The Opener weather was great but the fishing results were mixed. Fall Lake produced walleyes near the power dam. White Iron was a bit more tough with walleyes in the 15-20 foot level. Fat head chubs and rainbows were the bait of choice. An early morning and then late afternoon were the best walleye times. Shagawa was a slow producer. Large northerns were caught with mid to large suckers in the shallows on area lakes.

Stop in at Spirit of the Wilderness, Ely for your live bait, the latest fishing report and all your outfitting needs. Open 6am - 8 pm daily until May 23 then 6am - 9 pm daily until mid September.  See you soon.

The Midwest Mountaineering Expo started yesterday and runs through Sunday at 5pm. Great show to see new outdoor products and of course canoes and kayaks. Midewest Mtn is located on Cedar Avenue and University in Minneapolis.

Spirit of the Wilderness offered a seminar Friday titled Fishing the BWCA and had over 30 people attend. The interest high with excellent questions. We needed more time to answer all of them.  Thank you to all that attended.

On Sunday at 3pm we will offer another seminar; the BWCA - an Up Close Experience. Our presentation will cover the Pagami Creek Fire of 2011, with details of what is happening now and what is instore for this canoeing season. Great photos of crews fighting the fire and more.

Lakes ice is almost gone on a number of Ely area lakes. Moose lake has open water around the edges with dark ice in deeper water. Fall Lake is open. Shagawa still has ice.

Click on the attached files and see conditions at Moose Lake and Fall Lake landings.

Wow, what a turnout! We met many people at Canoecopia Paddle Show, Madison WI this past weekend. I offered a seminar on "The BWCA Pagami Creek Fire" and the room was full. What a great audience.

Many questions asked about what happened, is my favorite campsite okay, where can I travel and more. Afterwards a number of the seminar participants came by our exhibit booth and offered a thank you for discussing the topic.

Today on Minnesota Public Radio, the Daily Circuit program; Kerry Miller and Tom Weber did an interview about a study on changes in use, users and management challenges of the BWCA. Here is a link to the follow-up article. Nice to see the authors of the study know which canoes to show at Lake One entry point.

Visit the following website for more details:

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/news_cut/ar...

Spirit of the Wilderness offers opportunities for women wanting to travel or learn about the Boundary Waters. Check out our new ecotour course "Women Exploring the Northwoods". Click on EcoTours at the top of our website.

Join us at Canoecopia this coming weekend for one of the top paddling shows in the upper midwest. Sponsored by Rutabagga Paddle shop, Madison WI. Friday March 9-Sunday March 11 at the Allina Convention Center.

Spirit of the Wilderness will be exhibiting along the main aisle and providing a seminar on the Pagami Creek Fire, Saturday 9:30-10:30 in the Algonquin Room. Stop in and book your BWCA permit and outfitting, bunkhouse accommodations or transportation to entry points or check out our Ecotours of the Northwoods; interactive and discovery week-long courses.

See you at Canoecopia 2012 this coming weekend.

Do you know someone that needs a job and willing to work in Ely, MN from May - October or some portion of this time?  We are interviewing now for seasonal staff.

Our staff will do a variety of jobs from packing for outfitted groups, maintaining canoes, loading canoes, driving to entry points, servicing our bait and tackle customers, working the register, general maintanence and more. No one gets stuck doing only one task or job.

Qualifications; We look for someone that enjoys the outdoors, can provide excellent customer service, willing to learn what an outfitter/bait & tackle shop with retail sportswear does, has a good attitude and willing to interact with our guests. On-the-job training provided. Must be able to lift 45-65 lbs.

Here is a great way to enhance your Spring bird observations and learn a whole lot about bald eagles. Visit the website below and watch bald eagles laying and incubating their eggs and raising their young. Nest location is in the Decorah IA area.

• http://raptorresource.org/

We asked you to indicate how many times you have traveled the BWCA. Here are the results:

• 16% never traveled the BWCA
• 29% traveled 1-4 times
• 18% traveled 5-8 times
• 8% traveled 9-12 times
• 29% traveled 13 or more times

Seems we have an experienced group following Spirit of the Wilderness and we thank you for your participation.

Detour begins Feb. 21

DULUTH, Minn. — Motorists will encounter a detour on Highway 1 south of Ely beginning Tuesday, Feb. 21, while crews blast and remove rock in preparation to reconstruct a five-mile section of Highway 1 next spring and summer. Minnesota Department of Transportation engineers estimate the work will take at least three weeks.