Kettle Falls / Namakan

[Nimstug]

Hi!

The wife has never been on a fishing trip to the 'middle of nowhere' and I have been after her for years to come with me. She's not big into fishing but then she's never been to a place where the fishing can be really good. She doesn't want to camp out and she doesn't want to cook. Camp Narrows, on the north arm of Rainy where I usually go on my Canada trips, is a little too rustic for her.

I recently made a post on the Rainy Lake section of the board and we were leaning toward staying at Island View Lodge at the west end of the park. Then I found a reference to Kettle Falls Hotel and that seems to be interesting.

I generally do not like to make long runs when I fish. Seven, maybe ten miles max then fish my way back. I promised my wife that if she wanted to go in for any reason, we'd go back to the lodge immediatly. So if we stayed at Island View, we'd maybe go as far west as Brule Narrows. If we stayed at Kettle Falls, we'd probably not go farther south than Blind Indian Narrows or the Wolf Pack Islands. Our mode of transportation is a Alumacraft 165cs w/ a 75hp 4 stroke.

So your opinion: Which of the two areas do you think is more in the 'middle of nowhere?'

Also, does anyone know where I can get order a good chart of Namakan? If we go there I would like to look at it ahead of time.

I have a Garmin Legend handheld gps with Rainy Lake and but so far I have not been able to find a cd with Namakan on it. Is a Namakan available for the Legend?

We have scheduled our vacation for the last week on August. Any comments on fishing in either area would be appreciated. If it swims we'll fish for it.

Thanks for reading this far and have a safe time on the water.

Nimstug

[BobS]

The area in Namankan you are talking about had been very good for both walleye and smallmouth. Fishing pressure during the week is light in most areas during the time you are going. The lake is large enough with good fishing that you should be able to find the " middle of nowhere". I fish this often and have never been bothered with other boats. Once you are out of the channel you have the lake to yourself.

[duckster]

Nimstug,

The Kettle Falls hotel is in the middle of nowhere between Rainy and Namakan Lakes. In late August the east end of Rainy can be really good fishing with alot of fish on and around the reefs. The reefs on the main part of Namakan can also be good. Kettle Falls has a website that you could check out at http://www.kettlefallshotel.com. Also since this area is Voyageurs National Park you could check out their website at http://www.nps.gov/voya to get more area info.

It is all a personal preference but I would check out the villas at KF instead of the Hotel rooms. More privacy, right on the water, your own dock space and other advantages. If you have any other questions let me know I am very familiar with the area. Hope this helps.

Duckster

[mark23]

Another thing to consider is if you are going to stay at Kettle Falls your better off launching your boat at the public ramp by the ashriver on Kabetogama. It's a lot shorter run and more protected from big waves than running the whole lenght of rainy. And if you still want to fish rainy, the hotel has a truck/trailer to portage your boat over.

[Hockey Guy]

This shouldn't even be a discussion... Leave the wife at home so you can actually have fun! Camp on an island and just bring a good dog with you for companionship. If you don't have a good dog, borrow one from a friend.

A good friend told me once that women are only good for two things:

1. Getting in the way of Fishing

2. Getting in the way of Hunting

[Nimstug]

Thanks for the replys. Still looking for information on charts and gps.

Duckster,

I printed the maps from the Park website and that's where I found the reference to Kettle Falls Hotel. Printed up the K.F.H. website and gave went over it with my wife. Don't know if you've been to their site but they have a great angled areial photo of the area.

Mark,

I was planning on using the Ash River launch. Sounds like I need a chart for the east end of Kab. Don't know if I'll fish the Rainy side. Seems to me if I can't find 'em on Nam, I need to trade my rods in for golf clubs. (Never made since to me. You hit the ball then chase after it.) We were thinking Villas too.

Hockeyguy,

We'll have been married 38 years come June. I get to fish a lot on my own or with my son. Done the Boundary Waters, a number of trips to Canada, and other places. Every time I come back I've told her you can't belive the quiet, I saw the Milky Way reflecting off the water, shore lunch, bears, mink, otters and eagles. All that stuff. We work together and share a lot. I'd like her to experience some of what I have enjoyed.

