Wednesday, August 15, 2018 We left the twin cities and headed up to Ely. This years crew was again two canoes and five paddlers. We rented a bunk room at Smitty’s On Snowbank, which was in the process of changing ownership. We had the chance to meet one of the new owners and talk with one of the guides about where to camp and fish on and around Fraser Lake.
Thursday, August 16, 2018 We repacked the gear and drove over to the public launch on Snowbank--Entry point #27. From a quiet launch we headed across to our first portage into Disappointment and from there we move as efficiently as we could through Jitterbug, Adventure, Cattyman, Jordan, Ima, Hatchet, Thomas, and Fraser. We ate lunch and chose to stay at Camp #1397.
Friday, August 17, 2018 Two of us headed out with a plan to fish Sagus for Walleye. Success was found drifting along while casting the towards the shoreline. Nothing epic, but caught a easy trio of good sized Walleye.
Saturday, August 18, 2018 Two of us planned an aggressive day trip to Raven, which is known for having some plump Lake Trout. In hindsight it would have been smarter to have used the MNII instead of the longer MN3.
Just to be clear, getting to Raven from Fraser is not a long paddle, but it is challenging. Finding the portage at the northern end of Roe Lake it not easy, as the last few hundred feet of slough held no water, so we exited the canoe and drug it through across the top of the bog. Thankfully we were rewarded for our effort with some ripe berries to accompany lunch. Afterwards we looped the lake with some sutton spoons and landed a beautiful Laker.
Sunday, August 19, 2018 We would normally stay another day, but the weather looked to be unpleasant, so we broke camp with the idea that we might stay on Parent. After a speedy run from Fraser back the same way we came in from Dissappointment, we broke for an early lunch. From here we thought we might stay on Parent, but both campsites were occupied, so we decided to make a run for the entry point and then back down to the suburbs of Minneapolis. While the trip was a day shorter than our original plan, it was still a fantastic trip full of paddling, gorgeous views and tasty meals.
