7/10/25 –

This Sunday (7/13) our very own Bill Hansen and Kit Shirley will be hosting a set on our local radio station WTIP! They will be on from 10-12 CT. This multi-generational duo has done this many times, but this time around they are on as a part of the final day of the summer pledge drive! This fundraising event is aiming to raise money to support and sustain our local radio station. WTIP is facing unprecedented funding cuts that often impact rural organizations more heavily. Living remotely is difficult, and people rely on local and independent radio for important information like storm warnings and winter weather updates. It is also an important piece of the community connection for folks! This year’s pledge drive goal is the most audacious yet and we hope to rally support from our Sawbill friends and family around this local station! You can submit a donation at the following link! https://wtip.org/2025-summer-membership-drive/

Indie

7/5/25 – Jeremy Carl recently returned from the Lady Chain/Louse River loop and was kind enough to pass on his trip report along with some great pictures. -Jessica

“Thursday 6/26.

We left Hastings, MN around 5am. We made it to Fish Lake Bait in Harris, MN about 6am when they were just opening for the day. We arrived at Sawbill Outfitters around 10am.   We were on the water by 11:30am.  We made it to Grace Lake in about 3 hours, the Western most campsite on the lake. It was a decent site, not bad at all. We had no luck with Walleye on Grace.  The portage from Beth to Grace is no joke, but at least it was a easy path to follow, More to come on this later….

Friday 6/27, Saturday 6/28

We packed up camp and made it over to Phoebe Lake, this was one of our favorites on the trip. We stayed two nights. It was about an hour and half to move over from Grace, we took our time and checked out the lake. It truly might be one of my favorite lakes I’ve camped on in the BW.   The other canoe saw a Momma Bear and a couple of cubs on the distant western shoreline. We stayed on the Eastern most island site, it was a very nice site. We caught a few Walleye right from camp. We also had a snapping turtle experience in front of our site, he was going for the stringer, we got the fish away just in time. We caught about 15 walleye total on Phoebe, all around 18-20 inches. Super nice looking fish!  We also caught some Smallies and Pike.

Sunday 6/29

We moved over to Lake Polly, we had the site accross from the portage towards Koma in the NW corner of the lake.  I think it took us about 3.5 hours, we double portage. This was a nice site. We swam right from camp. We caught a few perch but we didn’t keep anything.

Side note, we watched two guys catch a few walleye in the rapids on Hazel Lake by the portage from Phoebe River.

Monday 6/30

We moved to Malberg Lake, it took about an hour and half to get to the site in the first channel that heads West right after a quick paddle up from the massive rock at the end of the Koma to Malberg portage, I love that rock. I was in this area back in 2020.  The site we had was awesome!  Both this site and the site we had on Polly get tons of use, it’s easy to tell. I bet they are used most nights of the summer months. We went down by the big rock and caught about 12-15 more Walleye. We ate Walleye three times on this trip. These fish were more in the 15-18 range. Still beautiful!  We also caught about a 25 inch Pike and an 17 inch Smallie down by the rock.  It poured rain for about 20-30 min while we were fishing.

Side note, there is a giant White Pine on either the second or third portage between Polly and Koma, I can’t recall which. It might be one of the biggest I’ve ever seen.  It’s just off the portage on the East side of the trail about 2/3 the way towards Koma.

Tuesday 7/1

Well today the wild and crazy part of the route started and it did not disappoint!  We made it to the South site on Trail Lake, it was about 4 hours.  Boze lake was a nice looking lake, the site there isn’t bad and would work for a smaller group. Then there is the portage from Boze into the Louse River. It’s very easy to tell this used to be two seperate portages with a short paddle in the middle that is now about 190 rods of pure type 2 kind of fun, the kind that is fun once you’re done or when you look back at it later. The middle 70 rods or so is very new, we had a very tough time following the trail, also this section has lots of knee deep mud sucking holes that are unavoidable. We were a mess when we finished it but we made it!  I would love to be right back there right now!  The other portages this day were tougher and overgrown but not too bad.

