It was windy, raining and cold but the Wilderness Journey Rendezvous went off without a hitch.  We discussed all the equipment and canoe camping techniques and we reviewed everyone’s routes.  We didn’t take any of the canoes out because of the wind.  We’d thank everyone who came as this should give you a headstart in planning your trip.  A special thanks to a few of my nieces who came despite the weather.  

We pulled the winner for the 1st annual WJO rendezvous free trip raffle and the winner is (drum roll……….) Chris Perez!  Chris has already booked a trip for this year and will use his free pass in 2010. 

Look forward to July’s Wilderness Journey Newsletter that will include the new 2009 trip reports sure to feature some exciting stories. This year we will be having one detailed trip report each month along with a couple of short stories. For those of you that have booked a trip or are interested in one, you should pay particular attention because some of these routes are the same ones you’ll be taking. We will have up-to-date fishing reports along with a list of producing lures.

This month’s newsletter will feature:

1 - Bluegill Fishing Tactics

2 - Equipment essentials

3 - Characters of the Boundary Waters- Jackpine Bob Cary

4 - BWCA Video

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Bluegill Fishing Tactics

Bluegills are panfish but this is by far the tastiest fish anywhere! They don’t even taste like fish, they taste more like candy. Most fishermen that come to the Boundary Waters don’t target gills so there is a great opportunity to catch some “biggins”. We even have some clients that target nothing but bluegills on their trips.

Since they are the smaller fish along the food chain they survive in schools and structures. Where you catch one there will be others nearby. When you get into a school of these fish and they are biting they can be a blast to catch. A 10” gill can fight like a 4 pound smallie.  If these fish were able to grow to 20” nobody would able to bring one to the canoe because their great fighting ability.  The best part is that in the Boundary Waters they can be easy to catch.

My favorite way to catch them is to use a bobber and a small piece of night crawler. When they are really biting, I will use a small 1” tube jig or a 1” twister tail. Depending on the time of year they can be as shallow as 1 foot in the spring or as deep as 30 feet in the summer. Most of the time I target lily pads that are near a drop off. I move along the shoreline until I catch one then hit every nook and cranny in the lily pads sometimes a couple of feet can big make a difference. if they are biting in a particular area and the bite slows down, I will move to another area but will always go back later and try the original area again.. During the mid summer heat try a little deeper water.

The equipment for catching these fish is simple:

 

1 - Ultralite rods (my favorite)

2 - Med weight rods

3 - 4 pound test line

4 - 6# hooks

5 - 1” tube jigs (white, frog, chartreuse a wide variety of colors)

6 - 1” twister tails (colors same as above)

7 - A variety of Small bobbers and slip bobbers for those deep fish

8 - Small split shots

Equipment Essentials

Over the years we have tried many different types of canoe & camping equipment.  Some have stood the test of time and some just collects dust in the warehouse.  Some of the equipment featured are very good products (like this month’s feature: permethrin) and some are not very good like the remote control lantern we saw at the local sport store. (Please do not bring this item to the BWCA.)

Permethrin

We’ve been using Permethrin for years and it has proven itself over and over again. For those of you that are taking a trip in May or June it is highly recommended that you use this product. It can be applied at home and will last for your entire trip. Even though you might not need it later in the season it is a surefire way to keep the insects away. It is available at REI, Dicks or Gander Mountain.

The EPA has recently granted Sawyer® registration for a new Military Style Insect Repellent treatment system for clothing. Similar to the U.S. Military system, with consumer friendly directions; simply soak your clothes or bed net in a permethrin solutions for 2 hours, hang dry and stay protected for 6 washings - no guess work!

Permethrin is a contact insecticide. That is, it kills ticks or other insects when it comes in contact with them. It is used on clothing and materials. It uses the same active ingredient used in hair shampoos for head lice. When applied to clothing the Permethrin binds to the fabric eliminating the risk of over-exposure to the skin.

As a clothing, tent or sleeping bag application, Permethrin is very effective at keeping ticks from attaching to you and at reducing the mosquito population in your camping area.

Permethrin is also an effective repellent against mosquitoes and flies and can be used in conjunction with a skin based repellent. Permethrin can be used as the primary repellent if the exposed skin area (gaps in the treated clothing) is not too large. By storing the treated clothing in black plastic bags between uses the protection can be extended considerably.

Characters of the Boundary Waters

Jackpine Bob Cary, artist, writer, humorist

Bob Cary was born and raised in Joliet, Illinois, graduated from Joliest Community College with a degree in journalism, and studied commercial illustration at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts.

He worked as outdoor writer for the Joliet Herald News, was editor and outdoor writer for Joliet Spectator, and served as outdoor editor for the Chicago Daily News. Through his work he discovered Ely, Minnesota, a place to which he returned again and again and which stayed in his heart.

So, in 1966, he moved to Ely with wife Lil and daughter Barb where he opened a canoe trip outfitting business outside of Ely.

During his first year of outfitting he became friends with legendary Dorothy Molter, eventually chronicling her 54 years of living in the wilderness in his well-known book The Root Beer Lady, the illustrations for which remain the standard of Dorothy's memory.

In 1974, Bob became the editor of the Ely Echo, Ely's weekly paper, which featured his popular column Birdshot and Backlashes and where he covered many local issues with perception and wit. During his writing career he was also a featured columnist for the Senior Reporter in Duluth, Minnesota and free-lanced articles to Outdoor Life, Field and Stream, Sports Afield, Minnesota Sportsman, Travel, Minnesota Monthly, Boundary Waters Journal, the Chicago Tribune, the Wall Street Journal and many other publications.

Bob was a generous supporter of the arts in Ely, supplying the community and its residents with his art with two murals in downtown Ely, as well as many paintings and sketches.

Bob wrote, illustrated and published many books including Root Beer Lady, Tales of Jackpine Bob, The Big Wilderness Canoe Manual, Winter Camping, Ely Echoes: The Portages Grow Longer, Bush Pilots: Legends of the Old and Bold, Fear Was Never An Option, The All American Outhouse Book, Born to Pull (also illustrated by Gail deMarken), and Fishing and Hunting by Canoe. He also illustrated many other authors' books.

Bob's books and art may be purchased from www.jackpinebobcary.com.

For two years he was the host of the WELY radio show "Camp Talk." He appeared in numerous outdoor TV shows and videos.

He was married to wife Lillian for 46 years until parted by her death. In 1998 he married long time neighbor Edith Sommer. Both women were excellent anglers, shooters, canoe paddlers and campers.

"How lucky can one guy get," he said.

Bob Cary lost his battle to cancer in his home on June 17, 2006. In a 1989 story in the Chicago News Tribune, Bob Cary said his epitaph should read, "I could have been eminently famous in a number of different fields, but every time I was about to do something great, I went fishing. I never regretted the fishing."

BWCA Video!!! 

In place of a WJ photo slideshow this month, we are linking you to another BWCA video that we found on youtube.  This month’s video is a great example of what you can experience in the Boundary Waters. Click below to see the video:

 

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Ramsey Dowgiallo