dschult2: "With what I'm expecting to be an early ice out I'm planning on a trip before the opener. I'm doing a figure 8 loop out of Sawbill with camps at Wine, Trail, Alice?, Boulder, Polly, and Ella lakes. Since panfish can be caught all year I thought about bringing along a fly rod and some poppers and trying for them in the evening. I guess I'm wondering if this sounds like a good idea or am I wasting my time?
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20 years ago I successfully learned to fly fish by throwing poppers to panfish. I know of some productive panfish lakes in the bwca, though I’m unfamiliar with any near the route you describe. Please report back, I am curious about this topic too.