Jump to content
  • GUESTS

    If you want access to members only forums on HSO, you will gain access only when you Sign-in or Sign-Up .

    This box will disappear once you are signed in as a member. ?

It's that time of the year again...BWCA Lottery.


Recommended Posts

Quote:
There are some tough permits to get in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, especially for popular entry points and holidays.

A lot of canoeists might not know there is an early lottery held for some of those tough-to-get permits.The application period opened Dec. 1 and closes Jan. 15, 2011.

The lottery provides the first opportunity for visitors to reserve a BWCAW permit for the coming season.

Like all BWCAW applications, you must set up an account on www.recreation.gov to enter the lottery. Results can be viewed online between Jan. 16 and Jan. 20.

You can only apply online. Folks who used to fax or mail their applications or pay by check or money order are out of luck. It's all electronic these days; you can only pay by credit card.

Beginning Jan. 20, you can apply for permits on a first-come, first-served basis, also at www.recreation.gov.

Reservations may be made by phone beginning Feb. 1, 2011 by calling the new National Recreation Reservation Service toll-free number at (877) 444-6777.

According to the Superior National Forest, "The BWCAW lottery was established to fairly distribute available quotas for entry dates and entry points where demand exceeds availability.

"For those who know their desired entry date and location well in advance, the lottery offers an early opportunity to make a reservation. In the lottery process, permits are awarded through a computer-generated, random selection."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ted, are you asking about a permit for a trip in April or May or getting the permit in April or May for a later date? If for a trip in April, you can use a self issueing permit if you aren't traveling by motor. These are at entry points. If you are looking at getting the permit reservation in April or May to use later in the summer, you might not get your first choice of an entry point or date. The reservation HSOforum is pretty easy to use.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks. I'm not sure when exactly I want to venture up there yet, but it won't likely be until the end of May or June sometime. It's my first time considering a BWCA trip, so I appreciate the info in this thread.

Happy Holidays,

Ted

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ted....

First off, it's pretty rare that the lakes are free of ice in April up there. May is a decent time, pretty much no bugs and the crowds havn't shown up yet. It might be difficult to get permits for the better known fishing areas on the fishing opener and Memorial day weekend. And once June rolls around and school is out, there is a greater influx of school groups, church groups and Boy Scout groups.

I don't think as a first timer you need to enter the lottery, but the longer you wait this spring to secure a permit, the less choices you will have of a access point. Popular access points and dates go quickly, non-popular areas not so much.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guess it depends on a few things. How far do you want to travel by canoe and portage? Is fishing a primary interest or is solitude? If fishing is why you're going, what do you want to fish for? For a first timer, I'd suggest Brule Lake. No portages to get to a campsite, fair fishing for walleyes and smallmouth. If you haven't been to the BWCA before, it won't seem too crowded. There are options near Brule for other species of fish that don't involve a ton of portaging.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey ted4887 trust me a trip to the bwca is a must. I live in your neck of the woods and for being just a 5 hour drive from our area we are so fortuanate. I would suggest taking a 4 day trip instead of 3. This is because you have to take into consideration time it takes paddeling to your campsite which could take half a day or more depending how far you would like to go. Another option of an entry point would be Lake 1. It's a bit more crowded than other areas but also very easy paddle to many great campsites and fishing.

Also trips to the bwca are just a great cheap get-a-way. Gas will be the most expensive part of the trip. There is the permit and then also food. But if your going to with a couple guys you could go on a 4 day trip for 75 to 100 dollars. So affordable and so much fun.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Trucks is right about the cost being pretty reasonable. Ted, as far as trout/salmon, no salmon in the BWCA. There are designated stream trout lakes and lake trout lakes. The dnr lakefinder gives plenty of info on them. I can think of a couple of stream trout lakes really close to Brule and one very good lake trout lake just a couple of portages away. One portage is fairly long, though. Might want to get a map and start marking which lakes have which species in them. Michael Furtmans "Boundary Waters Fishing Guide" has a list of lakes near the end of the book that gives some info on different lakes. From there it's easy to go to the dnr site and learn more about each lake.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm going in on May 30, to Little Gabbro. Hopefully one or more of my sons will join me, nephews, maybe a brother-in-law. We went to Gabbro and Bald Eagle last year for a few days, and loved it!

