7/26 Good News! Limited access to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness is now available! Boundary Waters Day Use permits open at select Cook County Entry Points on Monday July 27th, although overnight permits are still cancelled through July 29, 2026.
The BWCAW was closed on July 14th at 12:01am after a lightning storm created a surge of wildfires across the forest, predominanty in the Ely area. In an effort to re-open select areas of the BWCA (as fire activity, weather and resources allows) the Forest Service will continue to evaluate BWCA quota permit points daily.
Specific entry points in our area that will be opening to Day Use Only on Monday, July 27th:
-Sawbill Lake
-Baker Lake
-Homer Lake
-Brule Lake
Daytrip Entry Points
In additon to day trips opening, there is also a proposal for opening select entry points of overnight use. In an effort to re-open select areas of the BWCA, the Forest Service continues to evaluate fire activity, weather and resources daily. Forest Officials anticipate the ability to open select BWCA entry points on Thursday, July 30, barring no significant wildfire activity. The proposal, when implemented, would open access to overnight use at 37 of the 103 quota entry points and re-open approximately 424, 231 acres (39%) of the BWCA to the public. We expect an announcement from the Forest Service with a final decision on the proposed reopening on Monday, July 27th.
Proposed Overnight Opening
The entry points under consideration for opening include select entry points in the Gunflint Ranger District, Kawishiwi Ranger District, and LaCroix Ranger District. In the Tofte District, the area closest to us, the following entry points are being considered:
7/25/26 With most of our canoes back in the canoe yard at Sawbill amid the BWCA closure, I have been reflecting on this timeless mode of transportation that has been briefly halted. There are so many little details that make these works of art the best way to explore the Boundary Waters. With that being said, I thought I would briefly run through each of the canoe models we offer.
To start, we have roughly 170-180 canoes in our fleet, depending on the year. We carry both Northstar and Wenonah canoes. Both companies are based in Minnesota and are premier canoe manufacturers.
Around 85 of our canoes are from Northstar. The most common model in our fleet is the Seliga. This canoe is a 17 foot, kevlar canoe with a gunnel width of 36. It is best known for its overall ability, a smooth stable ride with elite carrying capacity and a knack for its touring style. This canoe will comfortably carry 2 people on extensive length trips and is my personal favorite setup for being able to fish in.
Joe Seliga was a wood canvas canoe builder in Ely, MN and this is his design. Northstar Canoes has re-incarnated this classic Boundary Waters canoe in modern ultra-light materials.
Our other 2-person kevlar canoe from Northstar is the Pearl. This smaller canoe is an option for a quick day trip around the Kelso Loop or up and down Sawbill Lake. Sitting at 15ft 9in, this canoe is a little shorter but that is supported by its high stability. It doesn’t have any thwarts, so it can even be turned around and paddled backwards from the bow seat to be paddled as a large solo canoe for individuals with more gear or a furry friend or a parent/child combo.
Shifting to our Northstar 3-person kevlar canoe models, we carry both the Northwind 18 and the B19. World renowned for their stability and carrying capacity, these canoes are the go to for a full family touring canoe. The Northwind 18 is a smaller 3-person canoe. At only 43 lbs, made up of lightweight kevlar material, it is perfect for a day trip with 3 adults, or for a family for an overnight trip . The Northstar B19, our widest canoe, retains the status as our most stable and high capacity canoe. Despite its size, it is still very light at approximately 50 lbs. Ideal for carrying the entire family with a half ton carrying capacity. Best for fishing with multiple people or making room for an overnight trip with a dog.
The final model in our Northstar lineup is the Northwind Solo. Weighing in at only 27 lbs, this 15ft 5in solo kevlar canoe is ideal for long distance trips or a pleasant day paddle. With a unique layout just for our canoes here at Sawbill, this version of the Northwind Solo has the seat set back from the center along with a fixed yoke, making it perfect for tripping. No need to install the yoke at portages, and your gear pack will counter balance the seat being set back from the center. This is great for quick portaging and more time on the water.
Overall, Northstar Canoes contain an elliptical hull design which means the ellipses have gentle curves and good initial stability when paddling.They also have a design referred to as flare. Flare creates unparalleled secondary stability. When a canoe is leaned over it keeps getting wider, which means it keeps getting more stable and resistant to capsize. The benefit of an elliptical hull and flare is a canoe that handles well for all paddlers (Northstar Canoes Stability).
