Anyone ever paddled that area from Murray's Landing.... Area on map show area not navigatable ....wonder by canoe as well?

thanks
dr bob

Yes that's why they have a portage over to the West just a little further. Although with all of the rain we've had lately it may well be.

Thanks....I have done the portage on day trips in the past... I just wonder with all the stumpage it is more a power boat issue rather than a canoe one....only takes a 4 inches of water for us guys
:-)
what is one more scratch anyway.

drbob

Well like I said with all of the rain we've gotten this year especially here in June you very well may be able to get thru it in a canoe or kayak. Like you said it doesn't take much water for a canoe to float in. When we had come down by there one year it looked a little too shallow to me and my wife didn't want us to get stuck. Even though you know who is the one to get us unstuck, while she sits in the bow.

Yep, the war dept is also the bow paddler. The SR already has a few scratches after re-varnishing it a few years ago.

We will find out on Thursday if we paddle that direction. Btw... nice eagle nest on that portage a few years ago... south end as I recall.

The portage itself is no big deal, but bringing stuff like decent chairs, hard cooler, couple gallons for drinking water... and lazyitis.

You would think the dam would keep the level pretty constant...

thanks
drbob

True with the dam but I don't know how much they let the level of the lake fluctuate up and down. I know some lakes that are dam controlled are allowed to go up and down a fair amount before they step in and start opening the gates up more.

Taking a week long solo kayak trip mid September and was trying to decide whether to do the TFF, Bittersweet Lakes or Willow Reservoir, and after allot of debating, decided on TFF. Wondering if anyone has been there during September. Will be mainly a fishing & solitude trip, and looking for any info that might be helpful recommending a campsite or fishing tips for this area, this time of year.

Thanks - John

R-32 and R-35 are way nice............. we usually stayed on 35 but it was taken... r-32 has a fence railing on it if I have my bearings correct....was a super nice spot with nice views etc.

Awesome piece of real estate on the eastern side from Murray's landing..

http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/Lands/TurtleFlambeau/documents/2011Turtle-FlambeauMap.pdf

for some reason can't get the link function to work....have a great time.

drbob

drbob
Did you fish on your trip? Wondering what worked for you for walleye, or whatever was biting. What time of year were you there?
I appreciate the tip on the campsites, I was hoping to check out 35, and you've confirmed my hopes that it's a good one. Did you have a boat, or canoe/kayak? Fairly secluded?
Thanks - John

Didn't fish....just paddle and explore. We took the SR canoe. We went July 4th weekend leaving the Thursday before... about a 4 hour drive from Green Bay. There were empty campsites even with the holiday weekend...I think people do KOA etc instead.

Brought Thermocell which we needed at times... which REALLY worked. My brother in Florida uses those clip on Off things which use 2 AAA Batteries which we tried for the first time and I recommend as well.

Did you ever make your TF trip? I have not yet canoed it but it is close to my cabin and I may do it this summer. FYI the bittersweet lake area is nice but not remote. I am not sure of the camping options on these lakes. You can now reach bittersweet by car.

If you want more remoteness you can portage into to the next lakes. Fishing on these lakes is decent for LM bass, some pike, and panfish.

JerryG

I didn't make it to Turtle Flambeau Flowage last fall like I wanted, so I'm going there at the end of the 2nd week in May. For those of you who have been there, do the campsites get used that early in the year? Going in at Murray's Landing and will stay a week unless the weather gets real bad.

I'm guessing #35 is around 2 miles from the landing...sound about right?

Anyone else going there this year?

John

I'm planning on some quiet time at TF while my kid's at Boy Scout camp this summer. Figure I'll help drive the kids up, jet over to TF, head back to camp on Friday for the big Order of the Arrow callout fire, then help drive people home on Saturday.

quote plexmidwest: "Taking a week long solo kayak trip mid September and was trying to decide whether to do the TFF, Bittersweet Lakes or Willow Reservoir, and after allot of debating, decided on TFF. Wondering if anyone has been there during September. Will be mainly a fishing & solitude trip, and looking for any info that might be helpful recommending a campsite or fishing tips for this area, this time of year.

Thanks - John "

While the DNR guy at Willow was one of the most helpful I've ever met...have to say I like TFF better. The Flambeau River is a lot of fun...but also had a great time on the flow age. We all got delayed so didn't hit the reservoir until after midnight = my only after dark launch and it went fine. Fishing was good right from shore...if you knew where the stump was :). But that was mid July.

I also like TFF way better that Willow Flowage. Less powerboat traffic on the east side in my opinion.
dr bob

Does anybody know if the TFF gets allot of camping traffic near the end of May, prior to kids getting out of school? Looking at the end of the second week of May for our first trip there. Going in at Murray's landing, and for those of you who are familiar with the flowage, or have been there during this time of year, have you had problems finding a site?
Thanks - John

I doubt it. I've gone in on a Friday before 4th of July weekend with no problems finding a nice site. Many were never used. If you can find a way to get into there early on Friday you would probably have no problems
dr bob

I'm going in on a Monday and hope to find a decent site available. I suspect going in during the week and not weekend will have the place less populated.