We caught one Walleye and about a half dozen nice Northern Pike on Trail Lake. The campsites are both smaller but usable for sure. We went swimming here as well, it was needed to cleanup the mud from the day and felt amazing!

Wednesday 7/2

We made it to the southern most campsite on Wine lake by the portage to Frederick Lake in about 5 hours, the site has really nice White Pines right in camp. This was a super tough day, there is no way to sugar coat it!  The first portage out of trail lake is 125 rods and about half way there is a crazy canyon crossing over some moving water, not sure how this would even be crossable in high water, it was cool to see!  Now these next two portages were absolutely nuts, the first one about 50 rods but not exactly sure because the Beaver Dam blew out some time ago and a new portage was made. It’s way longer than 50 rods and over some rough terrain! The overgrowth on this portage and the next one that’s 125 rods is so thick you can’t even barely see the trail or your feet, there are also a few boulder fields to traverse, and of course more mud but not as bad as the previous day. I’m not sure how we found our way through these. We made some wrongs turns but there was always a faint trail to follow. I’m pretty sure nobody has been through the Louse River in some time. There were no signs of human footprints, no grass knocked down, no sign of anything but all natural!  At one point I started singing the Lion King song, it felt like the jungle!  The next 135 rod portage climbs a big hill and is also overgrown in most areas but much easier to follow. These 3 portages back to back to back are no doubt the toughest 3 in a row I’ve ever experienced. More type 2 stuff, they are not for the faint at heart.  The portage from Mug to Wine is a decent climb but it felt good to be back on a normal portage, I think we saw a Dolmen on this one?! 

Thursday 7/3

Wine Lake is a Gem!  We caught 5 Lake Trout total with each of us getting at least one, they ranged from 21-26 inches. That also meant that all 4 of us caught the BW Grandslam!  Then, to top things off, we had a faint showing from the northern lights on Wine Lake as well. I feel like I need to come back to Wine Lake someday, the Eastern most bay is absolutely gorgeous!

We paddled back to Sawbill in roughly 4.5 hours with a stop on Zenith to check out the plane laying on the shore. The Zenith/Lugenida portage is not the worst portage we experienced on this trip, it was long but we actually 1.5 carried this and it wasn’t terrible, just long!  There was always a path to follow.

We seen Bears, Otters, Mink, Lynx, Beavers, Snapping Turtle, Painter Turtles, Loons, Merganzers, Blue Wing Teal, Mallards, Golden Eyes, Swans, and Gardner Snakes.

We caught Walleye, Smallies, Northern Pike, Lake Trout, Blue Gill, and Perch.

It was hot at times, it was cold at times, it got windy but always manageable, it rained but never thunderstormed.  We fished through a terrenntial down pour on Malberg. Overall the weather was perfect.

Bugs were bad from 9:30-10:30 pm.

We had a fire all 7 nights

In the end to sum things up…it was an absolutely amazing route, and more than amazing experience. I don’t think I can express how much we enjoyed every bit of it!  I would highly recommend to anyone looking for a challenging route with great fishing, plenty of solitude, and a wide variety of terrain.  Or anyone that enjoys the type 2 fun I’ve mentioned, this route is perfect!

Roughly 60-70 miles with double portaging and fishing, hard to be exact. 36 portages.”

7/2/25 – We can’t believe it’s already July! We are ready for and awaiting a lot of visitors this 4th of July weekend! Some of the crew has been doing a whole lot of fishing this week (and all season) as a fun activity, especially after we close or once they are done with work for the day. This week, they had so much success that they decided to make the walleye they caught into a meal for the crew (enough for 17 people!). They have been catching a bunch, even without going very far, and just staying on the south side of Sawbill, without even entering the wilderness. There was a fillet-party on the deck of the staff house to prepare and then we had a walleye lunch as a crew!

