<p> Fishing in Boundary Water Canoe Area</p><p>August 2011 seemed like a good time to get out of Beaufort, especially after record heat for weeks. Doing some fishing during the escape added to the attraction. With these two goals in mind, two SIFF members (Jack Baggette & Dennis Swanson) targeted the cooler waters of Minnesota/ Canada for a week of fishing, camping and relaxing. The specific area chosen was Basswood Lake, located in the Boundary Water Canoe Area (BWCA). BWCA is part of the 2.5 million acre Quetico-Superior Ecosystem. It is a popular wilderness (no cell phone service) area visited by an estimated 200 thousand people annually. </p><p>Plenty of lead time may be necessary when planning a BWCA trip, due to requirements for Canadian permits and licenses, assuming you want to enter Canada. This was the plan for our duo and six weeks was required to receive all necessary paperwork. They chose to use a US outfitter and selected a guided five day camp/fish package with two additional nights in a lodge. Jack insisted on this “deluxe” route after logging too many nights roughing it in a past life. August was selected to avoid bugs but the tradeoff was a reduced success with fly rods, with fish found much deeper. </p><p>After flying into Duluth, Minn, a rental car ride of two hours gets you to Ely, Minn., a hub for canoe trips into the BWCA. This is a picturesque little town full of outfitters and eateries, which swells in population during the summer. If you forget any necessary gear, Gander Mountain in Duluth and Piragis Northwoods Co. in Ely can supply anything you could dream of. However, if you forget to buy your booze until a Sunday, you will go thirsty in Minn. </p><p>The outfitter provided a shuttle boat which carried our fishermen and guide to the end of the motor authorized zone, some ten miles. This trip included one vehicle- powered portage, the only portage required. The shuttle boat was left there and gear and passengers were transferred into a twenty foot canoe. The canoe was transportation and fishing platform for the next five days. After an hours paddle a campsite was selected and set up. Deluxe camping beats the hell out of roughing it. Tables, chairs, roomy tents, cushy mattresses, sleeping bags, dining fly, campfire, and great views of the water made the stay very enjoyable. Wild life is abundant and the island selected for the campsite was home to a family of eagles. Morning reveille was a noisy attempt by the neighbors to get junior out of the nest for his first flight. They tease him out of the nest with food, after halting deliveries. Fly or starve you can say. </p><p>The BWCA is the largest wilderness east of the Rockies and north of the Everglades. It contains the largest block of virgin forest in the eastern US and provides home to a host of native wild species like moose, otter, bald eagles, loons and the rare eastern timber wolf. It is a hauntingly beautiful place- a million acres of glacier-scoured bedrock covered with birch, aspen, and pine. The clear water of Basswood Lake reaches depths of 110 feet. Fishing was great, with smallmouth bass most popular, followed by walleye and northern pike. Our duo targeted the smallies with fly rods until learning the lesson legions of anglers learn in Canada. Live bait works best. Countless smallies fell for live leeches on jigs. The occasional pike offered some variety and when supper time approached Mr. Walleye became the target. Walleye were on the menu daily, along with NY strips, pork chops and plenty of bacon and eggs. Timing of the trip was one lesson learned. The best time for fly fishing is June when surface action can be super, but more buggy too. June fly fishing recommended tackle: 6 to 8 weight rods, floating and sink tip lines, sneaky petes in chartreuse, deceivers and clousers in blue/ white, dalberg divers in white, wiggle minnows and gurglers in white, wooly buggers in black and/or olive. Spinning rods are useful, armed with tiny torpedoes, pop Rs in white, shad raps and white weighted and floating Zoom super flukes. Of course, bring bright-quarter ounce jigs for leaches too. A quality guide is important for a good trip, especially one that can cook well. Steve Eisenmenger filled the bill, and along with his English pointer Brook, showed the duo how to enjoy the BWCA to the fullest. If interested in a trip to the area feel free to contact Jack or Dennis for recommendations. A number of good books on BWCA are available, including “Boundary Waters Canoe Camping” by Cliff Jacobson, and the books and essays of Sigurd Olson. </p>