Happy New Year

Happy New Year!

We are excited to be looking forward to the 2012 canoe season. This is the time of year we start booking permits and trips for our guests.

This year there are some changes to the BWCA permit lottery system. The BWCA permit lottery is the first chance at booking permits for Moose Lake and Fall Lake entry points only. This is a big change from the past when you could enter the lottery for all entry points. The Moose Lake and Fall Lake entry points have a few different type of permits that can be reserved. You can book a overnight paddle, Day Use Motor of Over night Motor permit. The motor permits are in high demand so they kept the lottery to help spread the permits out among those that are interested in them. To enter the lottery an application must submitted between Dec 19th and Jan. 19th. Spirit of the Wilderness is here to help you with all your permit booking needs.

All other permits can be reserved starting January 25th, 2012 at 9 am. If you would like Spirit of the Wilderness ot book your permit, please call us sooner than later so we can make sure to get the entry point and date you are requesting. Some entry points are in high demand and we want to be able to help you with getting these booked.

We are currently getting a little snow this afternoon. What a nice way to start the new year. Soon we will have enough snow for the cross country skiing, snowshoeing, ice fishing and dog sledding. There is almost enough snow for snowmobiling, for those that like to enjoy the area outside the BWCA.

Hope 2012 is good for you.

Rochester Sport Show

We exhibited at the Rochester, MN Sport Show over the past weekend. It was a good turnout. Thank you to all of our previous customers that stopped by. It is always good to hear stories about your wilderness adventures. We met many people that are interested in experiencing the BWCA or Quetico Park and invite you to visit our website at www.elycanoetrips .com for more details and to start planning your adventure.

On Saturday and Sunday we offered a seminar on “Fishing the BWCA.” Attendance was good and showed us that interest in the BWCA reaches across all ages. Our seminar covered what tackle to use, where to fish, doing C.P.R. (catch-photograph-release) with the big fish and more. And of course some BWCA stories that cause all of us to laugh and enjoy.

Be sure to visit us at the following shows:

February 19 – Camping & Outdoor Expo, Maplewood MN Community Center

March 11-13 – Canoecopia, Allina Convention Center, Madison WI

March 30-April 3 – NW Sport Show, Minneapolis Convention Center**

** Watch for an announcement of our seminar times

Good paddling,

Steve

Live Bait in the BWCA....Still OK.

As we work our way into July we keep getting questions about if live bait can be used in the Boundary Waters. The answer is yes, you can bring in Minnows, leeches and crawlers to name a few of the most popular types of bait. There are no rules stating you have to only use artificial baits. You do want to make sure that any left over bait is packed out of the wilderness and thrown in the trash.

The question for your group and your trip is what kind of bait do we want to pack in and fish with?

Night Crawlers are a pretty basic bait the will entice a number of types of fish. They are easy to put in your canoe pack or canoe. They just need to be kept in the shade and they will make it for most or all of your trip. The key is to make sure you have enough. The middle part of the summer is when night crawlers are most popular with the fish. This typically means mid-June to mid-August.

Leeches are another great mid-summer live bait option. Leeches take a little more care, but are hardy and loved by the Walleyes, Smallmouth Bass and a few other fun fish to catch. Leeches like to have fresh water a number of time a day. It is best to not get them too warm in the container. Leeches are best when the lake water has warmed a bit. Too cold, such as early spring, and you may not have as much luck with leeches. The warmer summer lake water allows the leeches to be a bit more active. Too cold of water and they tend to keep balled up on the hook. To take leeches on your BWCA canoe trip you should plan on having some sort of leech tote that has very small holes. Minnow buckets have hole much too large to keep the leeches confined. You want a container that allows you to easily change water to keep your bait happy.

Minnows are a great spring and fall a bit. The cooler weather makes it easier to keep healthy minnows. The typical types of minnows used in the Ely, MN are are fathead chubs, rainbows, shiners, and a variety of sizes of sucker minnows. You can use minnows year round. They get a little harder to keep when the weather turns hot. So most turn to leeches or crawlers for their mid-summer canoe trips.

Now a quick note to those of you headed into the Quetico Provincial Park in Canada. There is no organic bait allowed into this wilderness area. You also need to make sure you are using barbless hooks when fishing the Quetico.

If you have any questions please give us a call here at Spirit of the Wilderness 800-90-2709. We do stock minnows, leeches and crawlers all summer long. Just give us a quick call if you would like to pre-order your bait for your upcoming BWCA canoe trip. Need suggestions on what bait to take or what lures to pack or buy? Just stop in and ask. We talk fishing!

Fishing Opener!!!

The Minnesota Fishing Opener is just days away. May 15, 2010 we will be joining many other anxious anglers to get out in the canoe or boat to kick off our 2010 fishing season. It is almost a holiday in Minnesota.

At Spirit of the Wilderness we take this day very serious. We make sure to be stocked up on all the popular lures, rods, reels and of course we have bait. Since we are closed for the winter this is always an exciting time. We measure time in when we will be getting the bait in to start the 2010 fishing season. We always carry all sorts of minnows, leeched and crawlers.

The most popular minnows in the spring depends on who you ask. Many will tell you it's all about the shiners. Others swear by the rainbow or fathead chub. We like to think of ourselves as an equal opportunity minnow employer. You know, we do train our minnows to catch fish or die trying!

