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Thanks for watching and especially your comment. You must have had some great fishing as well! Hope you get back up there soon!

@@markpotaczek Wind and rain left us with fewer fishing opportunities, but we did have a couple solid days - one with some big pike on a bushwhack lake, and another with good walleye numbers...coming down the entirety of Agnes into a brutal headwind was a killer, however. We'll be back at least twice in 2025. You?

@@steves2154 I always go in spring and fall. This coming spring, I'm hoping to do a complete circumnavigation of the park, as I did about thirty years ago. Last time, I started at Nym Lake and took a month. This time, I'll start at Moose Lake and go counter-clockwise, with a May start date, and take between 20 and 30 days. Hit all four corners of the park. . . I'll probably pass through an area where you will be, so maybe hook up and I can record some of your antics and bush craft. I can tell you have a lot to share, if willing. I'm working on the next video now, from SEP, wherein I did a Knife Lake/Man Chain loop trip and spent a few days with a paddler I met on this channel and his group. Great bunch of guys, and they all have interesting stories, equipment, and techniques to share. It should be out before the end of JAN. Feel free to reach out to me at markpotaczek@gmail.com if you're so inclined. You sound like an experienced veteran and I love sharing the stories and knowledge that guys like you bring to the table. We have to share intel and enthusiasm if we are going to keep our culture alive. . .

@@markpotaczek Mark, that sounds epic and I am jealous - a whole month?! Wow. I'll be in with two groups back-to-back in late May for close to two weeks. Likely will have to travel solo for a couple days to get from one group to the next. Planning to go through PP if the RABC thing gets resolved. I did the lower Man Chain solo in late Sept/early Oct '23 - was pretty special. Looking forward to seeing the evidence of your most recent adventure. Cheers & Happy New Year!

Thanks for watching and especially your comment. Hope you get up there next year and have a Great Christmas!

We even shared your campsite on Burke. Enjoyed the hike to the top of island!

Thanks Schmitty. I'm loving your content as well. Keep up the great work.

Thanks for coming along! Hope you get up there soon. . .

Thanks for watching and especially your great comment, which inspires me. Hope you get back up there soon.

Thanks Brother. I really enjoy your content as well. Keep up the great work!

Thanks Brother. I hope you get up there soon and appreciate your kind words.

You are lucky that your wife still comes along--although mine is very supportive of my trips, she stopped coming up many years ago which is what lead me to engage in these solo excursions, which I've grown to LOVE. I like your term "quieter trips". Thanks for watching and especially your interesting comment!

Always good to hear from you, Fisherman Boyle. You are one of the most fortunate paddlers I know, given that your wife is so enthusiastic about our favorite place.. Most of us don't have that luxury. I'll be in the SE corner of the park and the Kawnipi area this fall. One of these days we will run into each other in the park. Thanks for your comment and keep up the great work on your content, which I always enjoy and learn from.

I just got back. Thanks for watching and especially your comment. Please report back on your trip. . .

We had an amazing adventure! Came in through Nym Lake and stayed between McAlpine and Pickerel. Caught mostly bass and some walleye and one laker at 10.4lbs. Fishing was a little slow but we never went hungry, had incredible weather and sunsets and got lots of fun footage. Party of 8, and none of us have laughed that hard in years. We're already planning the next time we can go back! As I was packing through the hardest portage, the music on your video kept running through my head, inspiring me to push on. It truly is a wonderful experience, glad there are others like you that appreciate it so much, thank you!

@@lachlansweeney7959 LOVE IT! If you got some good footage, hopefully you can post some of it. You wouldn't believe how fun and easy it is to do this, and I just know you would be great at it, given your enthusiasm and communication skills. If you do post, please send the link. I just got back myself, did an easy trip on Basswood due to a hip injury and enjoyed the same good weather that you did. Thanks for sharing those great memories. . .

I appreciate that, that sounds like a great idea, I will send you the link when I get it up! Sorry to hear about your hip, hopefully it didn't affect your trip too much and recovery goes well. I look forward to seeing more of what you share, thank you Mark!

Thanks for your comment and hope you get in there soon!

Chad, you are so right. It's tough to say AND spell.

Stan, I can't speak for them but I can tell you that , going forward, they are leaning towards staying just outside of Quetico at a resort. I think this makes sense for them as some of the members are in their 80's. I've never met such a fun group of great guys! Why don't you reach out to me with a DM at markpotaczek@gmail.com and I'll see if I can help you out.

Great question, Brian. Although I'm not really qualified to answer, my guess would be that there are probably more catchable walleyes in Quetico because it only gets a fraction of the traffic that the BWCA does. Less pressure usually means more fish, and easier to catch. I'm not the greatest fisherman out there, but I try to position myself on prime lakes with little pressure, and that is my key to success up there.

@@markpotaczek i appreciate the answer, ill be headed up in late july , hoping the weather is agreeable

You Tube is trying to tell you something. . . Time to come back.. . .

Yes, that is a very big deal, especially at his age. Amazing guy! Thanks for watching and especially your comment.

