Next year, I'm looking at options for a fly in, fly out trip. We would fly in to one lake, and fly out of another lake. Our trip would be a loop of lakes between. This would maximize fishing opportunities. We are interested in a combo of Lake Trout & Waldos. Which lakes would you choose to visit, based on your fishing experiences? Thanks in advance!

You probably need to bend Harlan Schwartz's (Red Lake Outfitters) ear at 'copia.  I haven't confirmed he will be there, but he was last year.  He already has 2012 fly-in rates on his web site.  (Looks like the proposed limit on fly-in lakes is under indefinite postponement.)

There are many spots where you can hook-up with trout and waldo's, but it just isn't as widely spread as in Quetico.  You might use the information on   (You need to Login or Register as a preliminary guide to your planning.

dd

Here's something you may want to know.  Harlan's website indicates that only HIS fly-in service partners have the ability to fly in personal canoes that are over 16 feet in length.  Now there's a slick strategic manuever for you.  See:   (You need to Login or Register

Anyway, seems like Harlan IS the guy to talk to for this type of trip into WCPP.  I suppose you could try to talk to those "partners" independently.  It was no more than a year ago that at least two different providers were willing to fly me almost anywhere in WCPP.  Might be worth a try.

Jimbo   8-)

I just want to confirm that Harlan is the man when it comes to WCPP.  I'm planning a 3 week trip for next August, my first to WCPP, and contacted Harlan.  Whereas many outfitters only know the park (whether WCPP, Wabakimi, Quetico etc.) from the air, Harlan knows the park from the water, and knows it well.  He was able to help me plan out the perfect trip especially when it comes to fishing.  Get in touch with him and he can help you not only select lakes for species but also where on the lake you'll be likely to find them and what will work well on your line to catch em.  It's nice to work with someone like Harlan who is as devoted to canoe tripping as I am.  And no, I'm not a relative.

Thanks for the good replies. We will likely use Harlan and I have already emailed Harlan to let him know that, and to seek his input. Certainly, if he is at Copia, I will plan to see him.

What I am seeking, in this thread, is to learn from QJ folks regarding their personal experiences regarding the fishing possibilities. Put another way, if you were planning this trip, where would you go, based on what you know. I do have a copy of the lakes and species info. What it doesn't tell me is on which lakes they are most numerous, and which lakes have the the best (biggest) sizes of waldos and lakers.

Indeed, Harlan seems to have his act together.  I followed his posts for some time on Solotripping.com before actually meeting him a couple years back at the WCPP park office in Red Lake.  He was just starting to get his business going.  He's motivated and is clearly doing a far more than adequate job of filling the vacuum left when Goldseekers' time & energy for WCP seemed to fade.  Anyone interested in WCP should speak with Harlan first, IMHO.  According to the CanoeCopia exhibitors list (see:   (You need to Login or Register), Harlan should be at the exhibition.

Could be that we could even get Harlan to join us at the annual QJ Saturday night supper during Copia.  Doug Gilmore ("It's WorthWild" on QJ), park superintendent, has made our event in the past... and he is another super source for park info.

Anyway, if ever I am in need of WCP outfitting help, it will be Harlan that I turn to (& I'm not a relative, either, nor am I currying favor for a discount!).

Jimbo   8-)

OS -

I'll bring my WCP maps - marked for fishing spots - with me to Copia.  With all the QJ trips there in recent years, you should be loaded up pretty well, I would think.

The great thing about WCP is that you can decide to go at the very last minute... and still have complete freedom to go wherever the heck in the park you WANT to go.  Gather your information & decide en route!

Jimbo   8-)

Sounds good, Jimbo. Copia is on my calendar. I'll look forward to seeing you and other QJ luminaries there! ;)

Pretty limited experiance here. But Roustol, Hansen, Glenn and Mexican Hat were good lakes for Walleye. Caught one Laker on Paull and I think Wrist is good for Lakers.

I've connected with Harlan too and yes he'll be at both copia and Midwest Mountaineering's Expo. He'll get you a great deal on flights. And can hook you up with lodging. If you have a spot, he likes to be included as a contact. And if you don't have a Spot, he'll rent you one.  ;D Great guy!

My pat answer to the Walleye- Laker question has always been Royd- Irvine. Royd and it close neighbor Constellation have the Lakers. Royd can be flown to until the rules change -When?? Leaving Royd and heading north and then NW will have you on a Walleye lake in three portages. Two more portages and back to Walleye for the long open water passage to the north end of Irvine. Irvine is a fly-in lake at the present time. The trouble with fishing for walleye on Irvine is those 40inch Jack that start towing your canoe around! I have seen a lot of Walleye caught on Irvine but never any really big ones. I will never forget the father son team where the son turns to his dad and says "Dad, I have never caught fish like this."

The portages are not marked on the park map but I can get you all the info on that and campsites. Before the fire all the portages had been cleared and blazed by park staff.

The Red124 fire has impacted some of the portages up there so it may prevent use early next year.

Good morning everyone!

