Entry Point: Fall Lake #24
Type: Day trip to Newton Lake from Fall Lake Federal Campground
Equipment: Rental canoe from Spirit of the Wilderness outfitter, bent shaft paddles, camera, day packs, lunch, first aid kits and rain gear.
We started out from Fall Lake entry point # 24. Already this paddle seemed nicer than the prior day paddle on Snowbank Lake. Calm water and blue skies helped push us towards our goal for the day, catch some fish on Newton Lake.
This was the first time we portaged the canoe and we had to figure what the best way to haul things over.
Once across the portage we met several groups who were heading towards Fall Lake after longer trips into the BWCAW. All reported good fishing.
We paddled close to the Newton Falls and took pictures and I fished but caught nothing. We then paddled towards a small island close to the falls on the south end of the lake and fished the weed beds as I had heard that the bass were biting there the previous week. No luck!
We decided to head to our lunch point if it was available the next campsite up on the east side of the lake. Campsite #1991 was a bit hard to find as it sits on a shoreline surrounded with a weed bed and wild rice. I thought that the campground it’s self was not as nice as some we had already stopped at or seen and when I went to look for the latrine I walked a trail for a very long time and never did find it. I did scare up a grouse.
Newton Lake campsite #1991
This campsite does have a nice rock/sand shore and we ate our lunch and watched at least 12 canoes come through the Newton portage and past us heading towards Fall Lake. While on the water we also had a motor boat with a guide and customers fishing. This is a very busy route and area.
After lunch we decided to head to the other side of the island in the middle of Newton we had just passed and see how the fishing was in the channel. There was a good swampy area just off the channel and I felt it could be a good place to sit for the afternoon. That is just what we did without a bite.
The weather was perfect so sitting on the lake and not catching anything was not a big thing. I then suggested to investigate a small stream or channel that came from the swampy area. It was easy to get the canoe back through the area and had a good flow of water and we were saw birds that were hiding in the weeds. It was a good place to feel isolated from the world.
Again, no fish on my line.
Mid-afternoon we headed back to Fall Lake and encountered some nice older guys from St Paul who had just spent a week on one of the interior lakes. They were packed to the gills and both now looked like the trip had worn them down. They had packed their map in the middle of their stuff and asked where the Fall Lake landing was located. We told them to follow us. They did for a while but I think that they must had been pretty tired of paddling as they showed up a good half and hour after us at the entry point.
This was a great paddle for us and renewed our bruised confidence after our Snowbank Lake day trip. We paddled a round trip total of 7.8 miles on this paddle and saw that maybe we didn’t need as much stuff as we saw in other canoes.
A small note here: Fall Lake entry point is crazy busy all the time! Most people are quickly in and courteous to others but we found the opposite also in big supply.
Meaning we experienced some people who had no regard for anyone else at the landing. For example; people fishing off the dock with fishing equipment, people, and dogs right in the way that made no effort to move as the paddlers or boats came in. People who were rude pushing their equipment in front of our equipment at the launch without a word of apology or consideration. This we found was a bit much and quietly went about our business but were disappointed that the world has turned so rude.
I will leave on a high note. We did encounter some nice people along this landing who were helpful and kind. We saw that they mostly had kids with them and so maybe leading by example will create a more courteous generation of paddlers and lake lovers.