Shifting to our selection of Wenonah Canoes, our most commonly chosen canoe is the Minnesota II. This model is considered the most efficient, straight-tracking 2-person canoe ever made. It holds the title of being a performance touring canoe which means that it can cover a lot of ground quickly with consistent paddling. This makes the MN2 efficient on the water and a great option for longer distance paddling.
We also carry the larger version of the MN2; the 3-seater Minnesota 3. A 20 foot canoe with 3 seats travels faster and easier than all other tandem canoes. It can haul luggage quickly to a basecamp destination or take your family and friends on a quick sprint around a 3-day loop. It has a removable center seat that can convert it to a high capacity 2-person canoe for a long expedition.
Additionally, we also have one of the company’s solo canoes available for rent, the Wenonah Wilderness. This canoe paddles very efficiently due to its lightweight nature but holds plenty of gear. It has a stable hull and moderate rocker which allows the canoe to be paddled while sitting on the seat or kneeling. This kevlar canoe is 15ft 4in and weighs roughly 30 lbs. Similarly to the Northwind Solo, we also have these canoes laid up with a fixed yoke and the seat set back from the center, making it great for multi-day canoe trips.
The final Wenonah canoe we have is the trusty T-Formex Spirit II, 2-person canoe. This is a highly durable canoe, made for late season trips with less than ideal weather conditions. It does, however, run much heavier at 73 lbs so it is a budget friendly option or good for a quick day trip. It is much more durable than the kevlar canoes but more effort for portaging and paddling. Our specific Sawbill Spirit II’s come with web seats, the same design as in all kevlar canoes.
We also maintain a small number of another type of canoe, the Grey Duck Vision 18. Designed specifically for the Boundary Waters and Quetico, it specializes in being able to be comfortable and stable for family paddling and fishing. It has a shallow arch hull design for secondary stability and maintains precision and straight-tracking. This kevlar canoe is 44 lbs, fits 2-people, and is slightly longer than other models at 18’ 9”. This canoe has modern resin-infusion technology with the added protection of Maxguard premium gelcoat. It is considered a hybrid between a performance and touring based canoe.
The final canoe in our lineup is the trusty Alumacraft. An aluminium 17’ touring canoe weighing in at 70lbs is the epitome of stability and durability. A seemingly bulletproof canoe that handles all conditions comfortably due to its ability to track very straight with its added keel. Great functionality for fishing and hauling big gear loads. Also a more budget friendly option compared to the lightweight kevlar canoes.
All together these are the types of canoes and models we currently carry in our fleet. When the wilderness opens completely back up, we want you to feel as ready for your next adventure as we are. There is a canoe for everyone and finding the right one for you starts here at Sawbill. Feel free to reach out with any questions and we would be happy to explain more about these lovely canoes.
7/19/26 – Yesterday evening we were informed that the Forest Service had canceled permits through this coming Friday, July 24th. As a result we thought now would be the perfect time to give a little more information on some trip options still available outside of the Boundary Waters (shown on the Superior National Forest map which we sell online and also have available in our store).
First up is the Timber-Frear Canoe Route which is about a 45 minute drive southwest of our location. This series of 7+ lakes offers an experience similar to the Boundary Waters with options to paddle, portage, and camp at 11 backcountry sites with fire grates (remember there’s a fire ban currently in effect across the forest) and a path back to a latrine. You might see some fishing boats on Whitefish, but once you portage into the surrounding lakes it would be very surprising to see anyone with a motor. Lakes along this route offer prime walleye fishing and also the opportunity for northerns and possibly even some bonus crappies.
Also available in this area is the Whitefish Lake Rustic Campground which has three campsites. For future reference the “Rustic Campground” designation means you will need to provide your own water and/or have a plan to treat it from the lake, pack out all trash, and these sites do not have nightly fees associated with them.
Now is a good time to mention Google Maps or other GPS apps are not always a reliable resource when it comes to navigating the backroads in our area. They will occasionally route down logging/minimum maintenance roads that are not meant for passenger vehicles (this is where the Superior National Forest map comes in handy). What appears to be a shortcut might end up with your sedan bottoming out or getting stuck in a creek bottom (don’t ask us how we know).
