Well, here's the deal. Later this summer, I have some cousins coming up to visit me from TN / NC, and they are hell-bent on seeing the BWCA. They are all in their 30's, avid outdoors-men, and two are experienced paddlers, but the only problem is we only have four days to work with (six with travel from Minneapolis).

I spent a few weeks browsing QJ and other websites, and browsing the McKenzie maps for ideas, and I settled on EP #16, the Moose River going north into the Nina Moose, Ram's Head, and Agnes area. I figured it would expose my cousins to a pretty good variety of BWCA terrain, fishing opportunities, and wildlife. I hear it's a fairly popular entry point, but I told them not to expect total solitude with only four days to work with.

We plan to base camp somewhere in that area, and spend most of the time fishing. Nobody really has a species preference, but I would like to try for lakers if they're around. Do any of the lakes between Nina Moose and LLC have lake trout in them? Also, we are tentatively planning on base camping on Agnes. Anyone with experience in that area have any suggestions?

Akula,
To the best of my knowledge there are no Lakers between Nina Moose. and LLC the water is too shallow.  However, there are Lakers in Oyster, which is a little west of Agnes, along the route to LLC.
 With only 4 days to play with, I would consider basecamping on Agnes, the campsite to the left of the 115 rod portage to Boulder River is a good one, I stayed there 5 days on a solo and enjoyed it!  You can day trip to Oyster for Lakers.  Boulder River holds some great smallie, walleye and northern fishing. Where Bottle runs into LLC is a great fishing area along with the Tiger Bay area.  You could also daytrip into Iron via Bottle Portage and go see Curtain Falls, Warrior Hill, and the LLC pictographs are nearby as well.  Let me know if you have more specific questions and fishing and campsites.

Bruce

With a day to travel, & if you're packed right, you could make LLC in one day. There are lakers in LLC. Also, there is Warrior Hill and the best pictos in the park. There is a good laker hole opposite the pictos on the Minnesota side. With a depth sounder, you'll have no trouble locating it. I would go for anywhere between Boulder bay and Fish Stake Narrows, and probably pick Tiger bay for camping. Most sites are good to excellant. Also, if you camp on LLC, you could go to Iron for a day trip, with Rebecca & Curtain Falls on that days menu. Just get an early jump out of Minneapolis. Who knows, with that for a sampler, you might just get them to come back & commit to more trippin time in the future.

There are also lakers in Oyster, if you decide not to go that far.

I'm with Old Salt
base camp LLC
lakers, walleyes, smallies
easy day trip to iron for 'eyes in the chute
check out the two falls
if you stay on Agnes..good 'eyes there..daytrip over to Oyster for a shot at the Lakers

Thanks for the replies. I think this will work out well for my cousins and I. But with regards to Warrior Hill and Rebecca Falls, I'm assuming we can't we do that without RABC's and Quetico permits? I may have to save that for a solo. Looks like Curtain Falls would be okay, though. Too bad this trip isn't happening until August!

I'm still planning a solo for this spring, to make up for the one I had to cancel last year for that temp job in Yukon. I'm sure I'll be back with other questions when I get around to finishing those plans.

Sigurd Olson's "Loons  of Lac la Croix" essay in The Signing Wilderness is a great companion to that route.

You shouldn't need either a RABC or Quetico permit as long as you stay in the water or are on a portage trail running between the border lakes, i.e. the Bottle Portage from LLC to Bottle Lake/Iron Lake.  It's on the Canadian side, but you are legally entitled to traverse it without "officially" entering Canada.  I have forgotten the law/treaty stating such, and this is not considered legal advise, so you can dig a little further if you like.

However, I would make an effort to not fish the Canadian shores and bays, etc. that are obviously Canadian without a Ontario fishing permit, as the treaty allows for travel, not fishing.  

permits?  you don't need no stinkin' permits....

Just be aware of no live bait fishing on the Quetico side...
And what Wally said about permits has generally been the rule, however there have be some cases where visitors were checked and I believe fined for something or the other.

Bruce

Thanks for the insights on the border issue. I can't speak for my cousins, but I'm not much of a live bait guy so no issues there. Maybe we'll check out the pictos, Warrior Hill, and Rebecca Falls if we end up in that area. We'll just try not to leave the canoes, except maybe to take a quick photo at the falls if nobody's around.

You'll want/need to hike the short trails around both sides of Rebecca Falls in order to see it. Just be aware that you are approaching the split falls from the top. Just aim for middle of island.

