John,

Try Pine Lake out of Grand Marais. You put in and park at a campground on Macfarland Lake (not in BWCA) and paddle 3 miles to get to a short chute of water entering from Pine. You can bull your way through with a paddle or get out and pull your canoe through. Either way - no portage. There is a campsite just to the right of the entry, and one about 1/4 mile to the south. There are also a number of campsites on the west end of the 8 mile long lake.

We had decent fishing luck for smallmouth and walleyes - enough that we ate fish 4 nights in a row. A blue and silver floating Rapala was the most productive lure, but others worked, too. My three year old grandson caught a keeper smallie on a hula popper. It was a nice lure for a kid. Big enough to cast easily, and never snagging.

Another nice trip for kids is the South Hegman entry point. The portage in is about 80 rods and easy. There are 3 or 4 campsites on South Hegman. North Hegman is a nice day trip with a short hop portage of 10 or 15 rods. There are really good Indian pictographs on a cliff wall on North Hegman. (no campsites on North Hegman) A tougher portage over several rocky ridges will take you from N. Hegman to Little Bass Lake. Little Bass is a decent smallmouth lake. I've not had much fishing luck on the Hegmans.

I've taken all 6 of my kids and 2 of my grandkids into the boundary waters before they were 7 years old, one as young as 2. They've all done well. It can work well to have your child bring a friend. It eases the demand on you for attention.

Set a few simple rules like "no food in the tent", and assign a few jobs like filling the water container (without floaties) and rinsing the dishes. I've always liked separate tents for children.

Have fun

Posted by Chicago Jim on August 28, 2001 at 21:44
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