Another area worth exploring is Crescent Lake which is a 20-30 minute drive south and east of Sawbill. Here you’ll find a 33 site established campground with a little over half of the sites reservable through the Crescent Lake Campground section of recreation.gov and the other portion first-come, first-serve. For reference this campground rarely fills even during peak season.
Crescent Lake also has a few dispersed campsite options that can be reached by boat (shown on the Superior National Forest map and also the Fisher F-6 map [available for purchase in our store]). Daytrips from Crescent include;
Paddle and portage through a series of small lakes and portages off the south end of the lake on your way to Rice Lake. If fishing bring tackle for walleye, smallmouth, and northerns as Rice has a grab-bag of each.
Travel through a marshy channel to get to Boulder Lake which supports a population of muskie, and also has opportunities to catch walleye and smallmouth bass.
Possible access to Lichen Lake via a narrow marshy creek. If traveling quietly this would be the perfect place to view wildlife. Full disclosure there is a short portion of the route between Crescent and Lichen that may or may not end up being a bushwhacking excursion (we are trying to gather more intel on this and will update here when we know more). Lichen (also accessed off FS Road 170) has a dispersed campsite and boasts a healthy walleye population, so bring your fishing gear if so inclined.
And lest we forget Crescent Lake itself has a ton of nooks and crannies to explore and is well known for it’s walleye fishing. Muskie are also present in the lake, but are “smaller” in size.
Some other off the beaten path options include;
Two dispersed campsites outside of the Boundary Waters on the eastern two thirds of Homer Lake (campsites are marked on McKenzie Map 21 and Fisher F-6). The western third of the lake is inside the Boundary Waters, so as things stand at the time of this writing, is closed to the public. Homer offers some great walleye fishing opportunities and a quick hop across the Brule Lake Road (FS Road 326) gets you into Star Lake which also would be fun to explore and/or fish (walleye present in Star).
Cascade Lake, located just off FS Road 170 (AKA the Grade) also has two dispersed campsites and quite a healthy walleye population. Large northerns can also be caught here.
And as always the Sawbill Lake Campground is a great spot to stay with access to the southern portion of Sawbill Lake which is outside of the Wilderness.
The above are just a smattering of the many options still available in the Superior National Forest. If you’re looking for even more places to explore follow these links to other rustic lake campgrounds and backcountry sites at Fourmile Lake, Hogback Lake, Windy Lake, and Silver Island Lake (all somewhere between 45 minutes to an hour from our location) and the list goes on from there. -Jessica
7/14/26 – With the recent closure of the BWCAW, day to day life here at Sawbill has begun to look a little different. For information about the closure you can look at the blog post from 7/13/26.
Here at Sawbill we had our 70th anniversary over the past weekend! Clare and Dan hosted over 200 former crew, family friends, and Sawbill enthusiasts to celebrate the legacy of Sawbill and the positive impact the Outfitter has had on all those whose path has led them here!
We began the celebrations on Friday with a gathering at the Log House for drinks, good food, and fabulous recollections of the past. With the party in full swing, it was time for the annual Dome Dance! The Dome Dance is a Sawbill tradition that includes a live band, line dances called famously by Terrence and Laura, and a whole lotta fun. The night ended with a pizza party at the Log House, hosted by the one and only Dan Shirley.
On Saturday, we started the day with a pancake breakfast that will go down in the annals of history. With three generations of Hansen women working alongside current crew members, we were able to raise $2,000 for the Sawtooth Mountain Clinic! After the pancakes were eaten, people gathered in front of the Sawbill store to hear a talk from Bill Hansen on the history of Sawbill–antedotes were shared, wisdom was imparted, and reunion goers and customers alike learned 70 years of BWCAW history through the story of Sawbill.
The celebration continued with Dragonboat racing down by the landing. An expertly crafted tournament produced 72 paddlers, 18 boats, and four champions; Sawyer Laird, Paul Ryda, Kari Anderson, and two time reunion champion Lindsey Price!