Denton's link to the Lakes and Species document is a great place to start when planning a trip around fishing.  You'll notice a trend with the Walleye lakes being located around the Gammon and Bloodvein River systems (for the most part), and Laker lakes everywhere in between. 

Yes, I will be at Canoecopia again in 2012.  I had an amazing experience there last year and it was great to meet up with a lot of you and put a face to a name. We'll have a larger booth this year with lots of large maps and info to look over!

Harlan

I should also mention the area Marten is speaking about is for all intents and purposes "closed" until a park crew can get in  there to clear out hazard trees and most likely a ton of blowdown left behind from Fire 124. 

A shame really as this route was the focus of some great work by the park....such is life in the Boreal!

Geez, Harlan... I was actually hoping to possibly head back into that Royd/Irvine area again next year.  There goes that pipe-dream but thanks for the heads-up!

I wrote a story about a trip that Kingfisher & I did through there in 2010 that was supposed to appear in the BWJ last spring.  I suppose Stu will get around to using my story (& KF's great pics) one of these years.  [One school of thought has it that if only more Red Lake vendors would advertise in his magazine, he might consider publishing more often than just than one WCP story by either prouboy or me every 2nd or 3rd year...HINT, HINT!]. Anyway, I just loved the prime-time solitude & great fishing for both walleyes & lake trout in that area of the park.  Guess I'll have to solicit you & Marten for a #2 route that would accomplish much of the same thing (regardless of whether or not Stu ever publishes another WCP story of mine).  I was thinking of a fly-in/paddle-out trip of 8-10 days in length. 

Also, I don't suppose that cabin of yours in the NE corner of the park is anywhere near any lake trout, is it?  Might be a nice twist to either begin or end a paddling trip with a couple days there.

Hey, I really enjoy your website (see:   (You need to Login or Register ) and the videos you've either put together or have linked to.  By the way, I don't see anything about "shuttles" to the west side, yet I'm guessing you can handle such a "cross-WCP" type trip, no?

I look forward to seeing you again at Copia!  Care to join us at the Saturday night QJ supper?

Jimbo   8-)

Until those Irvine portages are opened up we need to go to "Plan B." This plan would only be for the person ready to travel a route that has not even been looked at by the park. It could still include the much loved Royd Lake and take the NW route to Dunstan Lake. Dunstan is a beauty too and has Walleye. The park has portages all the way to Dunstan. The segment for the adventurous would be to follow my GPS tracks and rock cairns through the four portages to "Echo Lake" that is not named on the park map. It is a Walleye lake and some resort has a boat cache there. tease tease

Where ever you go you should take advantage of the savings an outfitter can provide by synchronizing the fly-in and  fly-out flights.

Do you think ALL of the approaches to Irvine have been wiped out by the fire?

By my count, there are 4 basic ways "in" although the routes from the east & north (the creek from the far north) pretty much sucked before any fire added to the misery.

Jimbo   8-)

Jimbo wrote on Dec 4^th, 2011 at 1:38am:

Do you think ALL of the approaches to Irvine have been wiped out by the fire? By my count, there are 4 basic ways "in" although the routes from the east & north (the creek from the far north) pretty much sucked before any fire added to the misery. Jimbo   8-)

:) :) :) :)

I'm planning on going in and out of Irvine from the south this year. The portages on the north end are burnt over. And I'd have to think real long and hard to try the way you (Jimbo) came in from the east. The northern portages on the Murdock to Royd route are closed too. So that eastern side of Irvine might be marginal if not burnt. I hope to take a paddle to the north end and maybe get a picture of what once was a cool portage... or so I've been told.  :)

Hey Jimbo,

Yes, my cabin on Olive Lake is in prime Lake Trout territory. Fishing for Lakers and Northern have been great in Olive, in fact the cabin was built (many moons ago), as a fly-in day trip option for those seeking quality Lake Trout fishing.

As soon as the ice is off next spring, I will be spending at least a week clearing the trails to the north heading into Bigshell along the Sabourin River, and south heading into Linge.  Neither of these areas have been visited recently by a parks crew and there are many challenges (blowdown).  Once completed, great walleye fishing will be accessible from Olive by heading into Linge and Young, or lake trout fishing with an accessible route into Bigshell.

I spent 4 days on Bigshell this past fall with Claire, cutting the 2 trails into Burntwood (1600 & 600 ), and this route is now clear offering access to the Dutch River.  We also located a "lost" portage to Perched Lake which is an easy walk (80), and also offers trophy Lake Trout fishing and nobody's been there in years!

In taking over the cabin on Olive, my intentions are the same as yours.  It's a great place to either begin or end your trip and offers access to a lesser traveled portion of the park with great fishing and wildlife opportunities including Caribou!

I flew into Artery and got picked up on Donald this year.  I can't tell you much about the lakes with great fishing, but I can tell you that the picto's on Artery are worth the flight in!!!  I can also tell you that Dunstan is a beautiful lake as is Royd.  I would fish those two for sure!  The third thing is, Red Lake, Outfitter's did a wonderful job lining up the planes for me.
SunCatcher