The drive to Bearskin Lake.





Toboggan and sled.





Portage trail to Duncan Lake





Morning view of Duncan Lake from campsite





Winter tent setup



This was a 3 night trip over New Year's to do some lake trout fishing. The ice was solid, but only 6" at the most. The lake has easy access so there are a lot of day trippers, fishermen and wardens. I fished fairly hard, but only had one bite and missed it. The site I used was a little too exposed and the steady wind never stopped. It had been used recently and had a leftover stash of firewood. The snow was packed down around the site and bare ground showed where a tent had recently been set. I was able to supply more wood from fallen trees in the area. My tent and stove setup was very comfortable and I was actually too hot the first night. I had planned to make this a 4 night trip, but with the lack of fishing action and relentless wind I cut the trip one day short.

Thanks for the report. Nice pictures and was wondering about ice thickness.

Yes the lakes inside the BWCA get fished very hard those first two weeks because trout fishing is closed outside the BWCA.

Trout season should open the same day inside and outside the BWCA as once proposed.

Very nice, how far of a portage in for you was it? Must not be too far as I saw quite a bit of wood in that sled. :-)

quote SevenofNine: "Very nice, how far of a portage in for you was it? Must not be too far as I saw quite a bit of wood in that sled. :-)"

I made two trips on the portage with each sled alone. One way distance I am guessing .2 miles... pretty easy haul.

Thanks for sharing your photos and the information.

Greg

About how many people did you see fishing out there?

What was the snow/slush situation like for you? Looked like not a lot of snow in the ice in your pic.

NM...Just saw your post on the Daniels lake thread about snow and slush.

quote Pinetree: "About how many people did you see fishing out there?"

I saw 4 groups on New Year's Day (2-3 persons each group) and 3 groups on Saturday. No one was doing any catching...

quote RainGearRight: "What was the snow/slush situation like for you? Looked like not a lot of snow in the ice in your pic."

There was not a lot of snow on the ice. On the North side of the lake on Saturday, I noticed things were slushy/soft, so didn't venture near shore. On Sunday when I left, the South side of the lake edge was getting slushy especially near the portage landing. On Bearskin, snowmobiles traveled out some distance from shore and created slushy spots.

I was over on Bat and also did not do so well: one bite in two afternoons of trying. Next time.....