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Gadfly
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thegildedgopher: "Gadfly: "Probably don't need an extension."
Why risk it? At a few pounds it's a no-brainer to me. Wouldn't be a lot of fun to go through all that work to get to your spot and not be able to punch holes."
I guess if you feel the need to tow in extra weight, but I've never heard of anyone bringing one and in my 20+ winter trips I've never needed one.
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tonyyarusso
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There might be a little parking space at Moccasin, but you can always just park on the ice too. I don't have a snowmobile, so I actually just drove to the portage the time I went. The snow wasn't too deep so I could, but people gave my Oldsmobile some funny looks out there. There was a small clearing halfway across the portage at the wilderness boundary (clearly marked by a sign) where people were parking their snowmobiles - if that's full again you could park back on the ice. As Pinetree said, all of the normal Wilderness rules still apply - hand augers only. Bring the extension too.
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Gadfly
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Bdubr: "I actually enjoy augaring my holes and since I got a Nils it is So easy."
Nils hand auger is a godsend for BWCA trips!"
Could not agree more!
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Jakafutz
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Thanks all. I have a Nils auger which will handle about 34” so we’re good there. We’ll bring the snowmobile as well just in case. Any more suggestions on fishing? We’re thinking about camping on the east shore of Stony Island to shield us from the prevailing winds so any suggestions in that area would be appreciated. The structure looks pretty consistent up and down with a nice steady drop off so maybe it doesn’t matter too much where we try? Just work various depths?
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Pinetree
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thegildedgopher: "Gadfly: "Probably don't need an extension."
Why risk it? At a few pounds it's a no-brainer to me. Wouldn't be a lot of fun to go through all that work to get to your spot and not be able to punch holes." . Just thinking-never heard of a extension on a hand augar and I never needed one on a manuel augar. Close but not quite.
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thegildedgopher
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Gadfly: "Probably don't need an extension."
Why risk it? At a few pounds it's a no-brainer to me. Wouldn't be a lot of fun to go through all that work to get to your spot and not be able to punch holes.
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Gadfly
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Probably don't need an extension. Still hearing reports of slush in some areas up there. If that didn't freeze during the last cold snap it probably didn't make a whole lot more ice either. Its amazing how much insulation snow provides. As for an area to fish I think five sisters is a good place to start. Have also caught them off stony island.
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Jakafutz
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For our annual winter camping trip in BWCA/Quetico this year we want to try Trout Lake. Looking for advice from experienced campers/fishermen. We assume the best way to access the lake is drive to Moccasin Point public launch and snowmobile to the BWCA boundary on the south end of Trout (assuming snowmobiles are not allowed past the line?!). Is there plenty of parking for a truck and trailer at Moccasin? We would park the snowmobile by the access and ski onto Trout and find a spot to set up. We have a 15' sq tent which makes it hard to find a camping spot on land...so many times we set up on the ice to be on level ground. That said...any suggestions on a camp site that would be close to decent Lake Trout fishing. We've heard Five Sister Islands is a spot for Lakers but looking for any suggestions. Since motor boats are allowed are there any other exceptions to the normal BWCA rules like gas or battery powered augers? Thanks in advance for your suggestions!
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Pinetree
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No gas or electric augars allowed.
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Bdubr
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I actually enjoy augaring my holes and since I got a Nils it is So easy."
Nils hand auger is a godsend for BWCA trips!
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Pinetree
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tonyyarusso: "There might be a little parking space at Moccasin, but you can always just park on the ice too. I don't have a snowmobile, so I actually just drove to the portage the time I went. The snow wasn't too deep so I could, but people gave my Oldsmobile some funny looks out there. There was a small clearing halfway across the portage at the wilderness boundary (clearly marked by a sign) where people were parking their snowmobiles - if that's full again you could park back on the ice. As Pinetree said, all of the normal Wilderness rules still apply - hand augers only. Bring the extension too."
I haven't heard a ice depth report for a long time. Brainerd area were 18-21 inches before last cold spell.Below normal ice,maybe we caught up a lot now.
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lundojam
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I was up the trail this past weekend, right on the border, and there was zero slush. Small sample size, but encouraging nonetheless. There was about 23" of ice with maybe 5" of snow on top, so pretty easy to get around. Last year in the same area I was right up to the bend on the hand auger by the end of the season, so it doesn't look to be shaping up as an extension-type year. Ya never know though. That's a good question: Are there hand auger extensions available? (That sounds miserable)
What will be, will be. Get up there and punch some holes. :)
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Pinetree
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lundojam: "I was up the trail this past weekend, right on the border, and there was zero slush. Small sample size, but encouraging nonetheless. There was about 23" of ice with maybe 5" of snow on top, so pretty easy to get around. Last year in the same area I was right up to the bend on the hand auger by the end of the season, so it doesn't look to be shaping up as an extension-type year. Ya never know though. That's a good question: Are there hand auger extensions available? (That sounds miserable)
What will be, will be. Get up there and punch some holes. :)"
I actually enjoy augaring my holes and since I got a Nils it is So easy.
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