BWCA Ogish area trip early June Boundary Waters Trip Planning Forum


BWCA Messageboard

BWCA and Quetico Park Books and Magazines

Find Outfitters for the Boundary Waters Quetico

Boundary Waters (BWCA) photo gallery and individual photo journals

Boundary Waters Message Board and Forums.

username

password

Remember Me

Lake Vermilion Resort Association
Site Search
	Contact Us
	Route Guide

Chat Rooms (0 Chatting) | Search | Login/Join

* For the benefit of the community, commercial posting is not allowed.

View BWCA Photo and Trip Report Contest Page

Poll: What is your favorite month in the BWCA/Q?
(443 responses)

2012 BWCA Photo Contest Results

Boundary Waters Quetico Forum

Trip Planning Forum

Ogish area trip early June

View Boundary Waters Map Locations

Route Guide

community sponsor

Ely Outfitting Company

Last Visit: 05/19/2013 11:09PM
Sort by

Author

Message Text

Xand

05/07/2012 03:30PM

Hi everyone, my group of 7 is heading up for the first week in June. We have a few experienced campers but only one who has BW experience and a few total noobs. Everyone is in decent or better shape (we are all late 20's), though padelling skills remain to be tested for the fresh meat. We are entering at Seagull and the plan is to push on to Ogish for day 1 and base out of there. I would like to fish for all the main species and am interested in both South Arm Knife and Kek as other destinations.

I am curious if you guys think aiming to hit one of these other lakes on day 1 is too ambitious or if it is doable with an early start (we aren't getting towed) or if we should settle on Ogish for night 1. Also, is it doable to spend time on both Kek and SAK? It is hard to gauge the difficulty/time commitment of portages just from the info available online. We should be able to single portage, but aren't looking to move every night. Also I would like to camp somewhere near Seagull on the last night to expedite our exit (so Alpine or Jasper, or maybe Seagull itself).

Does somethig like:
Seagull -- Ogish 1 night
Ogish -- Kek 2 nights
Kek - SAK 2 nights
SAK -- Jasper 1 night

Seem feasible? We are looking for good fishing (mostly numbers) and nice scenery with some possible hiking mixed in. Any recs for good sites or fishing areas on those lakes as well?

Thanks a ton, love the info and helpful community on this site!

*apologies in advance for any typos. I am awful at phone typing!

“There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man.”

Reply Reply with Quote Print Top Bottom Previous Next

WhiteWolf

05/07/2012 04:15PM

Ogish from the book the Robert Beymer had about 15 years ago had Ogish as the most heavily camped lake in the BW, or hardest to find one in the late PM,,, but I think that has changed since the blow of 1999. IMO--- start early and put'er to floor and get to Knife/KEK,,, both great lakes, and plenty of sites.

"What good fortune for governments that the people do not think." — Adolf Hitler

Reply Reply with Quote Print Top Bottom Previous Next

Xand

05/07/2012 07:16PM

Good deal WW, thanks for the reply. Do you happen to know which of SAK or Kek is quicker to reach from Seagull?

*scrath the clarity question. I found the rqtings on the DNR site.

Does anyone have any guess if the fish will still be somewhat shallow at this time now that temps have cooled down again? I am hoping to not have to go too deep for the lakers.

“There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man.”

Reply Reply with Quote Print Top Bottom Previous Next

cowdoc

05/07/2012 07:54PM

I've put in at Blankenburg landing on Seagull and paddled to Ogish twice. An 8:00 am start put us on the west end of Ogish by 3-3:30.
From Ogish, it's about the same time/distance to either South Arm, or Kek...maybe another 1.5 hours or so. We single portaged and paddled at a decent clip, so, your times may be a little longer.
Both times I went to Ogish, I just about had the pick of my campsite. I don't think it's as busy as it use to be. I think you find more people on the South Arm.

"What could happen?"

Reply Reply with Quote Print Top Bottom Previous Next

TuscaroraBorealis

05/07/2012 08:03PM

Welcome to bwca.com!

South Arm would be quicker to get to vs. Kekekabic.

Here's an old thread that speaks to fishing some of the lakes along your proposed route. this thread.

Reply Reply with Quote Print Top Bottom Previous Next

Xand

05/07/2012 09:00PM

Thanks Cowdoc and TB! I'm probably overpreparing, but I love researching trips and I don't get out fishing very often so I am getting really excited for this outing.

Sounds like we wil be best served playing it by ear. We can always crash on Ogish if it takes us a while. Can't say I'd mind the extra fishig time on day 1.

