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Ah, Carp lake - my first trip. You'll like this one, and it's just about perfect for a child's first adventure as far as safety and relatively little in the way of difficulties; probably the easiest of all the routes out of Prairie. You'll park your gear at the top of the landing b4 going to the Ranger station. Once you have your permits and licenses, paddle back south and take the first left. Hopefully the wind will be at your back. The paddle to the first portage is pretty, but not really special for scenery of wildlife (except maybe an otter or 10, an osprey or 5, an eagle or 15). The islands may be worth some fishing if you take a break - smallmouth mostly for the time you'll spend on your break. The only portage on your way to Carp is < 1/4 mile (45 rods comes to mind) - it's relatively flat; very slightly uphill on your way out (of course, you're heaviest on the way out). It's very glaciated, so be sure the young lady wears decent toe protection and minds her footing - easy to sprainan ankle if you're not careful. The navigation after the portage is a bit tricky - if you keep to the left of the point you can see, you'll find an island in the middle of a channel. That's the way to Carp Lake. Carp wasn't much in the way of wildlife for us, except the birds and the otters. The banks are pretty steep all around, except on the south side of the main lake. There are campsites on either side of the next narrows you come to. The site on the south side is pretty decent. One way or the other, be sure to fish that channel (hold on tight). If you camp there, try the night fishing from the bank. The channell is shelved, then drops into deep water full of weeds - EXCELLENT food shelf for all varieties including yellow perch (excellent par-boiled; taste like shrimp) The east side of Carp is fairly famous for smallmouth. There are some walleyes and northerns in the bays to the left on your way north toward Sheridan. The portage into Sheridan is somewhat steep, but short. A very easy day trip. The west side of the lake is marsh - maybe moosey, but we didn't see any. The bluff at the east end of Sheridan is worth some time for smallmouth. Didn't catch anything else in that lake. Carp is big - plenty of room and I've heard that the campsites on the east end of the lake are superb, but I've not used them. Be careful of the convection winds on your way back to Prairie (or Little Indian portage, wherever you're getting picked up. Or if you're paddling all the way back). These winds start pretty early in the day and get to be very strong. We had to stop several times and took about 5 hours getting back (took about 2 hours to get to the campsite on the channel). Make sure you leave your campsite in plenty of time. If you get there early, there's some decent bass fishing on the island just to the north of the entrance channel. Hope this helps. Skip Posted by Skip Guyer on May 30, 2002 at 21:44 |
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