Since you are into hockey, I'll end by saying:

Commit to the Indian.

Nimstug

[overdalimit]

Nimstug,

I have alot of first hand experiance with KFH. The villas are really nice. You will love it. They have electricity for the wife and they have fishing for you. The guy that runs the consession for the park service is named Rick Oveson. The family has been in the area since the late 1800's. First class operation! There is a nice restaraunt and a big screened in porch. And then there is the tavern...like nothing you have ever seen before. It is a popular destination during the day when the weather is nice. Many of the Hamm's ad's were made at the Falls. So I don't need to mention how scenic it is. As for the lake map chips I use a paper map on the lakes I fish so I can make notes on it although you could try the Gateway Store and ask for Phil (218 875 2121). I have Gps but I really just use it to know when the next bouy is coming up and which way to turn. Depth finder is just a cheap old X65 but all I want to know is how deep the water is. If you need anything else let me know as I would be happy to tell you all I know...which won't take too long. Hope to see you up there!

ODL

[Xplorer]

Nimstug,

The villas up at KFH are very nice and would be comfortable for you and your wife. But, you will most likely be (and want to be, in my humble opinion) fishing the east end of Rainy and not Namakan. The villas are all located on the Rainy side of the dam, and come with a private dock. And the month of August can be extremely good on the east end reefs for walleye's, big pike and smallies. Do you know what days you'll be up there? I'll be camping out on the islands with the family the 16-20th and would be happy to give you a few tips to start ya out if you're up at the same time.

KF is 12 miles from the NPS dock at Ash River, and the truck portage (for a "round trip") was $20 for those staying at KFH last year (it was $40 for others). It is about 1.75 miles from the villa's downriver to Surveyors island, which is where the big lake opens up. From there down to the reefs off of Blueberry island is about 9.25 miles of open water, with alot of fishing spots all along the way. Way more water than you can fish in a week Eye's are generally deeper on the reefs that time of year, but we were up the middle of August last year and did well for "eater" eyes in @22' on some reefs. Rainy has a slot, eye's under 17" can be kept, and one over 28", with a 4 fish limit.

Hope this helps a little in the planning, and yes, plan on heading to the bar at KFH and playing a little bit of pool, and enjoying one of their "Pink Thangs"

[Nimstug]

X,

Great information! I called up there today and made our reservations. I mentioned to the guy I talked to about staying on the Rainy side and he talked about the discount portage for people staying there. He also was upfront about not going with the American plan and just ordering off their menu as a way to save a few dollars. I thought that was very nice.

We're just going to miss each other on the water. The way it looks now we will leave the morning of Auguat 22nd and spend a night on the road, maybe in Duluth. We're at KFH starting the 23rd. Maybe we can make an electronic connnection right after you get back and before we leave regarding the status of fishing.

Thanks again to you and the rest of the FM'ers.

Nimstug

Let's Play Two!

-E. Banks

[Xplorer]

I'll try to remember to drop you a report on here on that sunday night when we get back (or post a reminder to me, old-timers disease ya know )

Also the guys at KFH will know what is going at that time, hit up the young guys who drive the golfcarts, the truck portage adn the bartenders for info. I use a Navionics chart (the LOTW+2K) for Kab/Nam/Rainy and it works OK. Great on Kab, so-so on Nam, and good on Rainy, but I've run from Ash river up to KFH so many times I can almost do i with my eyes closed, the boat seems to know the way.

[NBR]

I am a little late but I would have the boat moved past the falls and fish the east end of Rainey. From the hotel down to Namakan the water is not wide and any boat going through to the falls must go through there. Don't get me wrong I love Nam but I think you will find Rainey has a lot less traffic.

[NBR]

I am a little late but I would have my boat moved past the falls and fish the east end of Rainey. Any boat going from Kab or Nam to the falls goes up the channel so you loose some of the wilderness feeling. Don't get me wrong I love Nam and fished there for 25 years until I was transfered to the east and then continued for 3 years until the 3800 mile roud trip just got to be too much.