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Rentman
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08/02/2015 07:52PM   (Thread Older Than 3 Years)
I suspect that the Canadian side of the Boundary waters get less visitors per acre and therefore the fish see fewer people, any truth to this?
 
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08/02/2015 07:58PM  
quote Rentman: "I suspect that the Canadian side of the Boundary waters get less visitors per acre and therefore the fish see fewer people, any truth to this?"

that's quetico provincial park, not the canadian boundary waters canoe area wilderness.
GraniteCliffs
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08/02/2015 08:20PM  
I always figure about four to five times fewer visitors in the Q. However, that can also be misleading. If you stay on the fringe of the Q you will still see plenty of people. If you go in a number of lakes the number of folks drops dramatically.
Remember the BW has a million access points from the south. The Q is round and fat and has just three entry points if you access it from the US.
A couple of weeks ago we saw people all the way to Sarah Lake and then had a hard time finding a campsite on Sarah. Weird. Then from Sarah to Burt, Piwi and North Bay we say two solo guys and nobody else.
Thwarted
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08/02/2015 08:44PM  

What the fish do or do not see is unknowable from what I can see and fewer fishermen does not mean the fish are more easily caught. I have had better luck in the BWCA with live bait (always leeches) than in the Q where live bait is not allowed. BTW, referring to Quetico as the Canadian side of the boundary waters is an apt description. Just drop the upper case B.
billconner
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08/02/2015 09:03PM  
I thought statistics posted here suggested less than 1/10 asbmany people per acre.
Canoodler
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08/02/2015 09:11PM  
Rentman,

about 250K people enter into the BWCAW in a typical year whereas about 25K, or about one-tenth the number, enter into the Q each year. The Q has just less than one million acres while the BW has 1.2 million acres. So, in a given year about 0.026 people per acre visit the Q while 0.21 people per acre visit the BW!

There are only 7 major entry points for the Q but many of those entry points have subentry quotas for a total of 21 quota entry points. The BW has 26 quota entry points but, as Granite Cliffs points out, these entry points are spread around with no subentry points within each of those 26 entrances.

The Canadians can patrol the Q better with fewer primary entry points but such an arrangement concentrates users until they fan out. Thus, as Granite Cliffs points out, the Q has surprising concentrations at times and then suddenly few are to be found!!! So, campsite competition is much less a problem in the Q. The Q has about 2200 made campsites, none official of course, while the BW has over 1600 official campsites.
Thwarted
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08/03/2015 08:45PM  
Wow, canoodler, that's good research. .026 vs. .21 is a huge difference. Now if we knew the total acres of water...
Canoodler
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08/04/2015 12:59AM  
Thwarted,

Acres of water? Gosh, I am worn out! But I would bet that there is more surface area of water in the Q.
08/04/2015 09:24AM  
Quetico and BWCA use is like comparing night and day. I was in Quetico last month for a 12-day loop, and there was a 5-day stretch where we didn't see a single other person--and we paddle a long distance most days. Try that in the BWCA in summer. Won't happen.

Quetico is also slightly larger than the BWCA, and the Province of Ontario actually manages it to provide a fairly genuine wilderness experience--something the US Forest Service cannot do in the BWCA, because politics/sheer demand would not allow it.
Rentman
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08/04/2015 03:21PM  
Thanks for all the information. I did not realize that Canada had so few entry points. I would imagine more portages are needed to get away from the people that are funneled into so few entry points. I made my first BWCA this last month to Perent lake, the fish were numerous but small and I saw lots of people over the week. I need a book that would outline possible routes similar to my Pauly book, is there one?
Canoodler
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08/04/2015 03:32PM  
Rentman,
Robert Beymer's book, A Paddler's Guide to Quetico Provincial Park, is the only guide book I know of for the Q.

The other source is right here. There are many very experienced Quetico travelers, nearly all who have more recent information than I, on this forum. Just state your parameters: fishing, scenery, difficulty of the route you'd be willing to endure and entry point advice.

Of course, if you are renting equipment from an outfitter, get their advice too, especially concerning current conditions (beaver dam alterations, fires, windfalls and fire bans).