Not only have the crew been very successful in their fishing endeavors this week, but we have also been hearing a lot of good stories from customers who have also been happy with what they have been catching. We are more than happy to talk about fishing with anyone, so if you are around and have questions, don’t hesitate to ask a crew member or give us a call as well! Happy fishing! – Anna

6/27/25 – A couple of nights ago the crew decided to make use of the new moon and clear skies and head out on a night paddle after close for some star gazing. Thanks to the long summer days, we also got to experience a great sunset and watch the sky transform with the darkness and start taking over the sky from East to West as the sun lowered. Since we were able to get nearly the entire crew to join in the adventure, we were over the limit to entering the Wilderness and simply stayed on the South side of Sawbill, below Boundary Island. This was perfect and still provided for completely panoramic views of the sky while allowing us to float in the middle of the lake and enjoy the stillness. There was a surprising lack of wind or even a light breeze out on the lake, so there were a few bugs when the sun went down, but once it was darker, they quickly disappeared and we settled in to look at the stars. We enjoyed watching fish come up to the surface to eat some of the mayflies who lingered from the previous hatch and saw several very bright shooting stars all while listening to barred owls and the rushing Sawbill Creek nearby. 

If you are visiting us (or really anywhere!) highly recommend you take a walk after sunset, go out on a night paddle, or even just stick your head out of your tent and look up at the sky, to see and appreciate the gorgeous stars (and moon when it’s out) thanks to our dark sky! 

– Anna

6/25/25 – Bog Day 1: I left Sawbill around 11:30 am. The drive was nice, there are a couple hidden turns that you have to pay attention to so you don’t miss them. As I was driving along, just past Kawishiwi Lake Rd, a mother grouse attacked my car. As soon as I was around the corner in front of it, she puffed up and ran right at my front bumper. Luckily I was able to avoid hitting her, I think. Not a few miles later, another mother was finishing up crossing the road with her babies. Thankfully, they all made it safely to the other side. 

The road up to the Bog Lake entry point was better than I expected, but still in rough shape with a few deep tire ruts. The horse and deer flies were ready to welcome me into their parking lot. Eventually they left me alone while on the portage. The portage itself is overgrown, but still pretty easy to follow. The trail is visible 95% of the time and the 5% that is hidden, you can see the trail further down. There were a number of trees across the portage. All of them seem fairly new. I counted on my way back out, and figured out that there were 3 trees that I had to duck under, 7 trees I had to step over, and 3 trees that had a slight deviation around them. I ended up double portaging, but with a group bigger than one, this a pretty manageable portage to do in a single trip. I needed at least two of my hands to discourage the flies from nibbling on me so I brought my packs half way and went back for my paddle and canoe, and did the same in the second half of the portage. It was about 2 pm when I pushed off towards the campsite I wanted. Since it was only 2 and there was no competition for sites, I decided to check out the two other sites on the lake.

The northernmost site is easy to spot from quite a distance away. The sloping rock landing was a bit slippery but there’s still plenty of places to get a solid footing. I only noticed one large tent pad that could probably fit two smaller tents. As with most places that get torched in a fire, there are very few places for a bear hang or tarp. I was able to find and follow the path to the latrine, though it is very overgrown. There was also a plant growing out of the latrine. 

The northeastern site is also fairly easy to spot from the lake, but the landing is not as nice. It’s best to approach from the south. This site was also in the path of the Pagami Creek fire in 2011, so there are no real places to hang food or a tarp. Only one place that seemed like a place to set up a tent, but it’s overgrown enough that it’s hard to tell. I also couldn’t find the trail to the latrine, but I also didn’t look that close. There is an upside to this campsite though! Located about 20-30 feet down the shore are some lovely sand beaches. Location, location, location! 

The southwest site is the best site on the lake only because it gets used on a more regular basis, but if the other sites got used more, I think they could be great! I landed around 3:30 pm and started to set up my home away from home for the next two nights. I found  three separate tent pads, but one of them is so small that I don’t know if it was a tent pad or just a place where people put up a tarp of hammock. One was on a bed of moss and back in the woods, the other was closer to the camp. I chose the closer one for convenience, but others might like the cover of the trees. The other downside with the pad I picked was that it was in a low area, so if it rains people might get wet. The rain was not an issue that day so no problems so far. There are plenty of large red pines that would make for a great bear hanging spot. 

