Deer hunting Ely Island

[LundExplorer]

Do/have any of you guys hunted deer on Ely Island? I used to sit back on the island when I was a kid, there used to be quite a hunting party that drove the island. Used to sound like a war broke out when the deer made it down to the portage trail.

[Cliff Wagenbach]

Are you sure you don't mean Pine Island? Only one with a portage that I know of.

It is still hunted by a few old timers and die hards.

Some of them had to be rescued by a hovercraft last year because they stayed too long and were trapped by ice.

Cliff

[LundExplorer]

There is a portage trail across Ely Island, it goes across the narrowest spot, 1/3 of the way from the east tip of the island. Go in the small bay, stay to the left of the small peninsula in the bay. Kinda hard to see in summer but sleds run thru there in the winter.

We use it to get from our place on the S. side of Ely island (across from "driscoll's" (largest 7 sisters island) to the north side in the winter, for ice fishing.

It beats going all the way around the island.

A group of hunters used to have stands along the trail in the mid-late 80's, early 90's. Don't know if they still hunt there.

[LundExplorer]

We had a few close calls with ice too. My Dad (Dick Larson...Cliff you might know him?) and I were chopping ice for about 500 yds out from shore in Stuntz bay one year, another had me rowing in 3' swells while Dad tried to thaw out the gas line. One year (I think it was Nov. 83 or 84?) my sister and I skated 2 miles to the island (no cabin at that time), ice was perfectly smooth.

[Cliff Wagenbach]

I have known your dad Dick for years!

Good hunting!

Cliff