Perent Lake - my gosh friend, you just scratched the edge of the BW! Next time try to dive in deeper if you can!!!
OldFingers57
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08/04/2015 03:55PM  
Another good book is Kevin Callan's book on Quetico Quetico book
DancesWithTrees
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08/05/2015 08:16AM  
Just as important to consider, is that different parts of Quetico will see far more people than others. I mean, if you hang around near the southern entry points, you'll see people. If you hang around the Camel Lake area, or Ferguson Lake area (just as examples), you'll rarely see others.
Rentman
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08/05/2015 10:36AM  
Ok, I will be getting the Beyers book. Yes, I know that I have only scratched the surface by going to Perent but I was the leader of a three other people none of which are strong enough to care a canoe over 15 rods. As this was my first trip I kept it simple to ensure a safe and comfortable trip. I would like to do a "bigger" trip next time.

Parameters, Solo trip with my German Shepard, !8' Grumman that weighs 70lbs I can carry it easily but prefer easier and shorter portages, My main focus is to see few people and lots of fish, bigger fish. The species is not as important to me. I need to stay off big lakes as I will be solo and I have trouble controlling that big canoe in the wind and waves. I was thinking of a week long journey but traveling every other day. Any route suggestions are appreciated, be sure to tell me the pros and cons of your route. Thanks again, Tim
Canoodler
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08/05/2015 11:01AM  
"Parameters, Solo trip with my German Shepard, !8' Grumman that weighs 70lbs I can carry it easily but prefer easier and shorter portages, My main focus is to see few people and lots of fish, bigger fish. The species is not as important to me. I need to stay off big lakes as I will be solo and I have trouble controlling that big canoe in the wind and waves. I was thinking of a week long journey but traveling every other day. Any route suggestions are appreciated, be sure to tell me the pros and cons of your route. Thanks again, Tim""

Hmm... small lakes, short portages, few people, big fish - tough bill to fill! I would suggest a tow service. The advantage of this method is you can get into remoter areas with less work (portages and paddling). However, tow services can be expensive - one or more hundreds of dollars! Tow then from Crane Lake to Bottle Portage that leads into Quetico or to Hook Island on Saganaga Lake that leads to Quetico via Silver Falls. Big Sag will only be paddled for a relatively short time but even that suggestion poses some rough water risks.

If a tow idea is out of the question because of costs, drive to Beaverhouse and link into Quetico L. to Jesse, McAlpine looping back to Beaverhouse. This is a popular route but since it is Quetico Prov. Pk. you will be reasonably alone, especially since the lakes are large and people tend to get "swallowed up" in them. Note because of these lakes configurations you seldom see large open expanses and an overnight stay on a windy day often brings different conditions the next day. You might have to travel 2 days in a row then layover and repeat to do this trip. Fishing is good in all of these lakes, both pelagic fish and trout. A fish finder, esp. for trout, would be nice.

Sorry, folks, about dominating this conversation. There are other ideas surely that others can contribute.






OldFingers57
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08/05/2015 11:07AM  
Shop around for the Beymer book as some places have it a lot cheaper then others. I've seen it for as low as $15.95 as opposed to Amazons $34.00
Rentman
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08/05/2015 04:34PM  
Yes, I know I am asking allot. I will have to compromise in areas to be sure. I will likely have to endure long portages with a heavy canoe. If I had more money I could pay for tows and a Kevlar canoe. I bought the Callan? book today, the Beyers book is dated 1985 and was $35 for a used one. From what I could see there are only two route books for Quetico. I will be buying some maps and looking at the routes suggested by you guys and by the book.
08/05/2015 07:09PM  
I'd suggest a Carp Lake permit exploring and fishing Carp, Emerald, Plough, Ottertrack, Beaver, Fisher, Mink and Marten. Not many folk go through that last chain of little lakes. I've found some big fish in there.
mgraber
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08/09/2015 04:28PM  
The Robert Beymer book (Paddlers Guide to Quetico Provincial Park)can be had NEW for 10.95 on the Fishers map website.
OldFingers57
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08/09/2015 07:07PM  
I found a bunch of different outfitters and other websites with routes on them. Just do a Google search of BWCA Quetico canoe routes.
 
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