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Shell Lake Weekend


By Ben Strege Print Icon Print Report View/Leave Comments (0)
Dates:June 4-7, 2010
Entry Point:14 - Little Indian Sioux River North (BWCA)
Type:Canoeing
Lakes:Lower Pauness, Shell, Upper Pauness

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Calm Sunday
Calm Sunday
What a gorgeous day! It was nice and sunny, especially compared to the last two cloudy, rainy days. After breakfast, we explored the north end of the lake by the island campsites. The campsites were occupied, so we just looked at them as we paddled by. The campsites looked nice. I still liked our campsite well enough. Once again, we had good luck fishing at the northwest end of the lake. We caught enough walleyes for dinner. Carolyn wanted to learn how to clean a fish. I taught her how, and she did pretty well.
Learning to Fillet
Learning to Fillet

Campfire on Shell
Campfire on Shell
Splash!
Splash!
We enjoyed a small campfire and smores in the afternoon. After the campfire, we went swimming. The water was a little cool, but it felt nice.

After swimming, I decided to explore a bit of the lake alone. I took a canoe and paddled out to the eastern portion of the lake that we hadn't been to yet. The southeastern campsite was closed due to a small forest fire that was burning near there. Over the past couple of days we had seen planes flying over checking on it. The Forest Service, it appeared, was just letting this one burn naturally. I tried trolling while I was paddling, but it a little difficult since there was a light breeze. Soloing in an 18 1/2 foot canoe in even a light breeze can be difficult. It was hard keeping the canoe on course while fishing at the same time. Eventually I gave up the fishing and just explored the lake. I circled around the northern islands and came back to camp.

The evening was beautiful. We ate dinner and then packed up what we could of camp in preparation for leaving the next day. Then we enjoyed the evening.
Shell Lake Landing
Shell Lake Landing
Sunset on Shell
Sunset on Shell

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