We then headed back to the canoe yard for a barbecue dinner before the penultimate program of the weekend. Former crew and family packed into the Square Dome for speeches from Bill, Cindy Lou, Clare, Adam, and Kit. Following the speeches, current crew–introduced by Clare–reenacted a day in the life of a Sawbill crew member before the entire crowd participated in a Sawbill themed round of Jeopardy. A tough competition was had but in the end Team ‘Roll n’ Put’ prevailed as the champions of Jeopardy.
After the program, everyone gathered in the canoe yard for campfire songs led by “The Legends”; Kathy Heltzer, Carol Winter, Phil Higley, John Schrag, and Ward Freeman. To end the night reunion goers dispersed for night swims, foosball tournaments (shoutout Mikey and Meg) and final goodbyes.
As we navigate BWCAW closures here at Sawbill, we feel incredibly fortunate to be surrounded by such a wonderful community of former crew, customers, and wilderness enthusiasts. This past weekend we celebrated 70 years of business–serving customers, creating friendships, and helping people enjoy the beauty of the BWCAW. To everyone who came to the reunion or has been a member of the Sawbill family–thank you for 70 amazing years!
7/13/26 – We are expecting an order from the Forest Service today announcing a closure to the entire Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, effective Tuesday July 14th through Friday July 17th. If you had an overnight paddle permit for entry on any day 7/13 (today) through Friday, July 17th, the Forest Service has cancelled it and refunded your money.
So what does this mean for Sawbill? We are open, and the Sawbill Lake campground remains open. There are no fires in our area and we are not under any imminent threat. The southern portion of Sawbill Lake is outside of the Wilderness boundary and is open for swimming, paddling and fishing.
We will be contacting anyone who has an outfitting reservation with us this week as quickly as we can to discuss alternate arrangements or cancellations.
Once the Forest Service issues the signed order we will share that information here. As a general policy, Sawbill typically doesn’t share information until there is a signed order in place in an effort to share only accurate information. In this case, the situation is dynamic and we are focused on helping people understand the impacts to their plans.
If you’d like to still salvage a camping vacation this week, there are some options available to you. The Sawbill Lake, Crescent Lake, and Temperance River campgrounds that we manage are still open. Crescent is not within the BWCA, so it is entirely open for paddling (it’s also a great walleye lake). The southern portion of Sawbill, outside of the Wilderness, is open for paddling.
There are a few other options for remote camping and paddling in our vicinity in the Superior National Forest, including the Timber Frear loop, Cascade Lake, and Lichen Lake. If you’d like to talk about any of these options we are happy to help you make still have a camping trip up here in the Boundary Waters region. Areas outside of the Wilderness are not going to be closed, and there are many options.
In the event you would like to cancel your reservation for canoes or equipment with us, please give us a call or an email and we will process it as soon as we are able.
Thank you for your flexibility, your well wishes, and for hanging in there with us. Stay tuned here and on social media, we’ll update as we know more.
7/7/26 — Since fireworks are banned in all National Superior Forest campgrounds, we have other ways of celebrating the 4th of July up at Sawbill. On Saturday, the crew participated in Dragon Boat Racing, our annual canoe race that took place on the canoe dock after sundown. Three teams raced to beat each other to the finish, and everyone brought great spirits to the event!
Sawbill Crew after the race
With the reunion happening this weekend, our store will be closing early at 5pm on both Friday and Saturday evening. On Saturday morning from 8-10am, please join us for the Sawbill 70th anniversary pancake breakfast! It will be hosted on the screen porch at the store, and everyone is welcome to join. All donations from the event will go to Sawtooth Mountain Clinic’s giving tree program, which helps provide accessible and affordable healthcare to residents of Cook County. We will have plenty of food, so bring empty stomachs. We hope to see you all there!
7/4/26 – With the holiday weekend upon us, we are getting busy up at Sawbill! This past week we have been sending out plenty of Boundary Waters trips, and welcoming visitors to the campground. Luckily, we have some incoming crew members this week to add a few helping hands to the bunch. Megan and Mike are two of our returning crew members, while Kai and Olivia are first-year crew.
Lea helping out customers with canoe rentals
Kai (left) working at the store desk
In other news, a lingering haze has been hovering in the air these past few days. While it may look like smoke or dust, it is actually a sudden wave of pollen! The heavy rain, followed up by a few sunny and breezy days this past week, creates the perfect weather for pollen dispersal. As it settles, our equipment has stayed coated in a thin layer of yellow dust. Whether you are headed out on a trip or just visiting for the day, It’s not a bad idea to keep some allergy medication on hand. Luckily, we keep it stocked up in our store.