Also going in the Murphy's Landing side, probably not venturing much outside of the quiet area but who knows...

Monday should be no problem. Murray's is a great place to start. They fixed up that boat launch a whole bunch since 1994. Have a great time

dr bob

can you filter water there? or do you carry in. thanks.

for the two of us... I bring in a gallon of water and use that for drinking. I use lake water heated for coffee etc. If you want to drink it straight you should filter or treat it in my opinion. since you don't have any portaging it isn't two much of deal to stick a couple gallons under a seat etc.
Enjoy the place.

dr bob

We camped on the TFF last week and took three 1-gallon jugs for drinking, and like DrBob, straight from the lake for coffee or cooking. The jugs fit under seats or between packs easily.
John

Curious, why bring water? I'm going in a few weeks and intended to filter....

I don't own/use a filter, I've always drank straight from the lakes in the BW. This body of water with outboard motors, etc. I won't drink straight out of, but at $.79 a gallon for the water it was cheaper than buying a filter.

Just bring water from home ..... free and out of the tap.
Look at Aqua Mura for treating water... I quit with the filter years ago...

Aqua Mura.

This will treat up to 30 gallons of water. Instead of counting drops as the direction say, I use 1.0ml eye dropper per gallon of each. Easy to use and actually make the water taste better.

dr bob

Was on the flowage two weeks ago.

Ended up buying a 2.5g water jug. Midway thru the week we also paddled to Springsuth Landing to use the pump to refill the water. Also filtered an additional 20 liters to supplement the water jug.

Camped on site R-32, which is not on a point like the map suggests but instead on an island. The WI DNR installed a split rail fence to discourage people from going down one side of the island due to bad erosion. It was nice to have an instant drying rack! =)

Mayfly hatch was going full on and we could not get anything to bite on the 2 dozen fatheads we brought in. Eventually we had success catching bass and pike using topwater lures and senkos rigged weedless back in a bay that the motorboats can't reach.

Also saw an amazing aurora display the first night.

This place is on my definite must return list.

The only negative I can come up with from my stay is that my cell phone worked. Great for getting weather updates (heavy storms came thru a couple times), but bad because the outside world knew I could be reached.

Allan - we stayed on R36 in mid May, my first trip to the flowage. A little wet, and snow on our last day, fishing was slow. We are going up again the end of the first week in August. Have you stayed at any of the other sites? Looking for a different site this time just to try something new. I had considered the sites on the channel near R32, and hoping you could give me your opinion of the sites you've been to. Nothing wrong with R36 that we stayed at, but we were sharing the island with others on the adjacent R37 and hoping for a little more privacy. Just two of us going.
Also, where is Springsuth Landing? I'm with you on the cell phone issue...can't hide!
Also looking for fishing tips for August.
John

John,

It was my first time so I don't have a ton of advice. We originally targeted F-16 but found it occupied. The folks in that site told us that R-30 was nice but we had difficulty finding it in the rain & wind at the time. The site across from us, R-31, did see a little use as a lunch spot for a group in a motor boat.

R-36 was on my list of sites I wanted to check out but two sites on the island was a negative for me. Prefer to have space from others not in my group when I'm out canoe camping.

I got my names confused with a road near by my work with a similar name. Springstead Landing is where we went on the day trip.

Not the greatest fisherman when it comes to anything other than bass so not sure I have any advice for you that would work. It seems like topwater lures should produce in some capacity. Weedless is definitely something you should be prepared to do, especially if you get off the beaten path in some back bay.

Allan,
Did you put in at Fisherman's Landing? We put in at Murray's Landing. We fished the bays for the most part as well, mostly bass. I imagine the pads will be thick in the bays come August. We are set for weedless as well. Were you happy with your site R30?
John

Hey John,
No, we put in @ Murrays Landing. Due to weather and going to F-16 it took us about 2.5 hours to finally land at R-32. On the way out, under very quiet conditions it took 45 minutes to get back to the car.
We were unable to find R-30 when we were searching for sites. Could have been due to poorly placed waypoints on the GPS, which was based on the maps you can find online. According to the track data we passed directly in front of where the site "should" be at least twice.

We stayed in R-32 which is an island up 10' from the water line. It was littered with turtle eggs all over the canoe landing and around the SW shore. By the end of the trip we were referring to the site as Turtle Island. The DNR also put a split rail fence along the W-NW top edge of the island to deter people from going over the edge and increasing erosion. Its definitely a site I'd camp in again if I could. Had absolutely no problem finding firewood, we just paddled across the channel and loaded up the canoe with lots of dead & detached wood. Bring a saw.

