I am a Quiteco "newbe" seeking advice on route options and fishing opportunities for a trip this summer - the first week of Aug. I have the option of Cirrus Lake or Sue Falls entry points and have 5 days on the water to travel & fish. With those parameters, which routes / lakes  and fish species would offer the best fishing options and variety? It'll be a couple of Fathers with our 13 year old sons along, so fun C&R of more/smaller fish is more important than seeking trophy fish. ( after all for a 13yo, most fish are trophy fish)

Many thanks

PSU-

I'm not a Quetico paddler.  I just paddle the BW.  that being said there are some good resources out there and I'm sure you'll get some advice from some Quetico padlers.  That being said there is a book out that might be a good place to start.

The book is Furtmans Boudary Waters fishing guide (not sure the actual name, I'll have to get back to you on that).  the book covers Quetico Lakes as well.  It does a fairly good job at telling oyu what species to suppect in the lakes you plan to travel and will give some basic fishing tips on how to get them.

Have a great trip!  

You really can't go wrong with either of those entry points.  Both have a ton of fish, scenery, nice camp sites etc...  The only real difference between the two are portages.  Sue falls requires a little more "work" to get to Cirrus but you're definately rewarded with the effort.  The Beaverhouse - Cirrus entry is a walk in the park.  My opinion and experience is that NE Cirrus - Sue Falls area is a better fishery than Western Cirrus.  I might suggest slumming around Cirrus/Quetico/Kasakokwog.  Big water but plenty of nooks and cranny's to get out of the wind.  You could spend 5 days on Cirrus and still not get a feel for the entire lake.  Same with Quetico and Kasa.

Phantom / Paddle Guy - Thanks you your input. Ive picked up Furtman's fishing guide which gives a good overview. Any thoughts on the fishing to be had down the Maria Lake-Oriana route to Quiteco if we try that way?  

If you're thinking of Maria-Oriana you definitely want to fish Jesse.  Aside from the fact that it is a beautiful lake, the walleye fishing, particularly at the eastern end is outstanding. If you want more details pm me.  By the way if you haven't already, pick up a copy of Kevin Callan's book Quetico and Beyond.  It will give you a lot of help in creating a route.

i second kerrys idea. my group has spent the majority of our 5 years between jesse and oriana. for the maria/oriana route you have two options, going through hamburg or going through jesse.

the jesse route provides you with some nice fishing opportunities. jesse has darker water and tends to be shallow. white or chartreuse are the colors there, and the numbers of walleyes are great. should easily be able to keep the kids busy. a must visit lake if you have young kids along.

my group never has fished maria or hamburg because we prefer just to make it to oriana the first day with plenty of time to set up camp and whatnot.

oriana is probably my favorite lake in the park. beautiful scenery, the water is more on the clear side, deep, and open. also, what we find important, is that oriana has every species you want in the lake. lake trout, walleyes, smallmouth bass, and pike. sometimes its a bit tricky to find big fish because it is a cisco forage based lake. the larger fish tend to hunt the schools of cisco while the smaller fish 15"-20" range stick to shore and bottom structure. the only issue here is that its pretty open, so if you get a windy week you might struggle with the youngins.

issues you may come across on your route... if it has recently rained, the maria-jesse portage becomes a swamp and the little logs float around. last year(on our way out) they were doing some trail management and dug some drainage ditches, so this may have changed.

if the water is low, the maria-hamburg and hamburg-oriana portages are along streams. with low water the streams are not navigable in your canoe, so they turn into long walks along streams through tangled grass. not overly pleasant for youngsters.

make sure you get yourself a quality map of the whole area. i believe the quetico north central map only goes to the western edge of oriana, so you might need the next map over as well if you are going into quetico lake. its a good idea to make some color copies of the areas you plan to go and laminate them so everyone can have a map, just in case.

Jaximus - Many thanks for the input. If we enter at Sue Falls ( Lerome Lake) how long will it take to reach the Jesse/Oriana area? Secondly, from the Jesse/Oriana lake area, is the exit easier to Nym or Beaverhouse? roughly how far/long for each option? Our dads are experienced /fit boaters, the boys at 13 are fit, but not so experienced.

If you only have 5 days total, I'd go in at Beaverhouse at sunrise, have your paperwork so you can skip the Ranger Station and head straight East down Quetico lk. August with any luck you should have a tailwind and be able to make it to at least the end of Quetico lk, maybe Oriana.

Spend a day on Oriana, then jump into Jesse and then exit at Nym if possible. If you have to go back to entry point, I'd go from Beaverhouse straight into Cirrus, base camp somewhere central and day trip.

5 days total isn't much and IF you lose a day to high winds, which isn't that uncommon, you don't want to have a long way to go and a short time to get there ;)

Sounds to me like fishing and the wilderness camping experience are your primary goals.

If that's true then I think you are getting too ambitious trying to get to Jesse via Beaverhouse or Sue Falls.

Since this is a first trip, the objective should be to leave 'em wanting more and not push them too hard.  

