Royd to either Lund or Johnson entrance is 4 to 8 days. There are some nice camp sites along the route. For a longer stay you should do the Irvine Loop (walleye)before heading east toward Joey's Walleyes.

again i will say, wcpp is a great place, much like the bwca but with a lot of fly in fish camps. paddle these waters to there destination, and you will be at lake winnipeg, a lake of much history and legend.

to get there you can go down the bloodvien river. a canadian heritage river. use it or they may rethink the current policy. this is a seriously superb river, it passed the canadian heritage river review, in canada this is very significant.

amazing fishing for all sorts of fish, some you won't recognize. all of the rapids are easily portaged. and the ones you want to run are nice and tame.

manitoba has been very user friendly for us foreigners, ontario, not so much.

consider the bloodvien, you will be thanking me. on my trips there i have never encountered an another american. i have met groups from canada, of course, and first nations, but also groups from sweden, germany and i think maybe the ukraine.

and winnipeg is a super cool city on the edge of the canadian shield. this city is of major importance in voyageur history. plus it has a tiny but real french quarter.

if you are a canoe history buff, montreal, ottawa, quebec city, thunder bay, and winnipeg are must visit spots.

in my most humble opinion, winnipeg seems the most authentic of the above cities.

oh, by the way, we have seen caribou in this country.

quote Marten: "

quote Widespreadpanic:


What other lakes would you recommend, chance of seeing Caribou, rapids, fishing scenery and such. No Named lakes and bushwhacks are not out of the question."

You sound like a good candidate to try the "Minjim Route" from Royd, Constellation and through Lighting and "Joey" to Indian House. There are no big rapids but some of the best scenery. Walleyes in "Joey" which is the second lake east of Lightinig. Royd has the caribou and the trout. Time from Royd to either Lund or Johnson entrance is 4 to 8 days. There are some nice camp sites along the route. For a longer stay you should do the Irvine Loop (walleye)before heading east toward Joey's Walleyes."

Having been to both Joey and Irvine I can say you will not be dissappointed. Great walleye action. Thanks to Martin and his help I've enjoyed this area the past two years. We didn't do as well on Joey in 2011, but this year I didn't even get to fish as my partner filled us out in short order. Irvine was unbelievable and both are fun to travel to and from. I was going to hit Wanda... Harlan said there is some nice walleye there too, but we didn't have time due to the rains this year. The trip I'm thinking of trying next is Olive down through Young and Linge down to Knox. Supposed to be good fishing there too.

Marten, Constellation, Royd and lightening area was one that I had mentioned in an earlier post. The "minjim" route: is this tough sledding or fairly passable. You have definetly peaked my interest in this route.

quote Widespreadpanic: "Marten, Constellation, Royd and lightening area was one that I had mentioned in an earlier post. The "minjim" route: is this tough sledding or fairly passable. You have definitely peaked my interest in this route."

I've done this twice in the last two years. There is some challenge to it, but very doable. Both times I had a rain event making parts of it a little more challenging. Martin has the most current waypoints and tracks for the Garmin GPS... A must! I was surprised at how much I remembered from the first time. Beautiful, awesome route!

A thanks goes out to Martin for turning me on to these routes! Remember! He has a discloser... You need to be well versed in backcountry travel.

quote Widespreadpanic: "Marten, Constellation, Royd and lightening area was one that I had mentioned in an earlier post. The "minjim" route: is this tough sledding or fairly passable. You have definetly peaked my interest in this route."

This route is getting easier each year. A GPS is a must because the portages are not blazed. You could make it through without one but may spend a lot of time needlessly looking for the "trail." I do recommend you check out the video at "TheNorthwoodsman1" on Youtube and the story at canoestories.com. It if looks like something you want to do PM me and I can send you a Garmin file with the tracks and waypoints.