😻😻😻

You sure did a good job at campsite cleanliness as the Agnes site as it was immaculate when we arrived. That point is a geographic landmark for me, as it is easy to recognize and denotes the start of the final funnel down to Louisa Falls, one of the last exits from Agnes (South lake) while heading south toward the falls. We heard alot of wolves at that spot, even during the day. I wonder if you heard any. . . Thanks for watching and especially your interesting comment

@@markpotaczek No wolves there. Got lit up by a big pack - and scarily close - on Russell in '22. Thanks for making the videos; paddling season soon!

You really know how to make my day! Keep it up, brother, very proud to see you continuing to excel up there. . . Also, I made the attached video last summer and sent it but for some reason I don't think you've seen it. All because of you, my friend. . . :) Check it out ruclips.net/video/eozhu9tr_b4/видео.htmlsi=AC_zMMqKoHY57Oyg

@@markpotaczek Hey Mark, now that really made my day! I love and miss you guys and hope we can get together soon. Thanks!

Thank YOU for your kind comment. Hope you get back up there soon!

Wes, the pleasure of meeting on the trail was all mine. YOU made MY day. Please stay in touch through the channel and keep up the great work on exploring the greatest canoe wilderness in the world. You should be very proud of eight trips under your belt at such a young age. Keep it up!

Thanks, Dave. It's a real pleasure to interact with seasoned veterans. . . As with your group, I find the enthusiasm and appreciation of the wilderness to be contagious and inspiring.

paddleplanner.com.

Thanks, Luke. As a paddler I'm sure you know how up-close and personal that history feels when you are there. . .

Thank you, Spencer. I hope you ARE there very soon. Can't wait for May, although it looks like we ned some precipitation in the meantime.

You've been a source of encouragement from very early on. Thank YOU!

Schmitty, coming from you that is a great compliment as I love YOUR content. Keep it up and hope to see you out there someday.

@@markpotaczek I appreciate it Mark! That would be great to run into you sometime.

Thanks brother. Chef Mark made some amazing pancakes, and you know how good everything tastes out there.

Likewise, Patrick. Thanks for the interesting interaction. . .

Thank you, Brent. I also love your content! Keep it up, please and someday we're gonna meet out there.

Michael: You're right, the flies were bad that week, worse than most years. You have to help me out with the term "Mozzies". I'm going to learn something here. . .

@@markpotaczek mosquitoes lol

@@McCaffreyPickleball That's what I thought you meant but wasn't sure. As you know, the flies are the worst, the mosquitos weren't all that bad but I have to tell you that I really love that bug shelter. Definitely worth the carry, in my opinion. I'm finishing up a video to post soon on the SEP trip from last year, with NO bugs. What a difference, but the spring fishing is worth any amount of this pain, thank goodness for our suits and shelters. . . Thanks for watching and especially your comments. Hope you get up there soon!

@@markpotaczekyeah... Might invest in one! I was there last fall. Did a 6-day loop at French lake. My channel is "Outdoor Earthling" if you chew to see my experience in 6 min :)

@@McCaffreyPickleball Gonna check it out now!

Ryan, thanks for watching and hope you get up there soon! I'm leaving in a week.

Thanks Josh! Hope you get up there soon.

Thanks Josh! Hope you get up there soon.

Greg, thanks for watching and especially your nice comment. I'm just starting to plan for the spring trip, which will be another three weeker, and your comment provides inspiration. I hope you get back up there soon!

Every time I do that I wonder how many others have done so. . . .

These guys are amazing. I met them on LaCroix a few years ago (it's on a video) and we've kept in touch. In fact, my wife and I just visited with them in TN on a southern tour we undertook last fall. They have travelled all over the parks (Q and the BWCA) and now have concentrated on the NE section of Q, where they get assistance from an outfitter to get in, with the use of ATVs and some feeder creeks. They were not on Kawnipi, but prefer the smaller lakes to the NE.

@@markpotaczek that’s great! Ya I remember that video when you took the tow in with them. Cool you all are friends!

SoloSchmitty, thanks for watching and especially your interesting comment. It's funny, you ran into that same couple at Keats as that is one of my favorite spots as well (not the island but the 5 Star site just beyond, on the way to the portage). Hopefully you can get further up into Kawa next time and see some of the river country. I can't wait to check out your videos!

@@markpotaczek that poets chain area (I think that’s right?) is really cool. I would like to spend more time there as well.

Can you expand on the "Poet's Chain". Never heard that term before. . .@@SoloSchmitty

@@markpotaczek i believe it refers to the stretch between Shelley Lake to Russell Lake on the Maligne River.

@@SoloSchmitty That stretch is one of my very favorite areas of the park. Russell is my number two after Kawnipi. I'm afraid to paddle across Sturgeon, as it got hit really hard by the recent fires. Same goes for the Maligne from Tanner Lake towards Sturgeon, and so many other favorites like Argo, Brent, etc. I get into a real funk when I paddle through burns, even though it's a natural cycle. Thanks for teaching me something new about my favorite waters!