Do you guys like those lakes for fishing? Are any of the smaller nearby lakes worth a daytrip?

“There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man.”

Reply Reply with Quote Print Top Bottom Previous Next

chipaddler

05/08/2012 08:29AM

Lots of good fishing in those lakes. Don't think you'll have problems finding a campsite at that time of year.

If your main goal is fishing, I would throw in a layover day for the lakes you want to fish. The first days travel to Ogish won't leave a whole lot of fishing time after you get there, setup camp, make some food, etc. So 2 nights on Ogish, 2-3 on SAK, 1-2 on Alpine/Seagull.

All relatively large lakes that can take some time to figure out.

I noticed you have Jasper as a possible stop one night. A fire badly damaged Jasper and Alpine. When I was through Jasper in 2010 it was still pretty bad. Alpine is pretty badly burned, but is a great fishery and worth fishing.

There is Eddy Falls along the portage from Eddy Lake to the SAK.

Also a day trip option to Thunder Point on the SAK.

Check the maps section on this website, click on the campsites, should be some comments on size and quality. Also probably some fishing spots noted.

"Not all those who wander are lost" - Tolkien

Reply Reply with Quote Print Top Bottom Previous Next

desertcanoe

05/08/2012 11:42AM

quote chipaddler: Don't think you'll have problems finding a campsite at that time of year.

We passed through Ogish on the 1st week of June last year and saw 1 other party on the lake - one of only 4 parties we saw the whole week. We saw nobody on Kek.

Don't know how normal that is. It was a cold week.

Reply Reply with Quote Print Top Bottom Previous Next

TomP

05/08/2012 12:09PM

At least one of the campsites on Jaspar is still pretty good. I think it is the one closest to the portage to the lake to the west.

Reply Reply with Quote Print Top Bottom Previous Next

chipaddler

05/08/2012 12:11PM

quote desertcanoe: "quote chipaddler: Don't think you'll have problems finding a campsite at that time of year.

We passed through Ogish on the 1st week of June last year and saw 1 other party on the lake - one of only 4 parties we saw the whole week. We saw nobody on Kek.

Don't know how normal that is. It was a cold week."

True. You also have a pretty big group, so might have to search out a site that is suitable or be flexible and head on to the next lake.

The burned lakes might be shocking if you didn't know what was coming. But you'll have a chance to scope them out on your way in.

"Not all those who wander are lost" - Tolkien

Reply Reply with Quote Print Top Bottom Previous Next

Xand

05/08/2012 01:31PM

Thanks for the replies everyone. It is a huge help to the novices like myself!

How is the laker fishing on SAK? I know they are in there but I recall reading they aren't very abundant. Is it a fairly easy daytrip down from SAK to Kek? It is hard to tell the difficulty of trips like those with multiple smaller portages. I plan to fish for everything but especially want to catch some eyes and Lakers.

Random aside: will 8 lb test be sufficient to swith between all the main species? Let's assume I won't be fishing 60 feet deep looking for monster lakers.

“There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man.”

Reply Reply with Quote Print Top Bottom Previous Next

Stik8481

05/08/2012 02:40PM

8lb test will be fine. Lakers are in SAK but can be tough at times. That time of year you will want to get between 20-40 down. Use deep diving tail dancers, or spoons with a weight or dipsy diver. I was in SAK 2 years ago and caught some nice lakers but had to do some paddling to find them in 60-100 fow.

Reply Reply with Quote Print Top Bottom Previous Next

Xand

05/08/2012 03:07PM

quote Stik8481: "8lb test will be fine. Lakers are in SAK but can be tough at times. That time of year you will want to get between 20-40 down. Use deep diving tail dancers, or spoons with a weight or dipsy diver. I was in SAK 2 years ago and caught some nice lakers but had to do some paddling to find them in 60-100 fow."
Good deal. We won't have a fish finder but my buddy does have a gps chip with lake depths so we should be able to target these guys.

I plan on packing an assortment of spoons like lil cleos, swedish pimples and syclops' as well as some tail dancers. Do Lakers ever go for leeches on a jig or should i also bringup some preserved ciscoes?

Thanks everyone! These next few weeks can't go fast enough.

“There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man.”

Reply Reply with Quote Print Top Bottom Previous Next

jakebait

05/09/2012 07:35AM

I wouldn't bother with ciscos... If you really want to jig for them, take along some white colored 4-5 inch plastics to jig with. You could tip that with a leech if you want to add some flavor.

Reply Reply with Quote Print Top Bottom Previous Next

BWCA Messageboard