No matter what bait you choose or what lure is on the end of your line we hope you have a great Fishing Opener!

P.S. Don't forget to bring in your catch or a photo of it and we will sign you up for the local fishing contest and put you on the bragging board.

Fire Restrictions

As of today, May 11, 2010 the US Forest Service still has the Boundary Waters Canoe Area under complete fire restrictions. If you are headed up to canoe and camp in the BWCA plan on having a camp stove and fuel to cook on.

The forecast is calling for some rain this week. We will have to wait and see if it is enough for the fire restrictions to change. It has been a very dry spring and moisture is still in great need. The US Forest Service keeps telling us that we will need more than just a day of rain to make any restriction changes.

Check with us here at Spirit of the Wilderness outfitters for updates. You can email us at info@elycanoetrips.com or call us at 800-950-2709 or 218-365-3149.

Spring

We are starting to see the tree bud and the early spring flowers are getting close to blooming. It is still quite early for the growing season. With a little rain we should see everything get more green with each day.

We are also starting to see another sign of spring that is unique to the canoe country of Northern Minnesota...canoes on top of vehicles. We know that summer is starting when we see the canoes around town. A few people are taking advantage of the early ice out.

Thanks for attending!

Thank you for stopping by the Spirit of the Wilderness booth at the Northwest Sport show this last week and weekend. We met and talked to a lot of great people.

Thank you to all of you that attended the Fishing in the Boundary Waters seminar Friday, March 26, 2010.

Keep in mind there is still time to book your BWCA or Quetico canoe trip for this summer. There are still permits open. Give us a call and we can set up your 2010 summer trip.

Fishing in the BWCA Seminar

Don't forget we will be giving a Fishing in the Boundary Waters seminar this Friday, 2 PM, March 26, 2010. We will be in one of the seminar rooms at the Northwest Sport Show.

Steve will talk about fishing tips, techniques and whatever he can to entertain you.

Can't make the fishing seminar? Stop by the Spirit of the Wilderness Outfitter's booth, #537, anytime during the show and we would love to talk to you about fishing and canoe trips.

Don't forget about the show specials. These specials are only offered when you book your trip at the show. So bring your BWCA/Quetico canoe trip dates.

Canoecopia

Thank you for stopping by the booth at Canoecopia to talk about the Boundary Waters canoe trips we offer. Once again it was a fun show to have a booth at. We enjoyed seeing and talking with familiar faces as well as so many new faces. It's fun to connect with you all more than just once a year at the Spirit of the Wilderness store. We always enjoy the stories and laughter.

We are looking forward to this summer.

Watch for a blog update about the next sport show. We will be at the Northwest Sport Show in Minneapolis. March 24-28, 2010, booth #537.

Canoe season is around the corner

The canoe are just waiting for you here at Spirit of the Wilderness! OK, maybe it will still be a few more months until we have open water and the snow melts. We just get excited, here at Spirit of the Wilderness Outfitters, for the coming canoe season. This is about the time we get a little anxious to see some of that warmer spring weather.

We have been taking to many of you about your upcoming canoe and fishing trips. It's won't be long until we are open for the season. We are looking to be open around May 6, 2010.

Hope to see you this summer. Don't forget we will be at a couple of sport shows soon. If you are around to visit with us at the show we would love to see you. We would love to spend some time reminiscing about old trips or talking about new ones.

• March 12-14 we will be at Canoecopia in Madison, WI.

• March 24-28 we will be at the Northwest Sport Show in Minneapolis, MN.

Hegman Lake Day Trip

It was a perfect day to head out to see the Pictographs on Hegman Lake just north of Ely on the Echo trail. We strapped the canoe on the car and took off. It was a feeling of excitement and contentment to be heading out in a canoe once again.

The portage from the parking lot to the lake was peaceful. I always view it as getting prepared to experience something wonderful. The warm weather brought the comforting smell of the pines. The north woods have this smell that just brings me back to the many BWCA canoe trips that have given me so many wonderful memories. It just seems as though my stresses just melt away and the busier pace of everyday life can be left for the slower paced canoe trip. It helps to clarify my thoughts and recharge my soul.

Once at the waters edge we climbed into the canoe and start gliding away from shore. We paddled a bit, crossed the short portage into North Hegman Lake and headed towards our main destination. We arrived at the familiar rock face. We gaze up and search for the pictographs that can be a bit tricky to find the first time. It really is amazing to be able to take a day trip to see such old art work. We studied the pictographs and took a few photos to remember our day.

The next stop was bog just up the lake. It is always fun to see all the different plants that make the bog their home. As we get to the bog we can see the that pitcher plants are plentiful and red this time of year.

We spent some time exploring the portage at the northern end of Trease Lake. We were hoping to see a few Lady slipper orchids, but we are a bit early. We began our paddle back and found the perfect rock to stop at and take in some sun and a little lunch. We watched a few other groups pass. They all seem to be enjoying the trip as much as we were. After lunch we make our way back to the portage which leads to the parking lot. As we head to the car to begin our entry back into our busy lives we fall quiet reflecting on our beautiful day trip and hope it won't be too long before we can take another trip.