I think we can all agree that aside from a few hearty paddle board trippers the only way to travel in the BWCA is by canoe. But what about your sleeping setup? The tent/sleeping bag/inflatable mattress is the tried and true method but have you considered hammock camping? And do the pros of a hammock setup (not sleeping on the ground, staying dry) outweigh the cons? (you gotta have trees!) I decided to try a hammock a few years back when planning for the “Paddle and Straddle” BWCA adjacent bike packing loop a few years ago. First off I’m a fairly big guy at 6’2 and 210lbs, I could be persuaded otherwise but I think I am likely at the upper limits size wise for hammock camping. My current setup is the Eno Jungle Nest which has an integrated full zip bug net, obviously this is a must. Eno makes great day hammocks and the Jungle Nest nest is a fairly inexpensive and well made product. It packs down small and set up is a breeze. For starters you’ll need the hammock, slings and (here’s the tricky part) two trees spaced out at about 18 feet or so (more on that later).
Number one rule of hammock camping is the get the proper “hang”, so distance between trees is crucial. Too slack and you’ll end up like a ball in a sling, too tight and you might flip out of it, so this part takes some experimenting. The other thing about hammock camping is you need a rain fly for above and some kind of layer under your body to keep your backside warm. In a sleeping bag your body compresses the bag leaving little to no insulation under you, so an inflatable mattress is the simplest solution.
So by the time you get your hammock, slings, mattress, sleeping bag, pillow and rain fly packed are there any real space/weight savings over taking a tent? I think so but suppose it would depend on the tent. And will you get a better nights sleep? That’s the million dollar question. I’ve found that in a hammock your mattress and bag always wanna slide down to the low point, a tighter hang will counter this but it can be a struggle. When I get the hang right and get setup properly I do sleep better. There’s less pressure on my shoulders and hips and I feel good in the morning.
Back to those trees… Obviously the BWCA is loaded with trees so unlike Moab or Joshua Tree finding a spot to hang should be no problem. But remember, you’ll need to be IN the trees so you might be a bit back from the lake which might mean less breeze and more bugs. You also may be hanging over some rocks so be sure your setup is secure before take a tumble down and land hard. The fly setup can rig right to your hammock straps and then either tie off to trees or use tent stakes to secure it, making sure to rig so rain can run off and not pool up.
Seems like in the past few years there has been a bit of an explosion in the hammock sleeping world. Companies are offering three and four season hammock setups with integrated down for your backside and snap or zip in comforters for the top, which should go a long way in eliminating that slide down the bottom issue. I have spent a month sleeping in my hammock setup up here at Sawbill (most nights I’ve slept good, some not so much…) and have one of these newfangled versions on order and am looking forward to trying it out. If you are interested dig around online, there is a TON of info and reviews to check out.
Lots and lots of berries in a super cool Sawbill Nalgene that you too could use as a blueberry container if you purchase one at the Sawbill Store!
7/29/25 – Well, it’s go time people!! The blueberries are ripe! We have lots of berry plants near us along the trail. They tend to love disturbed areas so check out clearings without many big trees. Every year when I get back to a patch that I know definitely has blueberries, it still takes me a second to actually find the plants, but once you spot them and know what to look for, there is so much blue!
Blueberry clusters close to the ground with a few short pine trees around them.
There are lots of huge berries this year!
Look out for little plants, close to the ground in those disturbed areas. They are way closer to the ground than you’d think. Other than blueberries, we also still have juneberries (see a few blog posts ago from Isabelle for that update) and some raspberries. There have also been a lot of paddlers coming back from the wilderness having good luck finding berries along portages as a mid-portage snack. With the hot and humid weather we’ve been having, don’t forget to bring water and sun protection with you to pick. Since the patches get more direct sun, it gets hot fast. Happy picking!!
It seems lazy at the outset. Folks who fish like to think they have a tactic, a solid plan to catch fish. Trolling seems like the opposite of that. Trolling says: “I give up. I really have no clue where they are so I’m gonna toss this out, paddle and see what happens”. I’m here to say there’s no shame in trolling, and in the BWCA sometimes it can be the best way to catch fish.
We are currently in the dog days of summer. Fishing has gotten tricky. Those big bass that were so eager to slurp my surface files in June are now few and far between so my trusty fly rod is now sharing space in the canoe with my spinning rod. The bass walleye and pike have moved deeper… but how deep?