One last reminder that the Sawbill 70th reunion is happening next weekend on July 10th and 11th. If you are a former Sawbill crew member, please come and join us for the festivities! You can RSVP by sending an email to info@sawbill.com.
6/29/26 – Jeremy Carl recently returned from a canoe trip in one of my favorite sections of the Boundary Waters and was kind enough to pass along his trip report along with some great photos. -Jessica
Group photo (from left to right: Hunter Navarro, Rikk Malm, Mason Malm, and Jeremy Carl).
“June 20-21, 2026
The four of us left Hastings, MN about 4:45 am. We made it to Sawbill Outfitters around 10:30 AM after a few stops along the way. We grabbed our permit and loaded up two canoes and headed to the Kawishiwi Lake Entry Point. We got our canoes and gear all set and hit the water just past noon.
There was a group of 9 from a Wilderness Camp that were just getting their introduction to the canoeing world. They were also practicing swamping their canoes. They seemed to be enjoying themselves.
Today was a long day. It was about 7.5 hours of travel, and about 19 miles total including double portaging.
There was a lot of paddling. We did get slowed a little by a group of three canoes that clearly were on their first trip. On their first try through the portage from Kawasachong Lake to Townline Lake they left canoes and other gear scattered along the way. They also had two red coolers that I assume they somehow managed to maneuver over the portage eventually. We didn’t see them again, they were headed to Polly Lake. Otherwise the portages from Kawishiswi Lake to Amber Lake are relatively easy and straight forward. There aren’t many elevation changes.
We ended up on the Southern most site on Amber Lake, the one just out of the channel. We stayed here two nights. We arrived at camp around 7:30 pm. We did not feel like going in the boats again this day, so we did some fishing from camp. The forecast had no rain for today, so naturally we didn’t set up the tarp. And of course it rained for 45 minutes to a hour. We scrambled in the rain and dark, and did get the tarp up without issue. We were the only group on Amber Lake both night we stayed.
Sunday we fished all around River Lake(I think it’s basically just part of the Kawishiwi River). We did pretty good, we caught Walleye, Small Mouth Bass, and Northen Pike.
At night, around 11:15 pm we were looking out on Amber Lake, and there was this weird red glowing light just above the tree line horizon. It didn’t move at first, but after a few minutes it pushed off and disappeared in the direction of Thomas and Fraser Lakes. We weren’t sure what it was, but we did think it was in Orbit and not actually very close by.
Today was a much needed rest and fishing day, it was a good day!
Monday June 22nd
Today we moved North to the island site on Adams Lake. After gathering wood we went for a much needed swim. We fished from mid afternoon until after dark. We trolled and casted our way around the North half of the lake. We did ok, but Adams Lake is beautiful and we all agreed we would stay here again. We were the only group on Adams Lake tonight.
The site had tons of micro litter around. We found all we could and packed it with us.
Tuesday June 23rd, Wednesday June 24th.
Today was another long travel day, it took us about 6 hours to get to Little Saganaga Lake, then another hour or so to find a suitable site for the possible pending storms that the weather radio told us were heading our way. We did find an awesome site. Although it felt like we were the only group on Little Sag both nights, it’s hard to believe that we were since we only seen about a quarter of the lake.
The day today was a lot of portaging. The portage from the small pond after Boulder Lake up to Ledge Lake had a T intersection, we needed to turn right. Ledge into Vee Lake portage was a challenge but nothing crazy. There still weren’t many elevation changes, but this stretch was mostly overgrown and did have some mud, but nothing as muddy or overgrown as the stretch from Trail Lake to Wine Lake that we experienced last year. We never did find the actual portage from Vee to Fee Lakes, but we made it work.
Elton Lake has a burn from I think the John Elk Fire? It seemed much more in the early stages of regrowth than we seen on Little Sag and the Square Lake areas. I think all three of these burned areas are from different fires?!
We stayed at the site at the end of the peninsula about mid way up the West side of the Little Saganaga Lake. It was elevated and protected for the most part in all directions. We checked 4-5 other sites and although some were nice, none seemed like they work for us to be at for any kind of stormy weather. This ended up being an awesome site. We fished for a while but only caught one Northern Pike.
