2018 Fishing Opener Specials at Spirit of the Wilderness

Stop in today at 

Spirit of the Wilderness Outfitters and Retail Store 

to grab your 

FREE Rapala T-Shirt when you purchase any 2 Rapala Lures.  

(Special runs 6 AM - 9 PM 5/12/18)

We are open from 6 AM - 9 PM daily.

Spirit of the Wilderness Outfitters & Retail Store
2030 E. Sheridan Street
Ely, MN 55731
218-365-3149
www.elycanoetrips.com
info@elycanoetrips.com

Happy 2018 MN Fishing Opener!

It's the start of the summer fishing season here in Minnesota.  People have been getting their boats and canoe out of storage over the last few days and weeks.  There has been new line strung onto fishing reels, plans made for where to spend the opener and dreams of eating some freshly caught fish.

Here's a clip about how to clean a fish in case you are new to fishing or just a little rusty with filleting fish.  It's not a bad refresher as we get started on our 2018 summer canoe and fishing season.
MPR News - How to Clean a Fish

Spirit of the Wilderness Outfitters and Retail store is stocked up with Minnows, Crawlers and Leeches for your trip.  Remember our bait will catch fish or die trying!

Happy Fishing

Spirit of the Wilderness Outfitters & Retail Store
2030 E. Sheridan Street
Ely, MN 55731
218-365-3149
info@elycanoetrips.com
www.elycanoetrips.com

Recharge Your Batteries...Travel a Wilderness Area this Summer

Traveling in a wilderness area, i.e. Boundary Waters Canoe Area, is more than canoeing, hiking, fishing, camping, swatting bugs, seeing spectacular sunrises or sunsets. 3 day or more in the wilderness is a "kind of cleaning of the mental windshield" as noted in National Geographic January 2016 article titled The Power of Parks. You recalibrate your senses, experience the moment, produces a difference in your thinking. 

Come get your batteries recharged...experience the BWCA once again this summer.

New product - Darn Tough Socks

We have been looking for a high quality sock that is comfortable to wear, has a great fit and looks good.  Darn Tough socks is a good choice. I have been wearing them for the past two month (Yes, I do change into clean ones) and they have lived up to everything the manufacturer claims. 

Darn Socks comes with a manufacturer unconditional lifetime guarantee..."If you can wear these socks out, we will replace them. Free of charge. No questions asked. For life. When you're really serious about something you make it yourself."

According to the manufacturer website:

Made in Vermont   We live and work in Vermont. Our backyard is the perfect testing ground to make the finest Premium All Weather Performance Socks. We ski, snowboard, hike, bike and run in the most unforgiving climate in the lower 48. It is under these conditions that we design, test and manufacture our socks.
High Density Knitting   More knit stitches per inch equates to durability and cushioning without bulk.
Performance Fit  From form fitting toe boxes to sculpted heel pockets and knit-in elastic support at the arch, our knitting techniques produce the finest fitting performance sock available.
Merino Wool Our custom count, shrink treated Merino wool enhances the comfort and durability that outdoor enthusiasts have come to expect from this fiber.
Coolmax®  Because wool is not for everyone. We use an exclusive Coolmax® blend to create a sock with exceptional softness, durability and superior moisture management.
Full Cushion  Full Cushion socks have dense terry loops that surround the entire foot creating maximum cushioning and warmth without bulk.
Cushion  For those who prefer a sock with less cushioning. Our cushion socks have dense terry loops on the bottom of the foot producing cushioning and warmth without bulk.
Ultra-light  Flat jersey construction to meet the demands of both the shell-fit customer and the Nordic athlete.
Mesh  Open knit mesh construction is lightweight and extremely breathable. It's one fast sock.
Ribbed Knit  Form fitting to the contours of your calf, shin and ankle ensuring a custom fit.
Ribbed Ankle Support  No Slipping. No Bunching. Helps prevent blisters.
Elastic Arch Support   Knit into the arch of all of our socks to provide added endurance.
Ring Toe Construction  Terry loops surrounding the toe create a comfortable invisible seam.

Spirit of the Wilderness Outdoor store and Outfitters, Ely, MN carries a wide selection of Darn Socks and other outdoor clothing and camping gear for you wilderness adventure. Open 6am-9pm daily for you convenience.

Why Use an Outfitter?

Are you planning a Boundary Waters Canoe Area adventure this summer? You will make lifetime memories. So why use an outfitter? Simply stated; an outfitter will make your trip much more enjoyable. Your outfitter will customize your route, advise you on techniques to use including choosing and setting up your campsite, preparing your meals, what clothes and fishing tackle to take along and much more.

I know we have done our job when our guests return and say " that was simple." What a great feeling to hear those words and see the "glow of the woods" on their faces.

