my friend and i have recently purchased sit on top fishing kayaks and want to do a 3 or 4 day fishing trip in the BWCA. i just found out about this magnificent park and know very little about it.

can you recommend some good books about the park? looking for maps, fishing info, drop in points, camp sites etc. also other forums and websites would be a big help.

what is the best time of year to do this trip? what month has the best temperatures? best fishing times?

thanks in advance
-z

Welcome aboard bigfruits,
The search function on this site is wonderful. The books I go to for information on the BWCA are Daniel Pauly's "Exploring the Boundary Waters" and the Eastern and Western books by R. Beymer, called "Boundary Waters Canoe Area".
Enjoy and ask away.
Boppa

This is a great site to get started, lots of info here. Traditionally fishing is better earlier in the year, but they're out there. Different times of the year have different perks, just depends on what your looking for. I would suggest starting out with a shorter trip if you are new to the whole thing, maybe starting with some of the heavier traveled lakes like the numbered chain or similar. There are some seasoned vets on this site with a wealth of info but beware, this site and the BWCA are very addicting! Have fun!

i don't know much about fishing Yaks but they don't sound like the
sort of boat that would work well in the BWCA where you have to
carry camping gear and portage between lakes..the fishing is what
most come for as is good all the time but best in spring and fall.
i have caught small mouth,pike and lake trout off the same rocky
point in the space of an hour...you may want to stay at a lakeside
resort and day trip to fish or go to one of the easy entery lakes
like Fall..Brule..Lake One..these are cold and sometimes stormy
northern lakes and you Yaks would have to be seaworthy..
you could get a outfitter to carry your Yaks by water taxi's
known as "towboats" to someplace like Basswood lake--very large--
and work the shore line to fish and then get picked up a week or
so later and taken back to the outfitter..or..you could rent canoes
that will carry your camping gear and pull the fishing Yaks to a
camp and "basecamp" using the Yaks for fishing trips during the
day..i have been traveling around this area by canoe since the
1980's and i'll tell you that there is no place like it..anywhere.

I agree with WCD, I don't think that kind of Yak is well suited for the BWCA. Rent a canoe.

Yak's don't seem to be the best suited for the BWCA with the portage situation. but don't let that stop you from trying. I would just see what it took to portage before you went on the trip and figure out if you can do it. Maybe you could go with another pair and they could paddle a big canoe to carry the bulkier items. Then you would be in a mixed group and might get the best of both worlds.

I agree about the yaks not being suitable but didn't want to be the first to rain on your parade. I would think it would be difficult to carry all of your gear needed in them. I would definitely do some good planning before you go. Good luck!

Here is more web site information than I could ever check out. Thanks, fishguts and L.T.sully!

Maybe I have the wrong image of what a sit-on-top fishing kayak is, but I wouldn't take it on what is considered a BWCA trip, that is where all your gear and food for trip is packed aboard and transported across lakes and portages. I don't believe there is a good method for transporting that kind of load on a sit-on-top.

However, you do have options. One is as others have suggested, using a canoe (or at least a traditonal kayak with hatches) and forego your sit-on-tops. Another option is to "car camp" on the edge of the BWCA at one of the many SNF campsites. Drive to the campsites and set up camp. Then you can fish that lake and day trip to other lakes taking just your yaks and fishing gear. If you really want to use your sit-on-tops, that is the way I'd do it.

they do have hatches and all the gear will fit (carrying the gear in the kayaks is not an issue at all) but i can see where portaging would be a pain... i didnt realize there would be so much of that. i guess making two trips (both of us carry one kayak at a time) would be a hassel as they are 65 lbs each. are there any decent fishing areas where we'd only have to do 2 or 3 portages?

thanks again
-z

Oh yeah, lots of areas. I'll just mention one and let others chime in with more. Sawbill Lake is a good one. You can camp right on Sawbill itself (no portages) and catch walley, smallmouth and northerns. Or you can portage one lake to the west - Alton - or one to the east - Smoke.

I must have the wrong image of a sit-on-top fishing kayak. Do you know a website with a picture/description of your yak? I'd love to see it.

Yes, there are. From the Ely side you can get to Basswood or Ensign in 2 short portages, Birch in zero. Very good fishing abounds. Basswood is enormous and does allow motorboats on a significant portion, so be careful of the waves.
Check out the maps pages and enter the names of those lakes...
There are a number of others as well. Brule lake comes to mind.