Most 13-year-olds are not nearly as goal-oriented as adults.  They just want to have fun fishing, swimming, throwing rocks, exploring around camp, chasing crawdads, helping cook, finding wood, making fire, or whatever else catches their attention for the moment.

I took my 12-year-old daughter up last year with a friend and her dad and we nearly pushed them too hard just going from Bottle portage up into McAree and Minn with a Black Robe exit on a 5-day trip.  They had the most fun once we hit our base camp on Minn and they didn't have to paddle too much each day or set-up/break-down camp.

If  I were you I'd enter Beaverhouse and stay on Quetico and/or Cirrus.  There's plenty of good fishing in those lakes and some pretty nice campsites too.  Portaging would be minimal.  You could stay out of the wind as needed if you use care in campsite selection.  You could also introduce them to the history of the park by showing them the pictographs on Quetico Lake.  If they feel adventurous, take a daytrip to whichever of the two lakes you don't stay on.

The next best alternative is a Sue Falls entry.  They'll definitely get a good taste of portaging if that's what you want.  Most of them are easy but the Sue Falls portage will challenge them a bit.  Sue Falls itself is a fun place for a kid to explore and again the fishing around there is very good.  A daytrip to Soho Lake would be possible and you'll find some good bass/walleye fishing on the east end of Soho.

You've got the right idea to try to get them on some fast fishing.  just carry that idea through to the rest of the trip.  Easy and fun is what you want.  You'll know you've accomplished your goal if they are eagerly talking about "next time" on the way home.

Couple other thoughts:

1.  Invest in a portable depthfinder...or better yet convert a regular depthfinder into a portable for even more lightweight option.

2.  Make sure everyone has a rod holder so you can troll as you paddle.

A depthfinder will help you stay on the right depths for the fish you want to catch.  How deep?  Experiment until you find the depth where you catch fish and then use the depthfinder to stay on that spot or find similar spots.  You may not actually see any fish on your unit but once you figure out where they are a depthfinder keeps you in the productive zone.  It'll shorten your learning curve on fishing your lake by a considerable amount.  13-year-olds are not known for their patience...as I'm sure you are well aware!

Trolling as you paddle makes a lot of sense.  First and foremost it gives a kid more reason to paddle than just "we need to get to...(wherever)"  If you are trolling and catching the occasional fish, paddling seems like a lot less work to a kid and he'll be more willing to stick with it.  Additionally you'll learn a lot about what's working or not working for lures and depths before you even get to camp.  Keep your depthfinder on as you go, of course.  Finally, trolling offers your kids increased odds of catching a real lunker that could gut-hook them on canoe tripping for life.

Finally, get involved in whatever the kids are interested in.  You may plan for this to be a mostly-fishing trip but if the kids aren't into it as much as you thought for whatever reason, don't force it.  If they want to swim, go out and swim with them.  Catching crawdads, frogs, or weird bugs?  Give it a shot!  Let your son see your inner child and you'll be amazed at how much you will bond on your trip.

Oh yeah, should be blueberry season, too.  Find a big ol' berry patch and let 'em loose with an empty ziploc if they are berry lovers.  Once they get a taste of fresh wild blueberry pancakes you may be lucky to even get a bite yourself.

i agree with snow dog on the making sure you have a rod holder for everyone because that does help with making paddling more desirable for the kids. catching that nice random fish really helps morale. it also helps the adults to remember to paddle a bit slower so the kids dont get worn out so fast.

as for how long it would take, we always go in from nym and leave right away in the morning. we usually get to our spot in jesse by 2pm. we troll the narrows in batch and sometimes dawdle a bit by the rapids. we got to oriana at 4pm(via hamburg) but that was with a headwind, experienced paddlers/portagers and we really pushed it.



what is this talk about having papers ready so we dont have to stop at the ranger station? we always have to stop at the station once it opens 8:30am-ish. paper work usually burns about a half hour to 45 minutes even with the quetico card thing. is there a way to have that all done prior to getting up there so we can just go in when we get there?

Thanks Snow Dog,
  All great advice. I believe you're right that the Jesse/Oriana loop is biting off a bit much for a shorter trip. Perhaps next time. Fish finder/Depth reader is on my list, as are rod holders for all. It's hard ( but not impossible if I'm to believe some of the fish stories on QJ) to catch fish if your line is not in the water. And as you mention, keeping an eye on the rod and trolling will make the paddling a little more interesting. We're excited to be there in peak blueberry season and are looking fwd to throwing some in with the pancakes, or just as a snack.

 If we entered Sue Falls, and traveled a loop SW down Cirrus, through the narrows north of Eden Island and back up Quetico - Kasakokwog to Sue Falls would that be a reasonable 5 day trip? Or to avoid seeing the same Sue Falls to Lerome scenery twice, would you reccommend exiting at Beaverhouse and  having  more relaxing travel distances?  If so, would you reccommend Cirrus lake to Quetico or Kasakokwog to Quetico?

