First of all, nice site! We will be going in at entry #16 at the end of July and heading up towards lac lacroix. This is my first time to this area so if anybody could help me out with any fishing or campsite tips/suggestions they would be greatly appreciated. Again, impressive website. You all seem knowledgable and willing to help a guy out.

Mobeemo,

A couple questions so I can help.

How Many days will you be there?

Will you need to come out the same entry (EP16) that you went in?

Are you interested in fishing or solitude?

How much experience in the BWCAW do you have-do you want a nice easy trip for a first time experience or do you want to travel alot and see alot?

Are you a base camper or a person who wants to move everyday?

Give me an idea of your goals for the trip and the experienece level of your team. ASlso how many in the group.

E-mail me if you would like or just post it here. I can send you information either way. I have gone in Moose river about 6-7 times now and will be going again in July on the 19th. Maybe we will see each other.

bogwalker,
We will be entering July 22 and leaving July 25. This is my 2nd trip to the BW, and the 1st time for the other guys in my party. Basically what we are looking to do is spend a day getting to and setting up a basecamp, take day trips for a couple days, and then spend a day breaking camp and paddling out. As of right now we are looking to exit where we enter {#16}. I'm going with 5 of my cousins and we all love to fish. I'm trying not to focus our whole trip on fishing though, for if by some reason the fishing doesn't pan out I don't want to turn them off to the whole BW experience. That's why I'm looking for nice campsites, sights, etc.. We do a lot of fishin in the lakes and river systems around home, but any tips specific to the area we will be in would be cool. Thanks for the help.

Good information to get you going.

Here are my suggestions.

Try to get to Lac La Croix-Tiger bay on Day 1 and hope a campsite is open there. Depending on how fast you travel, and if you single or double portage, this will take you 6-8 hours-plan on the longer time if you double portage and/or are not the fastest paddlers. If it is a real windy day you might as well stay on Agnes because you will not want to mess with LLC if it is real windy. Because you have a long day I would suggest getting to the entry point very early and leave about 6 am so you get to finding a campsite early afternoon. It will take about an hour from Ely to get to Moose River entry so plan accordingly. If you are staying over near Buyck it will take less time. The first portage of 160 is easy going in as it is mostly down hill. Coming out is a different story.

Let's assume you can make Tiger Bay-there are a couple of good sites. The one on the island is good as is the one back in the bay to the west. If both these are taken take the first open site you find or maybe go back to Boulder Bay if those sights were open. If you stop on Agnes because of time or the wind, the sites on the east shore are better in my opinion especially the one straight south of the portage into the Boulder river. Just understand-you are in the park at the height of the season. Campsites go fast and lots of people are doing the same thing you are-going in Moose River and heading for Agnes and LLC to base camp and fish. You may find all the sites taken by base campers when you arrive. Thursday is a very popular day to enter because of its proximity to the weekend. I can assure you will not be alone looking for these sites.

To get into Lac La Croix take the two short portages into Boulder Bay, not the portage north of the campsite I spoke about above into the river. The Boulder river is great, but it will add significant time to your route and you need to find a campsite.

Fishing. LLC has good fishing back in Tiger Bay, over near Bottle portage and in Iron Lake. Be very careful to pay attention to where you are. Do NOT come close to the imaginary line that marks the border between US and Canada with fishing gear rigged and ready. If the Canadian Rangers see this you will have problems. Fish Stake Narrows is also a good spot to fish. If you are adventuresome one day head over to Iron to fish and go see Curtain falls, well worth the visit. Again just be careful of the wind-LLC is not a lake to mess with if the wind is up.

Scenery-I mentioned Curtain Falls. Also on LLC is Warrior Hill and the pictographs north about a mile from Warrior Hill. These are both marked well on Fisher and MacKenzie maps. These are on the Canadian side and can be visited, just make sure your fishing gear is stowed with no tackle attached if you head over there. My motto is better safe then sorry-don't give the rangers anything they could be suspicious of.

If you want to get out quicker on the last day head back to Agnes or even down to Nina Moose. From Nina Moose out is about 3-4 hours and allows you to get back to your vehicles by lunch time. Be careful to make sure you get into Moose River and not the Portage River. They enter Nina Moose close to each other and by June-July the reeds and rushes will be high obscuring the entrance. Assuming it is still there (which it was last fall) there is a big dead tree marking the entrance of the Moose River. Every time I have gone by it there has been an eagle sitting on top of it. Look for this tree confirming with your compass you are right. It is on the west shore of the entrance to Moose river. Along the river between Nina Moose and the take out is a knob of granite I call "Top of the World". There is a couple of "parking spots" for canoes and you can climb to the top for a great view of the area you have paddled. Great photo opportunity.