We stayed here for two nights. The storms did come a little bit overnight on Tuesday, otherwise we just got a little rain Wednesday morning.
We fished on and off throughout the day on Wednesday, but all the Lake Trout eluded us for now. Little Sag is a big lake, lots of water with deep holes, we didn’t travel far but we did put in a good amount of time. In the end we just got one fish on Little Sag. Our group of four has never had much fishing luck on big water.
Thursday June 25th
We packed up our gear and had a nice easy travel day down to Makwa Lake. It took us about a hour and a half. The portages were straight forward as we did these same three portages on Tuesday on the way to Little Sag.
Makwa is a beautiful lake. The cliffs are amazing. We even paddled past a loons nest just out of the water on the shore line of an island. She just watched us paddle by as we steered away not to put any additional stress on her.
We stayed on the rocky cliff site on the far west end of the lake. We had perfect weather for this site, it’s very exposed up on the cliff but that gave us 360 degree views of the night sky and area. We did take the short path up to the top of a 50 foot sheer cliff. It was was an awesome view.
We swam here after afternoon fishing. We all agreed this was a sweet site but no where to be for a storm. We did get a random 20-30 minutes of gusty wind but we managed without issue. We also had a very hard time finding fire wood on Makwa, but we did.
We ended up catching six Lake Trout total, we cooked one over the fire. Three of the four of us caught at least one Laker meaning for the second year in a row three of us hit the BWCA grand slam, all four of us did it in 2025. Sorry Mason, we will get you next year!
Friday June 26th
We fished one more time for about an hour this morning but had no luck. We went back to camp and packed up for the moving day.
Today we had our eyes on a site somewhere between Kivaniva Lake and Malberg. We aren’t yet ready for the zoo Polly Lake can be.
After about three to three and half hours we ended up on Malberg Lake. We took the site on the point as you enter the bigger part of the lake from the North East arm. It’s a nice site. It gets quite a bit of use. Two of us had stayed here back in 2020. It’s pretty much just how I remember it. We swam today as it was very sunny and warm. We fished from shore some and hung out in the afternoon.
We fished in the evening one last time and had decent success, but not as well as we had done in the past on Malberg.
Saturday June 27th
Today was what everyone who goes on a trip experiences, the last day and the paddle out. I wasn’t ready to go. It took us about four hours to get back to the parking lot at Kawishiwi Lake. We 1.5 portaged rather than double portaged as we had done the whole trip until now. I think it probably saved us about a hour or so. We met people traveling in both directions, all were very friendly and well organized for the most part. To our surprise, Polly Lake was pretty much empty from what we seen. Just proves you never know what you might find at the other end of the portage.
From the time we left Amber Lake Monday morning, until Friday afternoon on Malberg Lake, the only contact we had with others was a friendly solo paddler that let us know the island site on Adams Lake was all ours. We did see three canoes in the distance on Little Sag while we were fishing, and we had a group of 3 canoes stay at the far Northeast corner of Makwa the same night we were on the West end of the lake. We also seen them leaving in the morning just before us, but they were single portaging and we never had contact. But on Malberg as expected, we watched the boat parade go by off in the distance of the middle of the lake.
We had three meals of Walleye, and we cooked the one Laker. We had fires all seven nights. All 5 of our campsites were outstanding! We didn’t see a ton of wildlife, we didn’t even see a bald eagle until the second to last day. We did see lots of Beavers, Painter Turtles, Loons, and Mergansers.
We couldn’t of asked for better weather. We had minimal rain. Everyday day seemed to have highs in low to mid 70s, and lows in the upper 40s. The winds were not a factor, never more than 5-10 mph when we were on the water.
I can’t speak for all four of us, but for me the BWCA is my favorite place in the world. This time, it left me wanting more.
Overall it was 42-44 portages, 8-10 beaver dams and about 90 miles including double and 1.5 portaging and some fishing. The actual route was about 50-55 miles.
We caught Huge Bluegills, some of the biggest I’ve ever seen. Perch, Northern Pike, Smallmouth Bass, Lake Trout, and Walleye. The biggest Walleye were 22, 24.5, 25.5, and 27 inches.”