Another Amen to LLC!  I've done it a couple of times from EP16 and it is doable in one day.  I took my grand-nephew there two years ago in June. We made our first camp in Boulder Bay and had great fishing for walleyes and pike.  A day trip to Curtain Falls and Rebecca Falls are a must-see.  Our second camp was at the west side of the mouth to Lady Boot Bay and we had great smallmouth bass fishing from the campsite and off a couple of other campsites.  I caught my one and only laker  in Snow Bay in May of '85, so they're there!  You can't go wrong with LLC.  

ChiefBob, welcome to QJ  :)

And thanks for the input... I really wish that this trip was happening sooner than August (tomorrow would be nice), but alas, we are looking at a few more months of hardwater season... it's really up to my cousins and how far they feel like paddling, but Curtain / Rebecca Falls are definitely high on my list.

As far as Moose River from the entry to Nina Moose... are water levels typically an issue? I'm sure it varies from season to season and year to year, but are late summer water levels something to be concerned about?

The Moose does get a bit low that time of year but nothing to slow things down too much. Most of the time you’ll just have to deal with bottoming out and the occasional foot over the side to help push off. There are a couple spots where you might have to hop out if the water gets ankle deep. Compared to other rivers that time of year like the Horse, or Pickett creek flowing into Mudro it’s no big deal.

If you have time before or after your trip there is a nice view from high atop a bluff just before the river starts to zig-zag south of Nina Moose. It’s a bit of a climb but the view is nice, allowing you to see Nina Moose in the distance.

The river is aptly named as I think I’ve seen more moose on that river than dang near anywhere else!

Chris

Nice shot Firetiger! What's with that moose though? Is that in spring, a yearling maybe?

Pic was taken early to mid June by my girlfriend.

I’m no moose expert but we were thinking it might have been an older cow? The water in that spot was probably 3 to 4' deep or so. I’ve read that moose can have nasty tick infestations that drive them nuts trying to remove the little blood suckers. That might explain the patches of missing hair and her pale coat.

Here’s a couple articles on the problem:

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Yeah, that's what I feared. We saw a miserable one that was mostly skin once. Yours looks mighty healthy in comparison. Plus it's a pretty shot. The white still makes me wonder. Frosted tips? Could be back.

Akula wrote on Jan 28^th, 2010 at 7:40am:

I hear it's a fairly popular entry point, but I told them not to expect total solitude with only four days to work with.

Well, you will definitely give your companions a real taste of the BWCA if you take the Nina-Moose route in the summer.  You'll experience portage gridlock and campsite anxiety (will we find an open campsite before dark??)  I suggest you basecamp on the other side of long portage that dead-ends in one lake.  You should lose most of the horde that way.

Good luck!  

prouboy

Puckster wrote on Feb 11^th, 2010 at 12:39am:

Well, you will definitely give your companions a real taste of the BWCA if you take the Nina-Moose route in the summer.  You'll experience portage gridlock and campsite anxiety (will we find an open campsite before dark??)  I suggest you basecamp on the other side of long portage that dead-ends in one lake.  You should lose most of the horde that way. Good luck!   prouboy

I really hope that's not the case, but for a 4-day trip, we don't really have many options for *real* solitude that I'm aware of. My first suggestion was Angleworm, but my cousins would probably declare mutiny and bury me in the woods before we got halfway down the first portage...

Akula -- Sadly, I think it will be the case: A popular entry point, in the middle of the summer -- I can't imagine anything but lots and lots of people.  But maybe that's not an issue with your group.

I've done Angleworm, and I agree it's a beast.  I've done Nina-Moose, and after being the middle of the hordes of people, I vowed never again.  

Maybe it's worth asking your group to pick its poison: 1) a helluva long portage, but less people, or 2) an easy entry point shared with seemingly most of the quarter-million people who flock to the BWCA each year!  I think I'd take Angleworm.  BUT, if you take Nina-Moose, and then look to get off the beaten path asap, that might be the way to go.  I've not  done that, so can't give you specific recommendations.

You're right, 4 days doesn't give you much time, no matter where you go.  However, I think the least used part of the BWCA is in the far northeast corner, the "Tip of the Angle," north of Grand Portage, around Pine Lake.  It's a longer drive, bigger lakes, longer portages, but I definitely felt more alone.  FWIW

prouboy

I wouldn't necessarily discount Oyster as a possible base camp. There's a great site on the peninsula at the north end of the lake that has access on both the north and south sides of the site. I was there in June a few years ago and didn't really encounter that much traffic there. We were just passing through and stayed one night there, but it certainly gives a great flavor of the BWCA. But I also agree that Warrior Hill and the LLC pictographs are simply awesome.