Summer BWCA Outfit Special

With plenty of fish to catch and other wildlife to see, the BWCA is the perfect place to enjoy the great outdoors. Start your wilderness adventure in Ely, MN, canoe capital of the upper Midwest. Easy access to a place where you can listen to the silence and slow down the pace of life.

Spirit of the Wilderness is offering a 3 day 2 night complete outfitted canoe trip in the beautiful Boundary Waters.

• Only $225 plus tax per person! 

This special offer includes but is not limited to:

• Straps, pads and the loading of your canoe
• Kevlar canoe, yoke with pads, life jackets and paddles
• Food, cook kit and utinsils, stove with fuel and dining tarp
• Tent, sleeping bags and pads
• Additional days available at a discounted rate

Limitations:

• There must be a minimum of 2 people
• BWCA permit and usage fees are not included
• Reservation with deposit are required
• Must start trip by September 30, 2016
• Black-out dates July 24 - August 13, 2016

The Boundary Waters is Calling You!

Call today and let Spirit of the Wilderness, Ely MN outfit you for a exciting summer canoe or hiking trip in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area.

Ph: 218-365-3149 or 800-950-2709

email: info@elycanoetrips.com

Fishing Gear in the BWCA - what to pack?

Do you fish the Boundary Waters or Quetico?  What top fishing tackle items do you always take with you?

Some items to take on a canoe trip:

• Rod and reel with 6-8 lb test line. It's ok to take more than 1 rod/reel, just be careful you are only using one at a time per person. MN DNR rules.
• Floating lures - working top water is great late June into September when fishing for bass
• Countdown lures - getting down to where walleyes are takes some planning. Lures that are designed for 15-20 feet used while trolling work well
• Jigs with twister tails or artificial bait - jigging is a good method to get deep, working a foot or so off the bottom of the lake. 
• Spinner bait to work the weed beds - fish go looking for food (bait fish) and a place to hide in the weeds. Yes, you might get your lure stuck in the weeds...but fish where the fish are.
• Live bait, i.e. minnows, leeches, crawlers, are allowed in the Boundary Waters. Be sure to change water between lakes so as not to take an invasive species into another lake
• Fillet knife - think positive...you are going to catch a fish big enough to fillet and eat

Register Your Fish

If you fish lakes in the Ely area, BWCA or Quetico this summer, be sure to register your fish at Spirit of the Wilderness, Ely MN to enter the Angler Fishing Contest.  Free registration, get your picture in the Angler paper and best of all...you just might win!

We register both catch and released as well as those fish that are kept.

Fishing Report - Saturday, July 18th

Walleye are being caught between 10-25 ft. You will want to drift along structures working from shallow to deep. The best result has been with leeches on Lindy rigs.

You will want to look for deep weed lines to bring in pike. Most are being caught when trolling shad raps or casting spinners and spoons.

Small mouth bass can be netted when using top water lures in the weeds, or if you are reef fishing use jigs and crawlers.

Crappies are the hardest to catch right now. They are traveling in smaller schools dispersed throughout the lakes. Most anglers are using crappie minnows at depths from 15-25 ft.

Have you ever heard of this?

Two people catching the same fish on two different lures at the same time? Brad H from Wisconsin came into our shop to tell us about his 3 year old daughter fishing with her pink rod, pink reel that lights up when spun and a pink jig while his wife fished using a tiger-colored jig on the opposite side of their boat on Fall lake.

His daughter started reeling in her line because she caught a fish. Brad's wife started reeling in her line because of a fish. They both tugged on their line and see sawed back and forth pulling the fish from one side of the boat to the other.  Brad realized they were playing the same fish. Once brought up on one side of the boat, the small northern pike had two jigs in its mouth...a pink jig on one side of its mouth and a tiger-colored jig on the other side of its mouth.  Now that is one hungry pike. It is back in the water ready to be caught again.

Share your adventure
Do you have a fish story to share? Email your story with a photo if available to Spirit of the Wilderness Outfitters and Bait Store, Ely MN. Email address: info@elycanoetrips.com

If we publish your story on our blog we will send you a Spirit of the Wilderness T-shirt as a complimentary thank you. Be sure to include your mailing address, phone number and shirt size. All stories and photos submitted become property of Spirit of the Wilderness and can be used to promote fishing and traveling the BWCA.

The big ones are being caught: Lakers, walleye, northern pike this past week. Minnows are hot...fathead chubs, rainbow chubs, shiners and pike suckers.

Good news is that many anglers are doing CPR with their catch...Catch, Photograph and Releasing. Remember the big ones deserve to be caught again!

Angler Contest
Bring in or email your fish photos to Spirit of the Wilderness (info@elycanoetrips.com) and we will enter you in the free Ely area Angler Contest. We accept both released or kept fish images.

Be sure to include your name, address, type of fish, measurements, what lake you caught it on and what bait or lure you used.

Not one, but two on the same day; 29 and 29 3/4 inch lakers

 Caught on Burntside lake

Paula W. first Lake trout and she was excited!

Larry B. 28.5" walleye caught & released on Bear Head Lake