Hi guys!

This will be my first trip through the boundary waters! We're set for June 19-22nd...but I'm not sure what to bring? I was just going to bring my spin rod with random lures. I'm not sure where we are going up there. Anyone have some advice as for fish? We're going to be out of point of entry #77 from Hegman Lake. Hows the weather during mid June? Do you need any type of weapon? I was going to bring just a pocket knife. Is the water REALLY safe to drink? Are the mosquitos thick out there? Should I be worried about bears or other animals? Sorry about the noob questions...I just want to be prepared. I did a search.....but it brought up soooo many bwca topics...it wasn't search friendly.

Thank you for any help! I've been searching the net for answers today! Any help will be great!

When you get your permit the forest service or outfitter will brief you on what you need to know. If you want fishing info check out the book fishing the boundary waters.

My avatar picture was taken at hegman.

First trip - you're gonna love it!

I'll give your questions a shot.

Spinning rod with standard bass, walleye, pike lures will work. Don't forget good leaders and I would not be shy trolling with them regardless of what you are targeting. Obviously know what kind of fish are in the lakes you are hitting.

June BWCA weather is known to be rainy, but you can have hot sunny days too. You'll want good rain gear and should consider long underwear and a stocking cap.

No need for a weapon (except fishing rod, LOL).

You'll get varying opinions, but IMO, if you get your water over deep water, you are safe drinking straight out of BWCA lakes without filtering. We could spend days debating this, but life is too short. Oh, and drink lots of water - dehydration headaches and constipation are no fun but common for rookies.

Mosquitos in June can be very thick, especially on portages and at dusk. On the lakes they should not be a problem, so spend most of your time on the lakes!

Don't worry about bears and other animals, but do hang your food pack high and between two trees. The Forest Service will have info on how to hang packs. Watch fish on stringers - theft by snapping turtles is common in BWCA.

Have a great trip!

My standard tackle for up there is a 7 foot medium action spinning rod with 8 or 10 pound test. Bring extra line!

As for lures... can't go wrong with shad raps, husky jerk-baits, jigs and grubs, spinnerbaits. I catch most of my fish on Rapalas or live bait in those areas. Pretty much any standard presentation will work. Might want steel leaders if you are fishing a presentation that pike will tend to eat... sucks to lose a nice lure because you get bit off.


I drink the water in non-motorized lakes all the time... go out in the middle, don't take it right off the surface (submerge your water bottle) and you should be fine.

Don't even bother with bug repellent, IMO the only stuff that works will probably give you some sort of genetic mutation. I just deal with the bugs by choosing campsites with a nice breeze, staying out in the lake, etc.

I would NOT drink the water untreated. Just buy some iodine pills before you go and use those. They are cheap, and if you dont like the taste there is a second bottle available you can buy with it to remove the taste. It is not worth it to get giardia. I had a friend who got it up there and it was not fun to say the least.

Hey Katman: WOOL SOCKS The best you can find. Keep extra pair for back-up. DON'T skimp on raingear. 100% Deet works well for bugs, be careful don't overuse.

Bring a vacuum. It's really dirty up there.

Headlamp.

I'd also bring a pair of shoes you can get wet, and stay in all day. And then a second pair of "dry shoes" for when you're off the water.

And like ditchpickle said, headlamp plus extra batteries. Sunscreen is a big one too. And good sunglasses.