Or ignore what I just said and read what wetcanoedog wrote.

http://www.nativewatercraft.com/

sorry i cannot give you a direct link but if you go to products and watercraft its the manta ray 14.5

here are better pictures of the manta rays that someone posted on a fishing kayak forum

http://kfs.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/948607442/m/3961069805?r=3961069805#3961069805

in the rear tank well you can bungee down a very large dry bag. through the front hatch you can load gear and the compartment actually goes all the way back under the seat. there is a small hatch between the legs and a small hatch behind the seat. it stays pretty dry but any water that gets in drains out through scuppers so taking on water is not a problem. (they are made for ocean fishing) its very comfortable and you can add rod holders, gps/fish finders.

Bigfruits--have a look at our Photo Gallery to see what you
might be in for--

wetcanoedog - ive been looking at them. what exactly did you mean? yours is very nice btw

thanks for the help and advice everyone.

I have done lots of kayaking in the bwca. The general attitude is definitely that kayaks are not as well (or as universally) suited for bwca tasks, but there are always exceptions.

I have looked at a few SOTs and put some thought into whether they would work. Here are the things you should consider:
- portage-ability: can the boat be portaged? Is there some way to attach a yoke (and is there room in the boat to haul the yoke)? Having 2 people carry a single boat can be done on some shorter portages, but really sucks on the longer or rougher ones. Portage wheels are not allowed in the bwca (nor would they work on many portages anyway)

- ability to haul gear: the boat has to haul enough gear. If you are a backpacker, most boats will be suited to your load. But few kayaks capable of bwca travel can come close to what you can haul in a canoe. If you are into camping/travelling light, you can probably make it work. But remember, at every portage you need to transfer the load into a portage pack. I bring a large empty duluth pack with me and unload/load the kayak at every portage. Somewhat of a pain, but I have done it enough that I am used to it and can do it very quickly.

- able to easily enter/exit boat: some bwca landings are pretty tricky. Kayaks with small cockpits can be a problem - SOTs should not have any issue.

If it is your first trip to the bwca, you might want to try the more traditional option of renting a canoe. Or maybe you want to limit your route to one that requires less portages and is more kayak-friendly.

Also, I have been eyeballing Native Watercraft boats myself lately. I think they are unique and could definitely be used for bwca travel. I have been looking at models other than the Manta Ray, but would love to hear about your experiences with these boats in the bwca.

Good luck!

thanks for the info, buck. ive never done any camping in a kayak but ive dozens of trips on canoe. even on a canoe i pack minimal equipment, no stoves or anything like that. just the basics. i dont need a steak at night or eggs and bacon in the morning. (although i am guilty of bringing coolers with beer,hotdogs, and coldcuts on one nighters. check out polarbear coolers)

having 2 kayaks you can actually carry more gear than you might think. i can fit two sleeping bags, two tents, two self inflating mattresses and plenty of clothes in a large wetbag (with back pack style straps) and bungee that down to the tank well behind the seat. that leaves my whole front hatch empty and my friends completely empty kayak for additional gear. there are rod holders and i can carry plenty of tackle in my pfd. if i need more i can pull over and open the hatch.

www.kayakfishingstuff.com has a decent forum if you want to research SOT yaks. one i see recommended alot is the hobie quest. im sure youve been to the native website. if you havent already, go to the media section and check out the tips and techniques section there are some videos there. one of the articles there is actually where i learned about the BWCA. let me guess, youre looking at the ultimate? they have a 35 lb one but they dont have scuppers.

cheers
-z

Well, it is certainly interesting. Here's a pfd of the Manta Ray kayak.

When you get back be sure to post a report and pictures.

My friends and I are taking the Coleman Fastback. Its an inflatable with a retractable spray skirt. Weighs around 30 pounds. I've been out in the windiest days I could find these last couple weeks. On this last Sunday we went down a river with class one and two rapids. performed like a dream. I'm going in a week from Friday. Pictures and report to follow. That manta ray looks pretty cool by the way.

note on that pdf, that is the old version made by liquid logic. the new ones are made by native.

Are you planning on portaging an inflatable or do you let the air out of it first?

Bigfruits---i ment all the GREAT stuff..big wild lakes..wonderful
camps--so on..

wetcanoedog- thats exactly why im driving 20 plus hrs to get there. beautiful stuff. my kind of paradise.

cheers
-z

guitar, we will be loading and unloading backpacks at the portages. They are much easier to carry when inflated. However, it will depend on the trails. They are 36 inches wide when inflated. We are minimalists, so the unloading and loading will not be to bad.