Boundary Waters, Trip Reports, BWCA, Stories

Katie and John go BWCA!
by Jmac

Trip Type: Paddling Canoe
Entry Date: 09/12/2025
Entry Point: Fall Lake (EP 24)
Exit Point: Wood Lake (EP 26)  
Number of Days: 3
Group Size: 2
Day 3 of 3
Sunday, September 14, 2025

After some talk we decided to have some dry snacks in place of a real breakfast for our last day. This left some time for fishing in the morning! I had to go back to the bay with my frog to see if I could get some action and I did! A little too much action in fact because my frog got bit off! I was a little glum because of it as I hadn't caught a fish yet and was oh so close to reeling him in. I decided to pack it up and get going for the day. We did look for the fish or the frog in the bay before we left but could not find it :-(. We set out for the 220 rod portage on Wood with the idea to fish along the way. We first stopped at a little island on the middle west side Wood so I could fish off the point. I caught no fish but we did get to see a fisher! He was very cool to see. We was collecting leaves and running them around his little island. He would often stop and stare at us to make sure we were keeping our distance and then continue scurrying around doing his little chores. After that island I fished the bays on the western side of the lake to see if I could get some action. I made sure to attach a leader to my line this time in fear of losing another lure. I had a few bites but nothing on the line. I asked Katie what she thinks I should do differently, and she said I should reel in faster. I don't believe she answered this out of genuine fishing knowledge, but it made a lot of sense. I started to do just that and all of a sudden I had a fish on the line! A small northern pike was all it was, but I was happy. We took a few pictures and then I let it go. We meandered for a while longer while I fished and she paddled until we realized that if we didn't return our gear by noon we were going to be charged for another half day! It was about 10:00 am and we had a 220 rod portage ahead of us that we were fearing we would have to double back on to complete so we really had to get going! We got to the portage at about 10:15 and both decided that I would triple up and she would double up for as long as we could and then I would drop the canoe which we would come back for. I ended making it about 115 rods I would guess (saving us about .7 miles!!) before I dropped the canoe and continued on. We were really hurrying when we turned back from the car to grab the canoe. We ended up getting everything to the car by 11:20 which we were both stoked about. We were home free! We got back to the outfitter, took our showers, got a coffee and some brunch, meandered around some stores, and then hit the road back to the cities. For context, this was my second trip in 10 days so I was pretty beat and ready to enter back into regular life in the cities. I had a great time though with my future wife.