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sns
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I bring my good swim goggles. About a once ounce penalty; although I usually increase that with several extra lures on the way out.
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Speckled
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I've brought swim goggles at times and dove down to swim around on the bottem...maybe 6-10 feet deep I suppose. Depends on the lake and the clarity of the water. It's something we do at our cabin frequently enough. It's kind of fun if you can do it. I imagine a snorkel would be fun too.
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RMinMN
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If the portage isn't on a busy route, snorkeling near the bottom of rapids can be fun and enlightening. Fun because fish tend to congregate there and some will let you get quite close (walleye just out of reach) while others (northern pike) will let you see their tail and that's about all. Bass will follow you and get right in your way.
People will try to run rapids if there isn't too much current and....well, some don't make it without dumping their canoe and leaving equipment on the bottom. That's how I came to own 4 more rods and reels.
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AceAceAce
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There is a link on the MN lake finder for lake clarity. If you're going to clear lakes later in the summer, I would. I've been on some clear lakes and wished I'd taken one. I will next time I go when the water is warmer.
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MarshallPrime
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Anyone have any GoPro video doing this underwater? That sounds really interesting to me. Ill check YouTube.
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RT
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I do! I am a swimming freak and go in mid to late August normally. The water temps are perfect for me. Started bringing in the snorkel, mask and small set of fins to explore around the swimming areas about 3-years ago. I have scrounged up so many old rusty lures and junk. I pack those things out if I can. If a lure is in okay shape I leave it by the fire grate for the next people since I am not much of a fisherman.
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YetiJedi
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Nope, not me. The water is usually too cold for me to swim like that. But I imagine one could find plenty of lures.
P.S. Should I even mention filtering or not?!?
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MattyM
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I like bringing a mask and snorkel for “treasure hunting.” Usually I only bother bringing it if the weather is going to be warm and I plan on doing some swimming.
I think it’s also worth doing a little research on the water clarity of the lakes you plan to visit to know if it’s worth bringing the mask and snorkel. I usually check the lake reports on the DNR Lake Finder page. Also asking people on this forum is a good resource.
The picture below is only about half of what I found from just one campsite!
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Blatz
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My partner back in the 80s would always bring a snorkel, mask and fins. He said it was incredible under water. He saw tons of fish.
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RMinMN
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Frenchy19: "I recall a post here some years back by someone saying they bring one to look for lost lures."
That might have been me. I bring mask and snorkel and sometimes a shorty wet suit. I'll often go in after a lure that got hung up while trolling and I like to snorkel around empty campsites to recover lures that other campers have lost. Sometimes I find camp gear that got dropped in the lake too. It is also fun to snorkel below a set of rapids to see what fish are there. I've seen bass, walleyes, and northern pike that way, sometimes fairly large ones. Then I fish that area knowing there are good fish there.
I have never snorkeled in clear water lakes, only in the stained lakes. That limits how far down I would need to dive as, for instance, Insula has good visibility to 8 feet but by 12 feet the light is getting pretty dim. At 15 it is too dark for me to see.
Some lakes are more stained and I suspect that visibility would be pretty limited. The Gabbro chain seems that way.
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CoachWalleye74
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Anyone bring a snorkel mask/breather to the BWCA? Trip in mid June and thought it may be fun.
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YetiJedi
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Banksiana: "Best lake I've found for snorkeling.  "
Beautiful water! Clear. Clear. Clear.
Do you mind sharing which lake that is? No worries if not.
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Savage Voyageur
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I bring a swim goggles only. Amazing how many Hamms and Schlitz beer cans down there that you can still read the labels.
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Argo
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I did it once and won't do it again ironically for the very reason why so many promote it. I found a lot of refuse underwater adjacent to campsites. I didn't consider it treasure hunting but that's just me. I had just hoped to find fish.
To the poster who, with good intentions, salvaged lures and left them on the fire pit for future anglers who visit the site, I would say that this violates the basic ethic of LNT and would kindly suggest you pack it out and donate it later after exiting the park.
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Banksiana
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I've brought snorkel, mask and on a few occasions "travel fins" to get deeper on some of the really clear Quetico water I was visiting. Smallmouth will follow along on occasion out of boredom or curiosity.
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keth0601
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I bring a low volume mask and a roll up snorkel with. As others have mentioned it's pretty fun and sometimes rewarding to look for lures and gear around campsites. You're also likely to find a good number of trinkets in rapids that people often try to run with canoes or under waterfalls where people like to swim. Fish like to hang out in both of these spots as well. Sometimes in places you would never guess would have fish.
I feel like you could probably find a lot of trinkets and maybe artifacts around portages as well but I try to avoid these to stay out of the way and be courteous.
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RMinMN
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keth0601: "I bring a low volume mask and a roll up snorkel with. As others have mentioned it's pretty fun and sometimes rewarding to look for lures and gear around campsites. You're also likely to find a good number of trinkets in rapids that people often try to run with canoes or under waterfalls where people like to swim. Fish like to hang out in both of these spots as well. Sometimes in places you would never guess would have fish.
I feel like you could probably find a lot of trinkets and maybe artifacts around portages as well but I try to avoid these to stay out of the way and be courteous."
Trinkets in rapids? You mean like the Nikon SLR camera I found? Or the two anchors and 4 fishing rods with reels? You do have to be very careful snorkeling in the area with lots of current and sometimes you just stay away if the water level is high.
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rick00001967
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the above suggestion is a great one. a roll up snorkel would take up very little room in your pack and using a smaller volume mask certainly helps too.
i love the idea of doing this. i have snokeled and dived in many places but not on a backcountry trip yet. maybe i could get my favorite lure back this year?
another post above mentioned small mouth following along. this is very common when diving some lakes near home. they are very curious and surprisingly not that timid. we often have them approach us. probably wondering who we are and what we are doing down there. lol
my only caution would be to always be careful if diving under the surface (as opposed to staying on the surface) especially in areas that see a lot of fishing activity. with lost lures etc often comes stray fishing line.
and for what its worth.....pls do not use those masks with the snorkel built in. get a properly fitted mask and snorkel and learn how to use it.
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Banksiana
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Best lake I've found for snorkeling.
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Frenchy19
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I recall a post here some years back by someone saying they bring one to look for lost lures.
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