I've been drinking the water unfiltered for years up there and never had problems. But I guess it only takes one time. I'd take a filter rather than iodine if you don't mind spending a bit more, that stuff is nasty

Here are the things I would not forget when going to the boundary waters:

-First Aid Kit
-Lightweight Raingear
-High Energy Food
-Waterproof Matches
-Headlamp
-Emergency Blanket (the one that looks like tinfoil)
-Extra shoes and a pair of water shoes that can get wet and dry out quickly
-Wool Clothing and socks
-A sharp knife (for doing chores around camp and to use as a survival tool, you don't need any type of weapon or self-defense in the BWCA if you follow all of the forest service guidlines). Weather is always your biggest enemy in the BWCA!
-Sunscreen and a wide brimmed fishing hat
-Sunglasses (polarized)
-An extra collapsible rod (I had a large northern snap one of my rods right in the middle of the rod on the first day of my trip. If I had not brought an extra rod, that would have been the end of my fishing on that trip.
-Bring lots of spoons, jigs, crankbaits, hooks, line, and terminal tackle. I also bring leeches and freeze dried minnows
-Stocking cap and waterproof gloves
-A lightweight cooking burner just in case it is raining and you can not find dry firewood to cook with
-A map of the area you will be in
-A cell phone (granted you are not going to have reception most times, but it could save your life should something serious happen, there are some areas that you can get reception in, especially higher elevations). Keep it off at all times to save your battery, only turn it on if and when you need to use it.
-Rope
-Bring strong new paddles (having a cheap paddle break on the first couple days of your trip could make for a very unenjoyable one). If you do have a paddle break, find a log that closely resembles a paddle and start carving with your knife!

I am sure I am forgetting some other minor things, but that is a good starting point for you. Good luck and have fun. The B-dub is heaven.

GoggleEye

I think everyone here has given great ideas on things to bring. Once you go you will soon learn what things you use and which ones you don't. I don't disagree with somethings mentioned, I just wouldn't haul them in on my trip.

Essentials are 2 pairs of footwear for reasons mentioned.
Warm clothes.
Raingear- June is the rainiest month of the year
At least a 40 degree sleeping bag,
Shelter that you can set up quickly and easily.
A cookstove and cookset.
fire-starting materials
quality food
Folding saw
ROPE! can't have enough.
first aid kit with moleskin for blisters
MAPS, make sure you have 2 sets of the area you will visit.
Compass
waterbottle
A pack to carry it all in

I think these are the basics. What you bring outside of that is for your own purposes. I do like to fish so I have 2 rods, one lightweight and other a med. action for pike and lakers. I like taking pics so I have my camera and a lightweight tripod. Its hard to list everything unless I assume you're a complete newb to camping in general, in which case you're gonna rent everything from an outfitter and they will help you.

I prefer hiking boots for safety and comfort. Rocks and sticks and swollen ankles aren't worth the risk to me. I wear sandals at camp. I've traveled in every month that the water is open, but June is still my favorite for fishing. It does offer the chance of freezing temps and lots of rain.
I don't bring a chair or and spare paddle. I do use water filters because I'm not always in large lakes and I like the safety of it. I never plan on eating fish for a meal because fish don't plan on being eaten. Its safer to bring your food and eat fish as you get lucky. It also allows you to be more selective about your harvest.
I wouldn't rely on a fire for cooking, but many people have done it for decades. I doubt it this year, but there can be burning bans and again its the rainiest month.
Bugs can be bad but there are so many its hard to predict. Sometimes it mosquitoes, sometimes its flys, last year we had weird biting(none of the above)things at another site. Usually the bugs aren't out most of the day.

The outfitters' web sites have some useful lists.

Bring warm clothes. And bug repellent. And good raingear. Be prepared to stay dry and warm even if it is cold and rainy. It might be nice but best to be prepared.

You don't need any kind of weapon. Bring whatever kind of knife you need for camping, cooking, cleaning fish etc.

Take precautions with your food and campsite to avoid problems with bears. No food in tent, etc. Food packs hung well up in tree away from trunk out of bear reach.

I like to bring a one burner stove.

Build fire in grate long enough ahead of time for iron grate to get hot. Can't cook until it does, no matter how big the fire.

Pictographs on Hegman are really cool. Also the pitcher plants etc. I don't know about the fishing in the area. Hard to go wrong with some mimic minnows, rapalas, twister tails. Maybe a mepps or vibrax or two, and a tiny torpedo for fun.