 The pictographs are a highlight of this region, as is Sue Falls, any other "more special" sights/camp locations or fishing opportunities?

Lastly, no worries, we are all big kids at heart, the only difference is that we  ( the Dads) get to pay for this trip, and do all the driving, once we hit the water, we'll all be awed by the sights and simple things.......

My son's camping trip report from last summer was titled....." I got leeches in places where leeches should NEVER be......"


 Thanks again for your input

 Tim  

Tim,

I think for a first trip I'd just go from Beaverhouse to Sue Falls via Quetico and Cirrus rather than try to make it a loop.  Again, this will allow plenty of unstructured time for the kids.

I'd also do it in that direction for two reasons.  First, you'll be hitting the heavy portaging at the END of the trip instead of at the start.  If you hit it at the start the kids might decide they hate canoe-camping because it's "too much work" before the trip really gets going.  Second, the prevailing wind should be from the west and thus theoretically at your backs instead of in your face as you travel.  We all know that an actual tailwind is a fantasy but a guy can dream, right?

I'd go via Cirrus instead of Kasakakwog just to avoid the Kasakokwog to Cirrus portage.  Haven't done it myself, but have heard it's not an easy one.

I like SD's suggestion of entering at Beaverhouse, and basecamping on Quetico or Cirrus. You can easily spend time on both lakes without moving camp daily. By spending your days, fishing, exploring, berry picking, etc., you are more likely to acheive the goal of giving the kids a good time. This is important if you want them to look forward to the next trip. Most kids that age have an allergic reaction to anything percieved as work (such as moving camp). Be sure to involve them in camp chores. Let them gather firewood for the evening bonfire. Let them help with cooking & dishes, etc. This teaches them the importance of doing their fair share. Let them carry what they can handle on portages (using appropriate sized packs). You get the idea.

You could do something of a loop by entering on Quetico, stay there a couple of nights, then move to western Cirrus, for a couple of nights, and back to Beaverhouse. Or the reverse.

The previous recommendations offer some good options.

I did a 5-day trip with my 30-something son & son-in-law a couple of years back.  We entered at Beaverhouse (checked in the day before at Atikokan to bypass the Ranger Station on B'house).  We paddled into Quetico and stayed 2 days.  On day 2, we mostly fished and took in pictographs.  Then we moved to Kasakokwog for another 2 days.  Fished around on our arrival day and did a day trip to Cirrus to do more fishing, hit Sue Falls and the picto back west a bit from the falls.  (The Kasa to Cirrus portage wasn't bad as a day-trip ... a bit longish but I didn't think it deserved its reputation.  The only issue we had was negotiating deadfall in a couple of places.)  Next day we went thru McAlpine and continued east to Batch for the last night out.  (The portage after McAlpine was a bit of a mess, but maybe its been improved since then ... did a little bushwhack due to a tree that was obstructing the trail after a short beaver dam paddle.  If you go this way, stay in the creek after you re-acquire the trail beyond the beaver dam rather than do a mostly pointless up-and-down.)

Then from Batch, we paddled to Nym for our take-out.

dd

"what is this talk about having papers ready so we dont have to stop at the ranger station? we always have to stop at the station once it opens 8:30am-ish. paper work usually burns about a half hour to 45 minutes even with the quetico card thing. is there a way to have that all done prior to getting up there so we can just go in when we get there? "

Jax,

As DD just pointed out, what many people will do is plan thier arrival the afternoon before entry, to get to the Atikokan office before it closes for the day - I'd shoot for 3 or 3:30 - I think they close at 4 or 4:30?

You pay your fees and pick up your permit, and can buy fishing licenses.
With that taken care of, you can be at the put-in before first light and loaded and ready to go as soon as you can see - that way, you don't need to detour over to the Beaverhouse Ranger station.

what is "quetico card thing" ?

@mad mat,
we always do the atikokan ranger station because we enter through nym. we have always driven through the night to get there when the ranger station opens. we have to leave around 11pm to get there in time from wisconsin. i guess i was hoping for a way to get all the permits without having to be there a day early. our group ballooned to 8 this year so its already hard enough to find a 7 day span where everyone is free.

as for the quetico card thing, its the quetico outdoors card issued by the ministry of natural resources. i got one 2 years ago i think? it has all my information that i would normally have to write out on the forms but in a neat card thing. it swipes like a credit card so then all my info transfers onto their forms. all i have to do is sign it and im ready to go.

the only issue was last year we had a guy who didnt have his card, so we were slowed down by his paper work. unfortunately its the same for this next trip as well.

Tim,

I would suggest you take the BeaverHouse Entry point and do as others have suggested...work your way to Sue Falls and Back.The Lerome entry point is a long hall for first timers and escpecially young kids. Depending on the water level Jackfish Creek can be fun it can also get tricky to navigate.

As for permits depending on where you come from, we always hiut Dawson Trail (French Lake) pick up our permits the night before then stay in Atikokan and leave first thing in the morning. That Ranger station used to stay open later so it worked out great.