Porcupine Mountains

Hello Dan and welcome,

I would avoid the Porkies from about May 25 until about the 3rd weekend of July. The black flies there can be horrid. I was there once in early June and was eaten alive, never again. Bad as skeeters are, black flies always seem to find there way in, even through and around headnets and oceans of repellents. As often is the case though, the fishing can be the best when the insects are at their worst.

Last time there(06), hiked from Presque Isle on the LST to the Little Carp. I haven't been to the Porkies since then, but may be going there in Sept. There are several on this site that have been there more recently, utilize the BPL search function. Many MI people here, others from WI and MN that go the UP. I'm from down by Toledo.

I've only fished the Little Carp but did well, largest brookie was 17". I use a sort of steelhead type rig with small slip weight above a swivel, 4# main with 2# leader below about 18 inches long, with wet flies or nymph patterns. I also used tiny slip bobbers fished shallow. I like short ultralight spinning rods, as it gives me the most utility in the very small brushy streams that I often fish.

Lots of bears there, many campsites have bear poles. Your route sounds great, allow ample time to fish. For me if I'm fishing while backpacking and I find that great spot, my daily mileage might be nothing. ;)

Dean L

Thanks Dean! So you have a packable spinning rod eh? What kind?

Also I am a total Newbie…whats a few good backpacks to look at for a trip like this or a link to a good buyers guide?

It's a Shimano two piece. I case it in a plastic fluorescent bulb tube. Reel is also a Shimano. There are smaller and lighter reels, but then the spool diameter is so small that you get excessive line twist. Total weight: rod, reel, case, small amount of tackle is about 13 oz. I also always take a small forceps for removing hooks properly. Works too as a pot gripper and splinter remover.

Many here use tenkara setups. I like spinning sets though, for little streams like I mentioned. Also I find them more suited for getting good casts past weed lines in ponds and lakes.

I have a Granite Gear Crown VC 60 backpack. Before that I used a REI Lookout. Way before that I used heavy conventional external frame packs, then I went light. The GG can carry up to around 28-33# in comfort. The REI is only good for 1-2 night trips. If you check the gear section here in BPL, you get the pros and cons of dozens of packs. You said you were planning a 5 night trip. With the right gear for a summer situation, plus fishing tackle, 10# food, fuel and water: about 25 pounds.

Dean

I did a loop last July starting at Lake of the Clouds following the ridgeline down to the Carp River. Followed the Carp River to the Lake Superior trail and then back to Lake of the Clouds. I can second the comment about Black Flies. I grew up in the UP but I had never seen black flies like that. The first night we spent on the Carp river. There were some mosquitos but it wasn't horrendous. We figured once we got down to the Lake the mosquitos would be blown away by the breeze. The next morning it started raining. Once we got to the lake, despite the constant rain, we had several hundred black flies on us constantly! We had planned on staying in one of the sites along lake Superior but it was so miserable we hiked all the way out back to Lake of the Clouds and got a hotel room for the night. We crossed paths with several hikers and no one was staying along the lake. August or later is the best time to go in the UP.

I didn't do any fishing on that trip. There is a separate fishing forum where you can ask questions about fishing gear. I am not a fly fisherman but Tenkara is popular around here. I think it would work pretty good on the Carp. I have a spin set-up. The sectioned poles are usually higher quality than the telescoping poles, though I just bought a nice telescoping pole from Germany. You can find my discussion on it in the fishing section… it's a Balzer rod.

So its all planned! Going in mid September! Two nights at big or little carp after hiking LST from lake of the clouds. Then 2 nights around lily pond area followed by 2 nights in a cabin by mirror lake then walk NML trail back to truck.

I figured 2 nights at each camp so we can either enjoy fishing for a day or if its too rough for me or Mark we can stop half way on each leg and camp.

Cant wait my only dilemma is should I buy a tent or Dream Hammock? Im a side/stomach sleeper and I like the idea of the hammock but not sure if I will sleep good in it!

I'm not a hammock camper, but I think the sensible thing to do would be to try out a hammock before your trip, either in the backyard or on an overnight or weekend trip. You wouldn't want to find out on a week long trip that it doesn't work for you. Fortunately, you've got plenty of time to experiment to figure out what works (and that's part of what makes our hobby such fun).

WIth the Porkies you can't have a bad time; it's an amazing place. One thing to note of the LST is that a storm from I think early last summer threw a ton of driftwood up onto the LST, making it a bit more of a pain to hike. This involves the stretch north of Big Carp rivermouth to hwy107. South of LIttle Carp rivermouth it is less maintained, contains mudholes (can happen any time of year, with heavy rains)
I'll just say I enjoy it less now. Little Carp is amazing, same with Big Carp, Mirror Lake, Escarpment, all top notch trails.

The bug comments here are a bit discouraging. Late may they can be potentially thick, but pick a campsite that is breezy along the big Lake and you decrease those odds. Any time of year is fine.
I lived in Marquette for 18 yrs, going to the Porkies at least 2x/yr. You will really just have an amazing time. Enjoy!

Dana