*The expression is “couldn’t care less”.
What you typed implies you care.
Just being helpful.

Were you able to get it all off your chest?

One more suggestion txhorsedoc, ask wherever you end up going what color the water is. The best waters I’ve fished up there are rusty/tea colored…super clear is pretty but tough for fishing during the day…

Check out Alexanders on Rowan Lake . Fly in only resort . We go every year multi species , Large and Smallmouth bass , Lake Trout , Walleye, Muskie and Pike, Usually can get 50- 100 Smallies a day . Plus can switch off and catch some giant Lake Trout. Great people who run the resort too.

I have paddled/portaged portions of Quetico Provincial Park 8 different times. All were planned around a full moon in July. We self outfitted each trip and rented canoes in Ely, MN. The last time I was there I read and talked to people who had just gotten back from Camp Quetico

The fishing was incredible regardless of the lakes we were on. After the 1st trip we actually packed less protein because we caught enough each day for dinner. If I get the opportunity to go back it will be the manner you are looking to do and not a wilderness 'adventure'. However, I would not trade those trips for the world.

This is something everyone should try to experience at least once. The BWCA and Quetico PP are really phenomenal places. There are also many lake on the fringe of the BWCA loaded with smallmouths too if you’d rather not be in a canoe. If you go in June or July it can be almost too easy at times…beautiful views too.

Yes. My 1st trip was in the BWCA. All the subsequent trips we crossed the border day 1. I would paddle/portage again but I can afford to forego the 4 hour paddle from put in to the Canadian border and reserve a shuttle boat. Border and customs are pretty quick since you have minimal packs but still takes an hour minimum after licensing etc.

Yeah. If you get a remote area border crossing (RABC) you can skip customs. If you went on east side up the gunflint trail you could get a tow across saganaga and go from there.

Big fish all through there. Basswood on the ely side has some giant smallmouths. But most of those lakes are clogged full of 2 and 3 pounders.

Trust me. Rainy lake canada! We go every May (no bugs then) and just crush the smallies. My buddy always keeps count but I’m not kidding when I say we catch 100 plus a day. They are just stupid aggressive. You only need jerks, 5 inch grubs for calm days, and spooks if water temp gets above 55. We take a bass boat and fish hard all day. Spot lock trolling motor is a game changer up there. We just hit windy points, hit spot lock and throw a jerk. We stay at La Bell’s birch point camp. We take our own food or you can eat there and you can rent v hull boats from them and Cabins are nice. Growing up I used to go to boundary waters but sucks fishing out of a canoe when you own a bass boat! rainy lake is just like boundary waters except we use a 250 mercury! Trip of a life time!

A bass boat is definitely a came changer up there. I think the best part about bass fishing up there is just the limited amount of pressure, not very many bass only fisherman up there and plenty of bass to go around. The only guys up there that tend to hone in on one species is the Muskie guys…that’s a whole different thing. Some guys are happy with 25 fish all year, and they fish 75 days a year…

You really can’t go wrong anywhere through there for numbers. There are some places that just don’t seem to have many over 4 or so.

Thank you all.

I used to go to Nestor Falls, Ontario every 4th of July. My ex-in-laws had a cabin on Lake Kakabikichiwan, which I generally fished early in the morning by myself in the 20' pontoon boat. That lake was eat up with "hammer handles", small pike. It didn't matter what you threw, they were going to hit it. After everyone got up and at breakfast, we all went to Lake Sabaskong in the big pontoon. The smallmouth fishing was okay. For serious smallmouth fishing, we trailered the aluminum v-hull to Kakagi (Crow) Lake. Some of the clearest, cleanest water I have ever seen in my life.