OK, the title of this post isn't being fair to other BWCA gateway cities, but if you look where Ely is in relation to the BWCA, you can see that a number of BWCA entry points require a drive through this fair city. And stop you should! It is a quaint town, with shops, restaurants, and a good number of outfitters, outdoor gear stores, and bait shops. Plus, it now has a brewpub serving up tasty beers for you craft beer lovers! Fortunately for all, Gary and I were able to take a day off early and drive the 4 hours to Ely a day before the rest of the Bandits, giving us an opportunity to shop for necessary groceries that we didn't want to bother with in the Twin Cities, grab our group permit from the Kawishiwi Ranger Station just on the outskirts of Ely, and spend a good deal of time talking lures and bait with the locals in preparation for tomorrow. In doing so, we would know exactly what bait, and how much we would buy in the morning, allowing the rest of the bandits to drive up in the morning and head straight to the entry point for as early a launch as we could manage.
Starting the night before, we had Gary's minivan packed with our personal gear and lots of the group gear, plus Gary's trusty Mad River canoe strapped to the top. To be fair, the "packing" began a few weeks earlier when all the Bandits met at Gary's to go through everyone's gear (mostly Gary's) to be sure we had everything we needed, didn't duplicate any bulky stuff, and to distribute group gear for all of us haul a bit of so Gary didn't have to take everything. Also, we distributed multiple Duluth packs and poly plastic liners. For those of you new to canoeing, Duluth packs are the quintessential unit for packing and storing in a canoe. Sort of squarish in size and made from a durable cloth, they have a large opening on the top (unlike backpacks which tend to be long and skinny), with buckles to secure the flap and shoulder straps for portaging. And most importantly, the wider girth makes for better fit and stability in a canoe compared to backpacks.
In the end, "Gear Daddy" Gary ended up bringing plenty of gear, but we Bandits have come to know (and rely) on this. Interesting additions to the Gear Daddy family of gadgets: a fish/depth finder with a wrist band display, a new style of canoe anchor both light-weight and effective, a funky new paddle (those bent paddles are so passe') to aid his power and J-stroke, large blue barrels for food storage (critter proof, but not bear proof) that also were equipped with shoulder straps, and last but not least, a portable, insulated, shoulder-harnessed cooler for our bait and some food items. I have since dubbed it "The Frig", but at the time it was being portaged it was "The Devil Incarnate" to whomever had to haul it.
The closer we got to Ely, the more Gary was salivating. He LOVES this town with its outfitters, gear, and outdoorsy people to swap information with! Once in Ely, we set about diligently doing our chores. I reminded Gary of the flack he and I took as advanced recon on the Lake Powell trip. We were supposed to have a great deal of advanced planning and shopping done on that trip as well, but instead we beat feet out of town for an extra day of exploring before the Bandits arrived the next day. When the Bandits arrived at Lake Powell, we clearly left way too much undone. We were bound and determined to show the Bandits what we could accomplish this time!
We were indeed very productive as Gary set about picking the brains of anyone that would talk to him about the BWCA, the lakes we were visiting, the types of fish we were likely to catch, and what they were biting on. While there was a great deal of cautious optimism for our chances, there was also a disturbing undercurrent regarding the fishing season. Typically the bass were coming in to the shallows this time of year to spawn and guard their nests. They don't so much feed on your casting bait as much as they attack it in a defensive mechanism that is a thrill to a bass angler. However, Minnesota had experienced a late spring, and "ice out" was very late on the northern lakes, setting the whole season back a good two weeks or more. What this meant for walleye was also unclear - they typically hover in 15-20' of water in spring, and would normally be building towards their normal feeding habits around this time. But with the late spring.... We kept hearing phrases like, "You guys should be OK". (I say all this with the benefit of hindsight of course.)
Having earned our advanced recon badge, we deserved a nice late lunch/early dinner and a couple of microbrews at The Boathouse Brewpub. Good grub, and great beer. Unfortunately for me, they had just tapped a nice hoppy red (I'm partial to Imperial Reds) that wasn't quite ready yet, so it poured as brown and thick as mud. The bartender assured me that the flavor profile was the same, but I passed. They did have a nice Rye IPA though, which substituted just fine.
After this, we checked in to our place for the evening. The outfitter who was renting us two lightweight canoes and selling us bait had a "bunkhouse" in town - an small old house that had a kitchen, central living space, and about 25 beds all around the place, most up a steep, narrow flight of stairs. The price was $19 each, and we were assured that we were the only two staying there. What a deal, and only a block off main street, right in the heart of town. Once there, we proceeded to unload all our gear and provisions into the central living space. While Gary and I did pack the minivan with gear, we did not pack it very efficiently. With gear strewn everywhere, I set about packing the barrels (dubbed "Big Blue" and "Little Blue") with provisions and utility gear. I packed and repacked these babies multiple times, doing my best to layer the gear and food so that what we would need early on would be on the top, and what we would need later on was towards the bottom. Also along for the trip was "Big Bear" and "Little Bear", Gary's bear proof canisters that we stored in a Duluth pack named "Bob". Why Bob? Well, that was the name stenciled on the side of the pack. Bob became our main utility pack.
While I looked to pack the group gear, Gary set about packing his gear, especially organizing his vast array of tackle boxes. He bought even more lures in Ely based on some local recommendations. He now set about organizing his lures that he brought from home, working to incorporate the additional lures he bought in the Twin Cities and the newest additions freshly purchased in Ely. Little empty lure boxes were strewn everywhere around his feet as he sat at the tiny living room table. As for me, I had already disassembled and packed my two new rods and reels, as well as the lures I hunted down at Fleet Farm and Walmart back in the Cities, all guaranteed to kill the bass. For the walleye, I planned on using live bait. The question was whether the water was too cold for leeches or not? What happens with leeches in really cold water....well, just imagine a man in really cold water, let's say up to his belly button. Yep, you get the idea. A leech will curl up in a ball, making for a very unattractive food source for walleye (as would a man in cold water up to his belly button). We planned on buying both leeches and minnows in the morning, and throwing in some nightcrawlers for good measure.
Gary and I continued to pack well into the evening, sucking on a 6-pack of Ranger IPA before hitting the sack about 10 pm. Tomorrow was a big day, and a potentially long one as well.