Is the Quetico that much different the U.S. I am just wondering why anyone would rather go to Quetico instead of staying in the U.S. The U.S. has campsites with grates and latrines. You don't have to get a canadian fishing license, taking in live bait and all the other rules they have. What's the biggest benefit of heading into the Quetico.

Less people & more fish!

Quetico is much less traveled. I read somewhere that Quetico has 10% of the traffic of the BWCA. That is the biggest difference and greatest benefit in my mind. Fewer sightings and signs of humans. More of a wilderness experience IMHO.

Fishguts spelled it out very accurately and he is right. My opinion is it is worth the extra expense and lack of facilities like latrines. It's a TRUE wilderness experience. Is Bigfoot there Fishguts?????

I agree with the 3 gentlemen ahead of me. It's probably the conveniences and comforts fishfinder2 mentions that keeps people away, making it the superior experience that it is.

How about the beauty of the area, waterfalls, terrain, etc.? Is that element pretty much similar to what you could find in the BWCAW?

Ya! I forgot to mention the Big Foots, they are there too, as well as solitude. The beauty is there, but you are not sharing it with the multitudes...... and of course the fishing is good.

The geographic size is of the two are the same, but Quetico has 20,000 annual visitors compared to the BWCA's 250,000 annual visitors. Obviously there is less congestion in the Q and, therefore, (probably) a more "wilderness" experience and (probably) less fishing pressure. Trails seem to be more rugged. I have nothing to base this on other than my impressions, but it seems that the Q has bigger/longer lakes. So, you spend more time on the water though the portages are tougher between them (or so it seems to me).

Also, it sounds to me that you are looking at it from the perspective of a fisherman. I know this may sound odd, but some people's focus isn't on fishing so issues such as fishing licenses, bait, etc are moot points. In fact some people like the fact that there are no latrines and firegrates. Remember there are all kinds. :-)

Another factor I think is the fact that it is another county. You become an international traveler. When I go I like to enter from a northern entry point so that I can experience a bit of going to Canada: experience their speed limit signs (in kilometers per hour); their money (bring home a loonie and a two-nie for the kids); different food (like ketchup flavoured potato chips (notice the "u" in "flavoured"? :-) ). The best is staying the night before entry in a motel and watching Friday Night Canadian football.

Bigfoots and giant man eating she-wolves. And sweeeeeet solitude!!!

This brings to mind the age old bebate....What is the plural of Bigfoot?.....Is it Bigfoots? or Bigfeet?...or maybe Bigfeets? Do they range in herds? Or maybe flocks?....a gaggle of Bigfootses?

I’ve been in from the north once out of Adikokin (SP?). I loved the Q. It did take a few extra hours driving around the parks to get there and the costs were more though. Other than the latrine and fire grate thing I didn’t see much difference. I normally go to the bwca in mid September and have never had crowds or felt the area was over fished.

Quetico -

The portages can be far rougher. The scenery, IMHO, is way more dramatic. I find the fishing to be far better, or at least far easier.

I love being able to find and 'discover' campsites. This forces you to read the terrain and understand where there could (or should) be a campsite.

As mentioned previously, there are far fewer people. Even in peak season you can go for days on certain routes and see not a soul.

I asked this question of my sons when they were young - they answered "The sunsets are better!"

Each to his/her own.

Great photo Beemer01, in one week I plan to be overlooking similar scenery!!

I agree with most of the above and will add the following:

Even though the Q and the BW are roughly the same size, the BW is long and narrow and has a ton of EP's making it really hard to truly get away. The Q us more of a "diamond" or blob shaped and has fewer EP and fewer entry points making it much easier to really get away. Not compound this with 10% of the people and you get my drift. I just went to the Q in late August and we saw 2 groups the entire trip (while in the Q). This really isn't that big of a deal, but it is sure nice not having to worry about stopping travel at noon to have a campsite. You travel and stop when you want, for us, when we start catching fish.

The other large difference is the portage paths. In the BW you can usually spot these from across the lake. In the Q, maps may be marked wrong and you may have to spend time looking and when you find it you may wonder if it is a game trail or not? I am not saying this is an advantage or disadvantage, but it is a difference.

Both parks look the same (beautiful), however, I do think the Q is a bit more dramatic in appearance from my perspective. I have not spent a ton of time off the Gunflint so my comparisons are with the Western BW vs. Quetico.

I usually take 1 4-5 day trip to the BW and 1 8-9 day trip to the Q.

From a purely walleye fishing standpoint, the BW may pull even (or ahead) of the Q in that livebait and electronics will not be allowed starting next year in the Q, at least from my perspective. I have not had as good of luck with artificials and walleyes as I have had with live bait.

I didn't realize that next year live bait will no longer be allowed in the Quetico. This past June we were there for 8 days and we used both live leeches and Gulp leeches. The Gulp seemed to work just as good as the live leeches. But we were also there during prime time as far as fishing goes.

next time I go there will be no live leeches as far as I'm concerned-regulations or not. I didn't appreciate being ripped off by the canadian bait vendor. What was it 45 bucks a pound. Gulp and lures for me. That also eliminates the need for bait containers- another plus!

I'm with you moose plums! The last Quetico trip we took was HOT, almost every day was in the high 80s or 90s.....and the whole bait thing was a miserable disaster. We caught lots of fish on artificials, that's part of the beauty of Quetico! The fish are a little more abundant and far less educated on the Canadian side.

fishguts

Don't Canadian fish go to schools?

Yup! they do go to school, but the curriculum lacks artificial intelligence classes.

They go to Canadian schools where they are taught to spell words funny, like colour and centre. LOL!

And instead of saying right or do you agree they say "Eh?" Like- "nice day Eh?" Do they really say "take off hoser?"

I think timing is everything as far as fishing. In 2005 we were there in mid-June and caught a ton of Walleyes on both Artificials and live bait.

However, they were really hard to come by in late August of this year. I talked with a couple different groups who also struggled at the same time. One of them I personally know and he is an excellent walleye guy.

I do like not having to keep anything alive and worry about bait buckets etc. Just stash it away until you need it.

They are both beautiful, but the solitude is worth the cost. Went three days without seeing a person, on the fourth saw a ranger. Fishing was much better, 200 smallmouth in one day. Yes, we counted. It was worth the extra cost. As to the latrine, you dig a hole, big whoop. There is less bugs that way. The fire grate was the biggest pain, but it was more than worth it. Just bring a portage monkey!