I could get by with floating rapalas, and some sort of lindy rig, with leaches, or crawlers, and crawler harness... leaches keep better...slip bobbers if you find a good spot. But you'll catch plenty of fish just trolling a floating rapala behind your canoe as you paddle about... stay a few feet from shore, in 4-7 f.o.w, and you'll catch lots of smallies and pike, and an occassional walleye. The water is generally pretty cold in June, so you'll catch walleyes in shallow water. 12-15 ft, is about as deep as I go in june. With lots of action in 6-8'. You can also toss those floating rapalas within inches of every down tree, emergent vegetation, rocks, etc and catch plenty of smallies that way too.

A little Duct tape comes in handy quite often. You can patch your canoe, tent, pole, tarps, shoes, skin, etc with it.

In 3 dozen trips, I've only filtered my water once or twice, and that was because I went with someone squeemish. If you're in a shallow lake, you might consider it, or if you see lots of beaver sign. I've heard giardia isn't much fun, so I suppose better safe than sorry.

I like to get water before I go to bed, that way it's nice and cool when I get up in the morning.

I too like the 2 sets of shoes. It's a little more bulky, but you can't beat a dry set of socks and shoes around camp, it's a nice pleasure after a day of portaging through the muck.

Screw the freeze-dried stuff, and go with good food. Although they make pretty good freeze dried food, you can't beat cooking a t-bone, baked potato, and corn-on-the cob opening evening.

Even if you don't bring a cooler, you can wrap a frozen steak inside your sleeping bag, and it's good to go first night.

I don't skimp on food. It's bacon-eggs-pancakes-oatmeal-granola bars for my breakfasts.

Steak, spaghetti, fish, etc for dinners.

PB&J for snack or quick meal.

I usually go fishing early, eat a late breakfast, then putz around the campsite or take a nap, or paddle to another destination, eat an early dinner, and go fishing again. So 2 meals a day work fine for me.

I like tang, lemonade, coolaid for mixers... and don't be afraid to bring some hot chocolate, it can get cold... a little soup might be a good idea too.

Bring your dog. If you can't decide, bring it. My golden retriever lives for the boundary waters.

I like to bring a clean set of clothes, towel, toiletries, and leave it in the car for the return trip. Then stop in at Seagul lake outfitters (if you're doing the gunflint), or one of the outfitters in ELY, and take a hot shower on the way out...you'll enjoy it.

BTW, if your canoe weighs more than 65lbs, and you plan on doing many portages, you may want to reconsider.

My brother has a couple of those big aluma craft cargo carriers, that weigh about 95lbs. They're perfect for my type of camping/fishing... we only have one short portage. But I've tried to go to Insula with them, NEVER again.

I rent 65lb aluminum canoes from one of the local community colleges for 45 bucks a week... it's cheap. Or you can splurge and get a 40+ lb kevlar... careful with the rocks, they're "wet landing only" or if you really want to cover some water, go with a sea-going kayak.

Good luck, you will be hooked for life.

I will add a study pair of leather boots for the portages. Something with a good lug, no insulation, and water proofed with one of the wax based sealers. This boot will allow you to step into the water when getting out of a canoe, slog though mud and offer good footing on slippery rocks during portages.

One pet peeve of mine and I'm not jumping you. I see it all the time on some of todays outdoor shows is using the term "weapon" when the correct term is firearm. I have many firearms ranging from handguns, shotguns, and rifles in various calibers and actions. I don't own any "weapons" but have many items ranging from ballpoint pens, sticks, and yes even firearms that could turn into a weapon if need be. In your case you would be asking, "should I bring a firearm along for protection"? Just the hint that its intended purpose in this case is for protection almost classifies this firearm as a weapon but it truly isn't. One reason is the likelihood of you needing it is very slim. If you were a police officer then call it a weapon if you will but for the weekender in the BWCAW a weapon it is not.

So a firearm can turn into a weapon with the intent behind its use. Just as a ballpoint pen is just a pen.