The ground outside the main campsite is covered in a carpet of moss and bunchberries. Due to the lack of visitors, the plant life is amazing! Especially now in June, the flowers are blooming all over the place. There are also some huge boulders, some of which are the size of a sprinter van.

Once my camp was set up, I lounged and read down by the shore. Dragonflies and damselflies flitted above me while red-wing blackbirds chattered amongst themselves. For dinner, I had a Cuban Rice bowl, freeze-dried. Holy smokes, it was good! I’ll definitely be having that again. I kept a small fire going for a couple of hours so the bugs would leave me be. At some point while I was watching the world around me, a turkey vulture landed in a nearby tree to roost for the night. Eventually the bugs seemed to be immune to the smoke so I put out the fire and climbed into my sleeping bag.

Bog Day 2: I lazed about in my tent for a while in the morning before my body finally convinced me I had to get up. Breakfast was a fruit bar and a few Kakookie bites. I had another small fire before I paddled and drifted my way back to the beach on the eastern shore. I spent some time writing and reading while watching a trumpeter swan fly in and fish. There were also a pair of loons fishing back and forth in front of me, maybe they had a nest somewhere nearby. I also got to watch a few dragonflies hatch along the shore. I’ve never seen that in person, so it was such a cool experience! At around 2:30 pm I decided to head back to camp. Apparently, that was a good idea because as I was paddling back, the wind started picking up and it started to sprinkle. I found safety in my tent before it really downpoured. A while later the sun was back out so I emerged from my tent for dinner. Dinner was another freeze-dried meal of eggs, potatoes, cheese, and a copious amount of black pepper. I sat down by the water to keep the bugs at bay, it only kinda worked. I decided to use my time to rewrap the hand of my knife with some paracord. Pretty happy with how it turned out. 

The rain started up again around 6:40 pm with one good crack of thunder around 6:43 pm. Sounds like the storm, or part of the storm is north of where I am. I tied my fly up so I would get more air flow, but so far I was staying dry. We’ll see how it holds up in the storm. 

It really started coming down at 7:30 pm, and I was really starting to regret tying up my rain fly like I did. I should have just put it back to normal instead of experimenting when it was raining so hard. Oh well, I stayed dry despite the rain’s best attempts. 

The Final Bog: I woke up around 8:30 am, I think. I had a quick breakfast while I packed up. I hit the water at 9:18 am. I landed shortly after thanks to a gentle helping hand from the wind. The morning started out cloudy, but progressively became more and more sunny throughout the day. I double portaged again to save my shoulders and back that were already sore from sleeping on the ground. Once again, I had great luck with the bugs on the portage. The mosquitoes found me in a short boggy area, but let me be once I was back out of it. Didn’t even need my bug jacket, but honestly I’m glad I was wearing it so I stayed a bit more dry from all the rain on the leaves. Well, kind of dry, my pants and packs were soaked. I was leaving the parking lot about two hours after I left my campsite. Just after starting back down the driveway, I encountered another mother grouse with a handful of babies. Thankfully, for the integrity of  my poor car, she decided that I wasn’t worth the trouble of attacking, but she did puff up her neck feathers and took her time crossing the road. All I could do was wait. Once free, I made my way up towards  Isabella Lake since  there used to be an old logging town known as Forest Center up there. Unfortunately, someone had set up camp there so I turned around and found a few places to rockhound on my way back to Sawbill. I ended my day with a cold drink and some live music.

Overall, Bog is a lovely choice if you find yourself looking to do a basecamp trip on short notice. Permits are almost always available, and the lake offers a nice place to camp and fish for a few days. 9.5/10 – Would go again!

-Sawyer

6/19/25 – This past week Clare, Kit, Sig and HaHa (Cindy), took a rare summer vacation for a pilgrimage out to Montana. Since Clare and I moved back to Sawbill from Missoula 10 (!) years ago, we unfortunately have only made it back a couple of times, and our kids have not really had the chance to visit our old stomping grounds at all. The plan was born last July when I was tapped to chaperone a high school trip to Costa Rica. Clare figured that if I could take off for an extended time in the summer, she ought to do it, too.