When planning a BWCA canoe trip you will need:

• Set the date you want to be on the water, the day you will enter the BWCA
• Determine an entry point and general route your group will travel. Consult with your outfitter for recommendations
• Reserve your permit.Your outfitter can do this for you and do it correctly
• Determine how much outfitting your group will need. Do you need complete or partial outfitting, what type of canoes to use, how will canoes be transported to/from your entry point
• In case of an emergency who will be your local Ely contact.This is critical for both those on the trip and those at home

Watch for more steps in planning a Boundary Waters adventure

Contact Spirit of the Wilderness Outfitters today to start planning your adventure.

800-950-2709 or email at info@elycanoetrips.com

Pagami Creek Fire Update Sept 11, 2011

TODAY’S MESSAGE: Yesterday’s dry air and north winds pushed the Pagami Creek Fire farther south yesterday. In consideration of today’s high fire indices, fire managers began a proactive movement of campers from Lakes Two through Hudson, nearby routes, and the Isabella River within the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW). Specific closures are listed below. Most of the BWCAW remains safe and open to visitors eager to enjoy the fall season.

ACTIVITIES TODAY:
Public Safety crews are sweeping the areas to be closed, assisting campers into other lakes.
Airplanes and helicopters are being used to drop water, keeping the fire within the wilderness and south and east of the Kawishiwi River.

CLOSURES: The vast majority of the BWCAW remains safe and open to visitors. To insure public safety the following waterways and portages are temporarily closed: Lakes One through Hudson, Fire, Bridge, Rifle, the Wilders, Horseshoe, Pagami, Clearwater, Turtle, Camdre, Pietro, Gull, Quadga, Rice, Isabella Lake, and the Isabella River. The southern campsites on Bald Eagle are closed. The Pow Wow Trail is closed. Sites, routes and portages will be re-opened as soon as it is safe to do so. The following entry points are closed: #30 Lake One, #84 Snake River, #75 Little Isabella River, #67 Bog Lake, #86 Pow Wow Trail, #35 Isabella Lake, and #34 Island River. Campers already in the BWCAW will be able to travel through these routes to exit the wilderness but visitors will not be allowed to enter at these points until further notice.

SAFETY: Campfire restrictions are in place. Wilderness wide, campfires are allowed only between 6 p.m. and midnight. Be sure that campfires are doused thoroughly until cold to the touch.

DATE OF DETECTION: August 18, 2011

CAUSE: Lightning

CURRENT SIZE: approximately 4500 acres burned. Acreage is expected to increase today due to weather conditions.

LOCATION: Township 63 N, Range 9 W, Sections 30, 31, 32: approximately 14 miles east of Ely (within the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness) in the Pagami Creek area between the South Kawishiwi River, Clearwater Lake, and Lake One.

AGENCY: Superior National Forest, Kawishiwi Ranger District

SMOKE CONDITIONS: Smoke may be heavy and wide spread depending on wind direction.

RESOURCES: The fire is now under the management of Type 2 Incident Management Team Hinds.

Canoecopia Paddle Show

We will be heading to the Canoecopia Paddle show in Madison, WI this weekend. The show runs March 11-13, 2011. We will have show specials for those that book their trips during the show. Stop by the booth to talk about your summer canoe trip into the BWCA or Quetico.

• Need help with picking a new route? We will have maps to look at route options.

• Need to reserve your trip? Stop by the booth to talk with Steve or Kathy Nelson and set up your 2011 trip.

• Just have questions about how to get started planning? Once again we can help you.

We look forward to seeing past customers and meeting new ones.

Happy New Year!

2011 is officially here. With a busy holiday season of visiting friends and family the time has sure gone by fast. We hope the holidays have been good to you and your loved ones. If you family is like ours, we talk about the fun things we did over the past year. Many of the stories are of the canoe trips we have taken and the fun we have had. Here's to you and 2011 being full of more fun adventures.

Ely, Minnesota has gotten a number of recent snowfalls. It's beautiful to see all the trees covered with snow. A few more months the snow will start to melt and we will be back into the canoeing season. Until then we will be enjoying the snow and ice. This is a great time to do a little cross country skiing or snowshoeing. There are many great places to sneak into the Boundary Waters across the frozen lakes. This is a time of year when you definitely have peace and quiet. Compared to the summer months, not many people venture into the BWCA during the winter. Speaking of winter, you can't forget about ice fishing. The Walleyes and Northern Pike are the fish of choice currently.

Happy New Year.

Fish Photos. What a catch!

We have been having a number of great fish entered into the fishing contest. Many of these fish were released back into the lakes to live to be caught another day.

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!

Fire Restrictions lifted !!!

The US Forest Service has lifted the complete fire ban as of noon today, May 14, 2010. We got a slow stead soaking rain yesterday that must have given us enough moisture.

As always, when canoeing and camping in the BWCA, please be careful with your fires and keep them in the fire grates. When you are not attending the fire, make sure it is out cold.

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.

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.

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.

