Took my wife and 8 year old daughter to the Boundary Waters for a trip from May 26-June 1. We paddled out 18 miles from our entry point to our campsite starting at 430am. 7 portages and lots of paddling to get there, but made it in about 6 hours. We had very few bugs until the last day. One night it got down to about 32 degrees. I wiped some frost off the tent. Tuesday after memorial was a little rainy. The next day we went an additional 5 miles out on a day trip and really pounded the walleyes on a new lake. We caught 50-60 fish in a few hours of fishing. I spent most of the day covered in fish and leech slime. Average size was very impressive. Probably over 20". My daughter caught a couple 24-25". LOTS of 21-22".
My wife told me she never caught a walleye before this trip. She proceeded to catch her first promptly followed by another 75-80 fish. She lost a really big fish on our long day trip. It was a wall mounter. We had some great fish dinners (pan fried, deep fried, and baked in tinfoil). We had 2 fantastic moose encounters. On the way out mom and 2 babies popped out of the brush close to us by shore. On the last day just as we left camp at 445 am mom and baby crossed the water in front of our canoe by a narrow neck down that I like to fish. My wife got a great video while I paddle through.
It was a highly successful trip and they are already planning on going back next year. We put about 60 miles on the canoe and caught about 175-200 fish total. I only got to fish about half the time and that was just fine. It was awesome to watch them having such a blast. Our 19 year old daughter and her boyfriend arrived in Ely this morning to take the same trip as us. They are gonna have LOTS of bugs and some weather to deal with. Hoping they stay safe.
I will be doing this trip for the rest of my life as long as my body allows. It is a world class experience.
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