The plan for today was to stay on Iron Lake and enjoy the fantastic fishing! Last time through I caught a 24” walleye in the first 10 minutes. Unfortunately I didn’t get to fish as much as I wanted that trip but vowed to come back and spend some time. Problem was I was way ahead of schedule, turns out I don’t notice the miles much when I am paddling and trolling. There was a lot of current on the river section coming into Iron, it was almost a rock garden last time I passed through. Still plenty passable. I am paddling up current from now on for this trip but it never was too noticeable except on some of the pinch points. I stopped at the 5 star site at the mouth of the Beartrap River at 9 AM. I always said I would stay here if it was ever open. I took a little tour of the site and it was sprawling and open under a canopy of huge red pines. An impressive kitchen as well! But it was only 9 AM and I knew I could easily travel into Sundial PMA and revisit the walleye of Sunday Lake. I had a permit for 3 days in the PMA and thought that I may just want to spend some extra time there if the fishing was as good the previous visit. I also was unsure what the water conditions would be like going up the Beartrap river so I decided to push on a day early into the PMA. Signs were clear along the shore that the water had fallen considerably from its max height and I was glad about that. I spent some time photographing the mouth of the river and then took on the steep landing into the Primitive Management Area. I have traveled this route before and new what to expect. The first and last portages into the Beartrap River are the toughest with the one entering Beartrap lake being right at a mile. The portages in between are short jumps around rock gardens and rapids. The last time I was here the water was very low. This year I only had 3 portages to make it to Sunday Lake. Sunday lake has a really nice site and the fishing is good. I love this lake because there are no bass stocked in it so it has the feel of what a natural BWCA ecosystem should be. I set up camp and made short work of a walleye to cook up for dinner. Walleye, rice in a tortilla with hot sauce is as good as food gets for me on these trips! Spent some time by the fire and hit the sack. A very good day.