A Hansen (now Shirley) summer vacation away from Sawbill has not really been a reasonable expectation due to our busy work schedules and need to be on-site to keep the lights on (literally). As most of you know, Sawbill was off the grid and generating our own power for 66 years. While a robust and generally reliable off-grid power set-up, things happened from time to time that required immediate attention to keep things operating. As a result, the Hansen’s (and then the Shirley’s) have always been a little constrained from leaving Sawbill for too long.

Getting connected to the power grid a couple years ago has enabled us to have a little more flexibility for being away. We’ve been taking advantage of little opportunities to go on more canoe trips and the occasional trip farther afield.

They started their trip in NW Montana near Glacier National Park where they had the opportunity to visit several friends and do some hiking in the Park.

They then made their way to Missoula where they again connected with friends and did a tour of favorite restaurants and old haunts. They even got to show the kids our old house.

They were able to make a pit stop in Helena where they visited with some of the extended Shirley family (some of my aunts, uncles, and cousins) before concluding the trip with a visit to Bozeman where Clare’s brother Carl has been living for 10+ years. Uncle Uncle as the Kit and Sig refer to him, is always a source of fun and joy. They visited Yellowstone National Park and got to see Old Faithful erupt!

The trip was a success and the lights stayed on at Sawbill.

-Dan

6/16/25 – It’s a warm and cloudy early morning in June. There is a calm mist in the air foreshadowing the (forecasted) inevitable rain and thunderstorm later today. A normal June phenomenon, yet one we have not become accustomed to this year. After a spate of really really dry conditions and low relative humidity that brought the region a few big fires, things have calmed down a bit in response to a few well timed showers and the return of more seasonable conditions.

On Friday night, a frost advisory tore me from the evening revelry and into plant protection mode. By light of headlamp, I scurried around the store and gathered all of the potted and hanging plants that Anderson’s Nursery in Two Harbors so beautifully crafts for us each year, and whisked them to the cover of the screen porch and laundry room. Meanwhile, as I tangled with vines and gorgeous blooms, the Sawbill crew stood on the dock and watched the northern lights race across the sky and reflect off of a glassy Sawbill Lake.

The 34 degree morning that followed didn’t quite deliver the feared frost, but it did provide some comfort knowing it helped tamp down the lingering wild fires, and the bugs that haven’t materialized in the same way as recent years. A return to normal, perhaps, after the last couple years of intense bugs, this year has been mild and what we might hope to expect in a place where you know to expect and accept them.

The vigorous dragonfly hatch might have something to do with it as well. Our iridescent flying friends have come out a little early this year and in good numbers, too. It seemed like last year we never really saw the big hatch. Watching them patrol the lake shore and calm areas behind the house is good medicine.

The day got away from me before I could finish this entry into the famous Sawbill Newsletter (archived on this very website all the way back to the mid 90’s), as I’ve been pulling double duty while Clare and the kids are in Montana this week (more to come on that later).

So now it’s the next day, and the forecast indeed materialized and even exceeded expectations. A solid 3.25″ of rain fell at Sawbill beginning in the late evening and over night. There were a few lightning strikes that raised the eyebrows and a couple of leaks in the roof we haven’t seen before. Beyond that, the deluge was a welcome burst of moisture that didn’t provide many undesirable side effects.

The store was bustling early this morning with several groups who endured the night in the campground and were ready for their Wilderness canoe trips. The warm, sunny, humid morning made it easy to crawl out of the tent, with promise for good adventure ahead.

-Dan

6/11/25 – One day as I walked by the shower building I heard a male voice softly say “oh…my…god”. Clearly there could only be one explanation: this man was in the throes of “The World’s Greatest Shower”.
Anyone who’s been on a wilderness canoe trip knows the feeling. After a few days of canoe camping the layers of mud, sweat, sunblock and Deet really build up. Your fingernails are black, your hair looks like a dirty kitchen mop and you could grow potatoes in the spaces between your toes. By the time you glide into the Sawbill dock you’re coated with virtual second skin of this stuff. As you shoulder your packs one more time for the walk back to Sawbill base you start to think about one thing, a hot shower.