To help me understand the contours and structure of the lake I use a Garmin Striker Cast. It’s a plastic sphere about the size of a baseball that you tie off to the side of your boat and it simply floats along beside you. Simply download the app and the unit connects to your phone via Bluetooth. The window opens up and displays depth, surface water temperature, and a graph giving you the bottom details. Some folks want to actually find fish on it but I focus on the depth, and what kind of bottom it is (rocks, weeds and muck all read differently) as its hard to tell what might be a fish, especially when you’re drifting or bobbing in the water (using it for ice fishing is a different story).
For trolling I’ll tie on something with some vibration, lots of folks use Rapalas, spinners or spoons. I’m not a fan of treble hooks so I’ll use a paddle tail or twister tail soft plastic with a jig head. I generally try to find where the shallower water, say 5-7 feet drops off into the 11-16 feet areas then I’ll toss out the jig behind me and try to paddle parallel to their shoreline. If you’re not bumping the rocks occasionally (and getting snagged of course) you’re probably not getting down deep enough. Try to paddle or drift slower or try a heavier jig head. When you get snagged paddle back over the area of the snag and pull you’re jig head out in the reverse direction of you were trolling.
For those of us who don’t travel with a rod holder there’s the question of what to do with the rod. I’d say experiment. Figure out some combination of leaning it against the thwart, the gunnel, and your feet or knees. Keep the rod tip up a bit and while paddling keep your eye on the tip. If there’s two anglers, you should cast off on each side so that in a perfect world you’re both fishing different sides of the drop off.
What about the laziest of all tactics? The “middle of the lake, chuck it out and see what happens” method. I say go for it. I’ve been paddling around the middle of a lake watching the Garmin and have been surprised how often the bottom can go from a featureless and flat 18 feet to a rocky shoal that rises up to 6 or 8 feet of water. These are the kind of spots are more common that you’d think and they are the places that hold fish. Sometimes the only way to find these spots is by pure luck.
Trolling is also a great way to fish with children (or adults who fish like children) as it simplifies the process of fishing… no need to worry about bad casting or missed hookups.
And remember, you’re not just trolling… you’re multi tasking. You’re fishing AND going somewhere!
William and Roxanne all ready to go and decked out in their “50 for 50 BWCA” shirts and hats!
7/22/25 – This week we had some very exciting customers who visited! William and Roxanne Richards were obtaining their permit when we went to confirm their expected exit date. We were in complete shock when we learned that it was for the middle of September. They happily shared that it was not, in fact, a mistake. They are spending 50 days in the wilderness together to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary! Of course, we loved their story and were eager to hear where they were going and how they decided on taking this trip. They told us that it was our very own Dan Shirley who gave them the idea when he was working at the store desk a few years ago. They were talking about how they were going to celebrate this milestone and he suggested, “why not 50 days in the wilderness,” one for each year of their marriage. The Richards have a long history with Sawbill which includes some memorable moments, including their car spontaneously catching on fire on The Grade years ago. We are so excited to hear all about their trip when they get back from this incredible adventure! Let’s all celebrate their 50 years together, hooray!
As we get further and further into July, it is time to get excited about the approaching berry season! Here are a few quick updates on the status of the berries here around Sawbill. The Juneberry’s are beginning to ripen. We’ve noticed a few bushes around Sawbill’s campus beginning to be coated in the beautiful purply red color. We’ve also gotten reports from a few people returning from trips, echoing the same story. The blueberry patches around us are also making good progress. Thanks to some much-needed June rains and some hot temperatures, the blueberries are beginning to look quite nice! They are still mostly green, but a few crew members were able to collect a good first batch the other day. Strawberries, raspberries, and thimbleberry’s are also beginning to ripen. We truly are on the precipice of jam and pie season!
If you’re wanting to check out the berry situation for yourself while you are in the Sawbill area, feel free to ask us about the berry patch near us, and a crew member can point you in the right direction.
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/
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!
Group photo on the southern site on Trail Lake just after arrival (Jeremy Carl, Rikk Malm, Mason Malm, Hunter Navarro).
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!
Fillet party! PC: Isabelle.
Chef Jay giving fillet lessons on the deck. PC: Isabelle.
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.
One of the two, 3-person canoes packed full with crew members. PC: Isabelle
A beautiful mix of sunset and stars over Sawbill Lake, taken from the landing. PC: Damon
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!
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!
