From our Garden Lake Resort dock, guests can get to the BWCAW via South Farm Lake and the Kawishiwi River. Mark Ellerbroek often gives them a short tow to the mouth of the river, and from there they are able to fish and explore the hundreds of miles of paddle-only lakes in the Boundary Waters.
Most of the time, our guests use canoes or kayaks on paddle-only lakes and rivers. But not always! One of our resort families has mastered tube fishing in northern Minnesota.
For many years now, this family has headed to our Ely Minnesota resort for a week or two of intense fishing. Admittedly not the usual family of anglers, this group fishes morning, afternoon and night, and they do it mostly from float tubes on the paddle-only areas of the Kawishiwi River.
They pack the pockets in their tubes with a small tackle box, bobbers, stringers, leeches, a minnow bucket, a digital scale, bug spray, snacks, bottled water, a small towel, a digital camera--and off they go! They take a motor boat with a canoe, three float tubes, flippers for maneuvering in their tubes, and dry clothes to change into. When they get to the mouth of the paddle-only section of the river, they anchor the boat, put the tubes in the canoe, and paddle up the river, looking for rocks where they could put in their tubes. Once in the tubes, they go their separate ways--some toward a bay with weeds to fish for Northern, some in pursuit of walleye.
In the tranquil, protected wilderness, the minimal intrusion from fishermen allows the fish to multiply and mature, the family believes. On a recent excursion, they collectively caught and released ten walleye (one of which was 6.8 lbs.), fifteen small mouth (all over 2 lbs), and the biggest fish they've ever caught, a 22 lb. Northern. (Landing a Northern of this size is always a challenge and a thrill, but doing it in a tube adds another dimension!)
The camera comes in handy when they see memorable scenes or landscapes, as well as when they hook a big fish and want to share it with family and friends. They've captured photos of a mother deer and her two fawn getting a drink at the edge of the shore, an eagle swooping down to get a closer look at a dying fish, and trees being uprooted and blown over by high winds and rain (while they took shelter on an uninhabited island).
For them, the best parts of the tubing experience relate to how quickly time passes, how little energy is expended, and how it increases their time on the water--which increases the opportunity to catch fish. With provisions, they typically enjoy 9-10 hour float trips.
Next day, they do it all over again!
