On our annual mid-June trip this year to Nam and Kab, we are planning on walking in to Shoepack. Anyone have any experience going in there? I thought it would be fun to check it out. I’m sure we will haul in a few buzz baits and bucktails to see if we can get a few fish to bite. Any other local tactics to share?

Thanks in advance for any advice or opinions.

i would be interested in any info on shoepack also. condition of trail, distance, ect. will be upthere 28 june for a week. thanks

Duckster needs to reply on this one. My only experience w/ Shoepack is w/ snowmobile. In the summer months, I know the trail can be "damp" and we are really having that sort of year right now.

Despite the difficulties that this years rain has brought, I have always heard that it's a great adventure w/ the muskies. Something to cross off the bucket list! I wish I had the time and ambition!

Good luck and happy trails!

LIS

The bucket list is pretty much my reason for giving this a try. It will be an adventure no matter what happens.

The trail will be damp this year. But what the heck, life is an adventure, what are swarms of mosquitos and ticks. That's what makes portaging fun! (Note: bring mosquito head nets and gloves) I've walked it once, then we flew in the next time. Man that's the way to go.
As for the fishing. If nothing has changed since I was there last (7 years ago) you should have no problem catching more muskies in one day than you'll ever catch for the rest of your life. No big ones, but they are aggressive and will hit anything. Top water is fun, bucktails will work. Anything you cast for pike on nam/kab will work just fine.
Have fun, it's an adventure!

They changed the minimum size for 'skies from 30 to the normal statewide 40 inch rule. That's kind've a bummer, always had it in the back of my mind to go there someday and catch a 30 incher to try on the grill.

Barbelboy,

When you flew in, what did you use for boats? I was planning on renting one of the canoes from the forest service and/or fish from shore.

The park visitor center on Kab can reserve the canoe or boat for you whether you walk or fly. Fishing from shore would be hard because of the terrain. We've brought in a very small portage motor but you could definitely paddle or row...

Any Lake Kabetogama vistors or locals have recomendations on float plane services in the area?

A few years back we tied up at Ek bay and took the Cruiser trail towards Shoepack by way of Jorgens lake. We got to the lower end of the portage by Quarter Line lake and that was full of water. With the high water this year, that trail must be even more difficult.

There are several. A few years ago we used the guy out of Roaring Stony Lodge by Ely. He knows all about the lake and the visitor center etc....

The best(only) way to access Shoepack is to walk in. Floatplanes are no longer allowed to land in Shoepack due to the danger of transmitting Spiny water fleas into the interior lakes.

The best route in, is to take the trail into Jorgens lake and then follow the trail around the west end of Jorgens into Little Shoepack. The Park Service has a canoe in Little Shoepack that you can rent at one of the Visitor Centers. From little Shoe you can portage into Big Shoepack. When you pick up the key for the boat ask the VC staff and they should be able to show you the route.

I would not try to walk in the snowmobile trail, it is for winter use and too wet to hike in the summer. Let me know if you have any questions.

Duckster

Giant Jackpot - Wondering how you did on Shoepack. I know a couple guys who are going to make the trek in there in a couple weeks. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks.

DB

Sorry for the late update on this…. We did not go in for several reasons. We were told at the Ash River Visitors Center that there was only one row boat available on the lake and somehow it had ended up on an island. They supposedly had sent someone in there to retrieve it but it did not work out. They also told us that the trail had two beaver dams on it and was real hard to navigate. Since we did not even try it out, I can’t tell you if any of this info is correct but it did come from a VNP employee. One other thing to note is that you cannot haul in any other water craft to Shoepack due to the spiny water flea problem. There is a notice posted at the trail head with all of the details on this. Float planes are not allowed either which is one option I would have considered. I’ll check it out again next year to see if anything has changed. Let me know if your buddies have a different experience.

Thanks,

So the spiny water flea is in Shoepack or their (attempting)to keep it out?c63