Canoecopia Paddle & Sport Show

It's that time of year again! Spirit of the Wilderness will be at Canoecopia Paddle & Sport Show in Madison, WI March 12-14, 2010.

Stop by booth N126. We will have Outfitting Specials for those that book at the show. Bring your trip dates and we can book your 2010 Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA) or Quetico canoe trips.

This is a great time to pick an entry point, plan your route and get your pre-trip questions answered face to face.

Welcome 2010 !

Welcome to the new year of 2010.

It's hard to believe that we are part way through the winter and making our way towards another canoe season. How time flies when you are having fun! As some of you know, the Nelson's purchased Spirit of the Wilderness Canoe Outfitters, then Hill's Wilderness Trips, back in 1999. We had, and still have, a love for traveling the BWCA. Our mission has been to introduce people to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and the outdoors through a fun, helpful, educational and friendly experience.

This is the time of year that we at Spirit of the Wilderness start getting excited for the upcoming canoe season. We start to hear from previous guests and new guests about the trips they hope to take in the summer. It makes it a bit easier to get through the -20 below zero days. Soon we will be heading out to a few sport shows and then before you know it the spring will be here and we will be watching for the ice to come off the lakes.

We hope that the new year is good to you and your family & friends. We look forward to 2010 and all the canoeing and fishing it brings!

BWCAW Permit Lottery

Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving. We have had some warmer than normal temperatures around the Ely, Minnesota area lately. Yesterday we did get a little snow. It's finally feeling more like winter.

Quick reminder that the BWCAW permit lottery is underway. December 1 through January 15, 2010 you can apply for a BWCAW permit. It is the first chance to get a permit for the up coming canoe season. If you have specific dates or a specific entry point in mind it might be a good idea to apply for a permit now. After January 1, 2010 BWCAW permits are first come first serve. We are happy to help just call Spirit of the Wilderness (800-950-2709) to answer questions or to book your canoe trip.

Portaging Tips for the BWCA

One of my favorite feelings when I enter the BWCA is the sense of camaraderie and courtesy. People spending time in our beautiful wilderness area are generally happy and willing to help a stranger that crosses their path. People have offered to lend me a hand, or greeted me with a smile and a wave out there more times then I can count. It's a special thing that brightens my trip. I think it's important to show people courtesy and respect in return especially when I am portaging. Here are some portaging tips that will make your trip and other paddlers' trips a little more friendly.

-Allow people portaging canoes to have the right away on the trail. They can't see as well and they may have a heavier load than people carrying packs. The quicker they can get to the end the better. If two people carrying canoes meet on a hill, the person going down hill should step off to the side and let the person going up the hill pass.

-Give people time and room to get down the portage trail. If you are paddling up to a portage and see a group, stay back until you see them walk down the trail, and give them a few minutes. Clogged portage trails are no fun, and waiting at the end of the portage trail with a canoe or heavy pack on your shoulders while someone is trying to get on the lake is tiring. Also, remember the the 9 person/4 watercraft rule. Only 9 people and 4 watercraft can be in one spot at one time in the BWCA.

-Try not to widen portage trails by walking around puddles and mud. This causes more of an impact and bigger trails.

-To minimize forgetting your favorite fishing pole or paddle on the portage trail, avoid putting your things on the ground. Your gear should go from canoe to person, and person to canoe. Another way to remember everything is to always make only one pile of gear on each side of the portage. Try not to spread out your packs, lifejackets and paddles where they can easily be forgotten.

-Watch where you place your foot when portaging. Twisting an ankle can be easy if you are walking down some of those rocky portage trails.

-Lend a hand! If you see someone struggling, offer to carry something for them if you have an extra hand. They will be so grateful. You never know when someone may return the favor to you.

-Try to wet-foot portage. This will lessen the chance of scratching, or putting a hole in your canoe by putting on the canoe while you are still in the water. Your feet will be wet while you are paddling, so make sure you sun your feet out to dry them at camp to prevent foot fungus. It's easy to prevent!

- Always load your canoe when it is completely floating in the water.

- Take one last look around before you paddle off from the portage. A quick and easy way to double check that you have all your gear. Also look around you and admire your surroundings. After all this is one of the reasons you are here.

I hope these tips will help you on your next canoe trip. Happy portage trails!!

Getting ready for a brisk week in Ely.

Quick Note: Wild strawberries are blooming!

If you haven't experienced putting up a tent in northern Minnesota you will soon find out that there is about two inches of top soil pretty much every where you go. This is because glaciers skidded their way across Minnesota 10,000 years ago during the last ice age making it hard for us in 2009 to stake down our tents. But it isn't all bad, because they were responsible for carving out all those wonderful lake beds, cliffs, and exposed rock that make up the BWCA and northern Minnesota. Have no fear, there is another way to prevent your tent from flying into the lake. Just tie a piece rope around your stake hole, find a good sized rock, log, or base of a tree, and tie the other end to it. Repeat this process until you have all 4 corners secure.

Happy Camping!