Jim R Posted February 21, 2018 Report Share Posted February 21, 2018 Good afternoon all. Happy to be back after quite some time. Looking forward to working myself back into the community. I need some suggestions. I'm looking for a paddle trip I can take that will last me a few days. The less light bulbs, buildings and cars I see the better. I plan to camp obviously along the way. Is there anything like this within, say, a four hour drive from Northern Illinois? Thanks. Jim R. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jude Posted February 21, 2018 Report Share Posted February 21, 2018 Welcome back! As bad as you seemed to have been bitten by the smallie/moving water bug, I'm surprised you left for so long! Kids, school, and work can really interfere with a guys fishing. I'll throw out the Sylvania Wilderness area in the UP as a great option to get away from it all. It's five or six hours away, but it would be worth it. I'm sure some other ideas will get thrown out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark K Posted February 21, 2018 Report Share Posted February 21, 2018 +1 on Sylvania. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Loebach Posted February 22, 2018 Report Share Posted February 22, 2018 Lower Wisconsin river - little traffic noise , few bridges next to no power boats. Wide braided sand bar section of river, camp on island/ sand bar. good bass fishing when you find wood & deep water. You will see a lot of other paddlers but the river is as wide as the Missisippi which is the west end of the stretch. Easily 2 day float or longer if you fish a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mannym Posted February 22, 2018 Report Share Posted February 22, 2018 1..Wisconsin river has many many options. shuttle services should not be hard to find. 2. St Croix and Namekagon rivers are a bit past the 4 hr drive, but worth the extra time. They have plenty of camping options. Do plenty of research. There are some sections with white water. 3. If you were up for an 9 hr drive, the BWCA is probably the best for not hearing any artificial noise. Ive been here every year for the last 12. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim R Posted February 22, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2018 Thanks everyone. Some great options. I rule out the BWCA trip only because that's one I'm saving for my two boys. This is more of an interim small scale trip to recharge than anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Dodge Posted February 22, 2018 Report Share Posted February 22, 2018 What time of the year do you plan to do this trip? As far as a "recharge" , try to attend the 2018 Bronzeback Blowout. An evening spent in a room filled with a bunch of smallmouth geeks, talking smallmouth, is a great way to recharge yourself every year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev-mo Posted February 22, 2018 Report Share Posted February 22, 2018 X2 on the lower Wisconsin! Did a trip with my boys/scouts I think it was 2 summers ago.... anyway caught fish and would have caught more had it been primarily a fishing weekend. Beautiful area! Probably less paddlers during the week.... if you do go on a weekend have a few options for which island/sandbar you are going to camp on as they fill up quickly. Maybe get there a little early in the evening. Also be sure to bring the long sand stakes for your tent. They saved us from a tent collapse during a pretty wicked storm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark K Posted February 23, 2018 Report Share Posted February 23, 2018 I love Sylvania. Here is a video I took of an ideal august morning at the boat launch on clark Lake. An eagle made a fairly low pass overhead. So I got my phone out but it was gone so we are stuck with a bunch of loons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim R Posted February 24, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2018 I’ll try to attend Terry. Probably August for the trip. The lower Wisconsin river is my number one right now kev. Wow, that’s awesome Mark. Thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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