Designed by a crew member in the early 70’s for a class project, the Sawbill shower building is a study in functional simplicity. It’s spacious, clean and well lit. The warm pine interior and open lofted design (you can hear the birds and breeze in the treetops overhead) make it the perfect transitional space between the wilderness you just left, and the air conditioned, mosquito free comfort of the vehicle that will spirit you back to into the modern world.

A great shower can measured by two crucial metrics: water pressure and hot water supply. The spray from the Sawbill shower house comes out in a fine yet powerful stream. The perfect combo of crud removing force and shoulder muscle soothing finesse. The ‘hot’ part of the equation is even and endless, giving you plenty of time to hang your head and let your neck loosen up while you bask in the afterglow of conquering the elements.

So when that last portage is done and the canoe is finally off your shoulders make sure you stop in the Sawbill store for a cold drink and a hot shower. Oh… my… god indeed.

Damon

June is prime summer fishing time here in the BWCA when pike, smallmouth bass and walleye are all in relatively shallow water and feeding regularly. Most fisher folks use two methods on these fish: live bait or artificials on spinning gear, but my favorite is fly fishing. Say fly fishing and most folks think of western rivers, trout, and thousands of dollars in fussy gear. It can all seem overwhelming. But I’d propose that fly fishing for bass and pike (and maybe the occasional Waldo) can be done on fairly affordable gear, and at certain times of year (like now) can be just as effective, if not more so that the traditional “hardware” methods above. There is plenty of good info online but for smallies I’d suggest a 6-8 weigh rod with a decent reel (doesn’t need to be super pricey as it’s really just a line storage device), a good quality weigh forward bass taper floating line, a “bass” leader, and a handful of flies. The line and leader thing might seem consfusing but it’s simple, just poke around online for more in depth reading. If you’re targeting pike I’d go with an 8 weigh rod and make sure you have a pike/musky leader to reduce bite offs. Focusing just on top water flies I’d recommend a handful of Boogle Bugs in green and yellow, some Mr. Wigglies or other foam mayfly patterns and a deer hair frog or two. Go to sub surface flies would include bead head Wooly Buggers in root beer, black and brown and Clouser minnows in yellow, black and maybe red and white for pike. If you’re new to it watch some casting videos on YouTube and practice in a wide open space or off a dock if you can. Once you’re on the water best method is put the caster in front of the canoe with a dedicated paddler in the rear. Slowly work your way along shoreline and cast those bugs into about 2-5 feet of water, focusing on head sized rocks and gravel, drop offs and any downed trees. Be patient: when the bug hits the water give it some time to settle before you twitch, there’s no need to make a huge pop with the bug, subtlety seems to work best here. Keep your eye on the bug, many times the bass will just sip it in quietly from below. I’ve missed plenty of fish swatting bugs or daydreaming. When you see moving water coming into a lake see if you can safely park the canoe on shore and wet wade along side the flow. Cast up to the mouth and let your fly float along with the current paying extra attention to seams where faster water meets slow water. This is a good spot for your subsurface streamers like Wooly Buggers and Clousers. Keep slack out of your line and use short strips, follow the fly with your rod tip. If you find fish in here you might find a whole bunch so if you get one cast right back into the same spot. Always wear glasses, hat and if possible a long sleeve shirt to keep from flying hooks and do you best not to hook your buddy paddling in the back. Tight Lines!

Damon

6/4/25 – Happy June! We have officially entered the season for summer canoe trips! The fish have begun settling into their summer spots, the bugs are beginning to show their faces, and it is looking beautifully green up here. With that, this is a quick reminder that if your plans change for any reason and you will not be using the permit that you booked, please cancel it. You can do this through rec.gov. This allows other hopefull paddlers to use these overnight permits!

– Indie