Any stories or suggestions on fishing spots, camp grounds, etc.?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I caught some nice walleyes on little Gabbro last May. 2 great resources to read are Robert Beymar's Boundary Waters Canoe Area Eastern and Western. They offer a lot of insight on portages, routes, campsites, fishing spots, etc. If you plan on making it over to Gabbro, there is bay on the north side that goes way back into a marshy area, it is a great place to see a moose! Have fun, and remember...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now ↓↓↓ or ask your question and then register. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.



  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • It’s done automatically.  You might need an actual person to clear that log in stuff up.   Trash your laptop history if you haven’t tried that already.
    • 😂 yea pretty amazing how b o o b i e s gets flagged, but they can't respond or tell me why I  can't get logged in here on my laptop but I can on my cellular  😪
    • I grilled some brats yesterday, maybe next weekend will the next round...  
    • You got word censored cuz you said        B o o b ies….. haha.   Yeah, no… grilling is on hiatus for a bit.
    • Chicken mine,  melded in Mccormick poultry seasoning for 24 hours.  Grill will get a break till the frigid temps go away!
    • we had some nice weather yesterday and this conundrum was driving me crazy  so I drove up to the house to take another look. I got a bunch of goodies via ups yesterday (cables,  winch ratchet parts, handles, leaf springs etc).   I wanted to make sure the new leaf springs I got fit. I got everything laid out and ready to go. Will be busy this weekend with kids stuff and too cold to fish anyway, but I will try to get back up there again next weekend and get it done. I don't think it will be bad once I get it lifted up.    For anyone in the google verse, the leaf springs are 4 leafs and measure 25 1/4" eye  to eye per Yetti. I didnt want to pay their markup so just got something else comparable rated for the same weight.   I am a first time wheel house owner, this is all new to me. My house didn't come with any handles for the rear cables? I was told this week by someone in the industry that cordless drills do not have enough brake to lower it slow enough and it can damage the cables and the ratchets in the winches.  I put on a handle last night and it is 100% better than using a drill, unfortatenly I found out the hard way lol and will only use the ICNutz to raise the house now.
    • I haven’t done any leaf springs for a long time and I can’t completely see the connections in your pics BUT I I’d be rounding up: PB Blaster, torch, 3 lb hammer, chisel, cut off tool, breaker bar, Jack stands or blocks.   This kind of stuff usually isn’t the easiest.   I would think you would be able to get at what you need by keeping the house up with Jack stands and getting the pressure off that suspension, then attack the hardware.  But again, I don’t feel like I can see everything going on there.
    • reviving an old thread due to running into the same issue with the same year of house. not expecting anything from yetti and I already have replacement parts ordered and on the way.   I am looking for some input or feedback on how to replace the leaf springs themselves.    If I jack the house up and remove the tire, is it possible to pivot the axel assembly low enough to get to the other end of the leaf spring and remove that one bolt?   Or do I have to remove the entire pivot arm to get to it? Then I also have to factor in brake wire as well then. What a mess   My house is currently an hour away from my home at a relatives, going to go back up and look it over again and try to figure out a game plan.           Above pic is with house lowered on ice, the other end of that leaf is what I need to get to.   above pic is side that middle bolt broke and bottom 2 leafs fell out here is other side that didnt break but you can see bottom half of leaf already did but atleast bolt is still in there here is hub assembly in my garage with house lowered and tires off when I put new tires on it a couple months ago. hopefully I can raise house high enough that it can drop down far enough and not snap brake cable there so I can get to that other end of the leaf spring.
    • Chef boyardee pizza from the box!
  • Topics

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.