Wildlife-Bears have been a problem on Agnes and surroundings in the past. You will be there at the height of berry season so they may not be a big problem. Store your food well. There are plenty of trees so hanging is a good idea

This is great Moose habitat-keep quiet coming around river bends and keep your eyes open. Only once did I not see a Moose along the river.

Otter and beavers are also around a lot, which will cause a lift over or two on the river because of dams. You are heading with the current on the way in and against the current coming out. Some of the beaver dams may be able to be run, but expect anywhere from 2-5 dams to navigate.

If water is low it will add a couple of unmarker portages along the way. They are all short, less than 20 rods, but a nuisnace. Expect 2 additional portages then what is marked on the fisher map.

Let me know if you have other questions.

Mobeemo

If you want an alternative to the trip above with the possibility (no guarantee) of the chance at solitude and good fishing let me know. I will e-mail you with that information.

Thanks for the info. We'll let you know how it goes.

Entry point 16 was my first trip into the BWCA. I believe it took us 3 1/2-4 hours to get to our base camp at Agnes (eastern side of lake, half-way north/south). We never did, unfortunately, get up to LLC. If you are against setting up camp more than once, I would think the haul coming out from LLC back to the entry point would be a bear of a last day. On the way out, keep in mind that you will be paddling against the current through the river, and if it is windy at all, it can be pretty tough. We fished entirely on Agnes and caught many, and a wide variety of,fish. One particular spot was off the eastern shorline, 2/3 the way north/south. A rocky island has a reef extending out fairly deep, and we caught quite a few Walleyes on leeches. We also did very well with Smallmouth along much of the eastern shoreline. Another tip...if you do plan on base-camping on Agnes - and considering it won't take too long to get there, you may want to keep a fishing pole handy so you can take some casts on various parts of the river as you drift down. We regretted not doing it.

We did the entry 16 through Agnes-Lac La Croix and up to Iron Lake in September 2003 - It was a great trip...if you plan on staying on Agnes get there Early! very popular route. Good Fishing for Walleye, Pike and even Crappies! some nice pics posted of Agnes on this site. Day trip into Lac La Croix and see Warrior Hill and the pictographs, head up to the bottle river and portage into Iron if you are adventurous Curtain Falls is amazing, we didn't make it up to Rebecca Falls, and regret that we didn't do it. This area is full of moose, eagles and other wildlife - We met up with a couple of guys last year that had been moose hunting and got a GIANT bull moose with a 60" antler spread.We fish with crank baits and crawlers on jigs for walleye. There is a great spot on the north shore where a small stream enters Agnes, we sat off that and caught walleye and huge crappies for the better part of a morning. Good Paddlin.
Whiteman

Do either of you know about entering this area from Stuart River entry #19?

I have never gone that way and what I had heard is it is a difficult entry especially during low water levels. With the water levels up it may be easier.

Lynn-are you out there? Maybe you can shed some light on Stuart River.

I have been told that the portage going is about a mile and a half. Do you know if it is decent walking or is tough walking.

I am sorry I do not know that for sure.

I have not heard anyone say it is difficult though. Seeing it is probably very similar terrain as Moose River EP16 I would say it is long but not overly difficult. The western side does not have the extreme rocky elevation changes as often as Gunflint and Grand Marais area. The portage at EP16 is downhill going in and not dificult at all. It is a 160 rod portage so shorter.

If it is even remotely similar to EP 16 it will be no problem. I have doen the 640 rod into Angleworm which is also nearby and found the same type of conditions. LIS EP 14 is also similar so I expect the terrain for Stuart would be the same as well.

schlich92--

Boundary Waters portage
Posted by: Eric Schneider
Season/Year: Fall 00
Water Level: low
Length: 480 rods
Rating: difficult

Portage Description:
This is a pretty trail. It is straight with two slight uphill and downhills. On it is one of the largest red pines in the area. There is a stream to cross which has an easier bridge this year. So the portage is difficult mostly because of its length.

Lake after portage: Stuart River
Known campsites: None at all
Lake Description:
Didn't fish the river. (note: There are two more portages on the Stuart River to White Feather Lake and four more to Stuart Lake.)

This information came directly from:
http://www.quietjourney.com/pdb/boundarywaters.html

excellent site for portage info...