6/17/2026 – This past Sunday we had a busy day of canoe rental returns! Sundays are typically a bigger return day as folks round out their trips and get ready to return to work. On this recent Sunday, it was quite windy so there was a convergence of people on our return area all at about the same time early in the day. Some enterprising customers decided to use the support posts of our recently re-built return sign to stash their life jackets. We had 25 groups return on the 14th, many of them with multiple canoes! It was a fun all hands on deck getting everyone checked back in.
Newly re-built Returns sign plays host to many returned life jackets.
6/16/26 – Sawbill’s own Damon “D-Dawg” Hennessy just completed a wonderful week of fly fishing in the Sawbill vicinity. He was generous enough write up a trip report to share herewith a few tips and tricks for early season fly fishing in the Boundary Waters.
In early Sept 2025 I had a permit and a fly fishing focused trip planned with a buddy flying in from Portland OR. Sadly my obsessive watching of the weather in the days leading to our trip did nothing to halt a brutal drop in temps and 45MPH winds from the north on the very day we were to shove off. With no real flexibility in our schedules and seemingly no let up in the winds for many days we made to tough decision to bail entirely. Bummer. So when permits for 2026 came online I jumped on one for early June. We are both fairly obsessed with catching smallmouth bass and pike on fly rods, especially on the surface, and early June is the prime time to do this.
Lo and behold, this time the weather cooperated, the airlines cooperated, and when the day finally came we shoved off with our fly rods ready to chase fish.
I love canoeing the BWCA, but let’s face it, if you’ve ever had the pleasure of fishing from a sparkly bass boat, or even a decent fishing specific kayak, you know that fishing from a canoe is less than optimal. There’s the wind… the instability… the constant hassle of paddling back to retrieve snags. Now imagine all that plus fly fishing. It can be downright ugly. Like that episode of “I Love Lucy” when Lucy and Ethel work the assembly line at the chocolate factory. Trust me, look it up on YouTube, it’s a classic.
To avoid such comedy my partner and I agreed on a plan: paddler in the back, caster in the front. Switch when it seems fair. We talked strategies beforehand and agreed on a few basics. Mostly how to position the nose of the canoe in a place where the guy in the back doesn’t run the risk of catching a hook in the back of the head. We are both righties so this meant casting towards shore at roughly the 11 o’clock position.
We were only going a few lakes in and base camping so we could focus on figuring out the lake we were on and a few surrounding lake day trips. The base camp lake we chose had lots of spots to get out of wind and was big enough to give us a variety of spots to work.
OK, onto the fishing! I think the biggest surprise for both of us was how much we enjoyed the paddler part of the fishing. It was way more of a team effort than either of us could have predicted. As paddler all your senses have to be fully engaged as you are watching the water for likely hiding places behind trees and rocks, noticing subtle wind shifts and listening for fish along the bank that are actively chasing food. You’re also constantly tweaking the canoe position and trying to maintain position and angle in the wind. We caught fish along rocky banks (think bowling ball sized rocks) that had deep water adjacent, but also some fish in soft bottom areas and some in expansive flats. And of course they were in the classic spots, behind bigger rocks, in wood piles and near areas of wind blown current. The most fun part was sight fishing for bass. We caught plenty of fish who tipped off their location with an aggressive swirl as we were quietly approaching an area. Then we’d glide into place knowing you only had one real shot to drop your fly in the right spot. The teamwork that went into these moments made it super fun. Gear wise we had a 6 weight rod with floating line and an 8 weight rod with a floating line and a sink tip line. Mostly we used the 6 weight and as far as flies we caught 98 percent of the fish on top water flies, either a Boogle Bug or Mr. Wiggly. (I don’t name these things, I just fish em). At some point on day two we decided to smash the barbs on all the flies to make releasing faster, we may have had few fish shake off after that policy change but I feel like it’s the thing to do for catch and release fishing.
If you’re new to fly fishing and would like to try it don’t expect to learn it on a week long canoe trip. Get a rod and practice casting in your yard, then catch some bluegill off a dock somewhere. Once you can throw bigger flies with some accuracy you are ready. Bass are willing but you need to be a pretty good caster to get the fly in a place where you can catch fish. And make sure you’ve got a good paddling partner in the back!