The bay we spent most of our time in was already thick with pads and other vegetation. It was like we were transported to a different world, as it was windy out on the main body but the bay was dead silent and like glass. N46° 05.313' W90° 07.169'

Allan,
We're heading up to the flowage again at the end of the first week of August. We're going to try for the site you were at R32.
John

Have a great trip! I'm already talking with my daughter about a base camp in the flowage next year for her first canoe camping trip.

Hope you find the site in decent condition!

Alan - You mentioned that R32 was not exactly where the online map showed, but rather on an island. I have marked up a Google map with the same locations the TFF map showed, and was hoping you could give me some indication on which area R32 actually is. Is it located on the island between R32 & R31 where I have marked?
We're getting a guide for half day and he suggested we meet at R31 for a pick up, very convenient.
Thanks! John

Yes, R-32 is the island. There is also at least one landing for R-31 on the side of the peninsula that faces R-32.

Was on the flowage 7/5-8. Thought it would be busy but hardly saw anyone, and the campsites we looked at were all unoccupied.
I'll make a trip report eventually but just wanted to say that the campsite R-35 is a 2-3 star site depending on the size of your group. The latrine is really close to the main camp area, and the firepit is on the side of the hill and has a full view of the landing area for R-34.

R-34 seems like a nice site, especially for spring/fall as its completely under the canopy. We were attacked by bugs the whole time we were checking it out and the nice breeze we had at our campsite was non-existent here. The site itself is flat and open with the latrine down a nice, long trail and out of view of camp.
The landing is kind of rocky and has a full view of the goings-on at R-34

R-36 looked nice, open, and flat from the boat but didn't land to check it out. We didn't consider it as I thought the Mrs. would rather not share a latrine with a different group as R-37 is on the same island. The fire pit is located on an exposed point on the E side of the island.

I will say that we managed to fit a Kingdom 8 with garage in R-35, and on a different tent pad a 10x10 screen shelter fit nicely.

We stayed at R-31 last time I believe...there is a fence railing to reduce erosion I believe ... it was pretty nice.... We stayed at R-35 in the early 90's Now it looks pretty overused...
I still like the TF a lot.
One May we stayed with the scouts on R-37...no one was on R-36 so there was no issue about sharing the john. From there you could enjoy a sunrise and sunset....somehow we were able to squeeze a bunch of 7x7 tents in there.

dr bob

I think I saw at least one other site that had a split rail fence. I know R-32 has one as I stayed at that site a couple years ago.

35 wasn't really terrible, just not ideal. I kick myself for not being more selective. Live & learn!

Just did a trip up here after Labor Day, cold, windy, and rainy but only saw two people in three days. Took a friends old town 12 foot canoe. Not the greatest canoe in the wind but worked just fine. The paddle to Blair Lake would take about two hours or so in no wind. Stayed at 34, it's a bay site so it's great in the cold and wind but I imagine it would be awful if the skeeters were out.

Has anyone been up here in 2018 or 2019? Broke my wrist in 3 places a couple of weeks ago, so for the first time in many years, I won't be going to the BWCA. TFF for a few days of solitude in late Aug. is my consolation prize.

Have never been there. Curious about how much traffic the quiet area has been getting last year and this year. I like sites that are open along the shore and around the fire pit, nice views. Recommendations appreciated. Any other miscellaneous advice about the area (in addition to what's already been posted) also appreciated. TIA.

We went last year and this year. It was fairly crowded this year in mid July. There were still some open sites, but the first 8 or so from Murray's Landing were taken. Last year, it was pretty quiet in early August with only a couple sites occupied. Both times there was motorboat traffic but it wasn't bad. We stayed at R30 and R32, and both were okay.

waterdog: "Has anyone been up here in 2018 or 2019? Broke my wrist in 3 places a couple of weeks ago, so for the first time in many years, I won't be going to the BWCA. TFF for a few days of solitude in late Aug. is my consolation prize.

Have never been there. Curious about how much traffic the quiet area has been getting last year and this year. I like sites that are open along the shore and around the fire pit, nice views. Recommendations appreciated. Any other miscellaneous advice about the area (in addition to what's already been posted) also appreciated. TIA."

Here's a video I did if you are bored: Turtle-Flambeau Flowage video

ajoutdoors... please use the "Add a link to this message" function when posting videos. It's right below the box you type in. (I fixed yours so it was posted properly.)

Instructions for inserting links and video into your posts

Thank you.

Great video. Thank you for posting, AJ!

There was no one there when I went the last couple of days in August and first couple of days in September 2019, All campsites that I saw were empty. Only a couple of fishing boats in the far-off distance. Weather wasn't great, so maybe that was a factor.

Jackfish: "ajoutdoors... please use the "Add a link to this message" function when posting videos. It's right below the box you type in. (I fixed yours so it was posted properly.)

Instructions for inserting links and video into your posts

Thank you. "

Sweet, thanks for the info