# U.P. Report



## fishinDon (May 23, 2002)

I was up to the camp in the central U.P. over the weekend with the family. Fishing has improved since my father and I took our annual Memorial Day trip (tough fishing, cold weather) to say the least. My daughter and I caught more than enough bluegills to keep her busy on Saturday night, and I was able to fool 4 pretty decent brookies early Sunday morning in less than an hour. Biggest was just shy of 12 inches and smallest was right around 10.

On the flip side, the mosquitos up there right now are HORRIBLE. They are in cloud formation and no amount of bug spray will keep them completely off of you. My wife and small son spent most of the weekend indoors because they were just too much for them, and he can't really fend for himself yet. If anyone knows of a non-deet bug spray that will actually work for kids, please let me know?! 

I like fishing enough that I can tolerate the bugs, if you're not in that same boat or have small kids with you, I'd advise you to wait a week or two until things dry out a bit and the mosquito numbers tail off...

Good Luck to all,
fishinDon


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## redneckdan (Dec 14, 2004)

My wife can't use deet sprays. She has pretty good luck with Off Botanicals, they will land and then take off again, but won't bite. Doesn't keep them at a distance like the 100% deet I use.


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## rocknut (Jun 23, 2008)

I tried one of those fogger cans (I think it was made by Raid) last weekend, and was very impressed by the results. We have a cabin north of Newberry, and the mosquitos are HIDEOUS right now. They were 'bout ready to carry us away when we got there Friday, so I sprayed the perimeter of the yard as per the instructions on the can, and lo and behold, it WORKED!! I won't say the mosquitos were 100% gone, but within half an hour it was actually comfortable to be outside the cabin! 

If you are totally against the chemical foggers (as I used to be until I found out how well they worked!) you can always do a smudge fire. I find these work very well, and even build a small portable one in a coffee can for bug protection while I am fishing. Just get a small fire going, and then cover it with green vegitation (ferns, horsetails, moss, etc). It will smoke for a long time, and works well to keep the bugs at bay. 

I also use the bug-wipes for my 2 boys, but I think they might have a small amount of DEET in them...


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## UPJerry (Dec 14, 2006)

fishinDon said:


> If anyone knows of a non-deet bug spray that will actually work for kids, please let me know?!


Repel Lemon Eucalyptus usually works pretty well for mosquitos, but be aware that although it is made of natural ingredients it is still somewhat toxic.


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## walleyeguy22 (Feb 12, 2007)

ThermaCELL plain and simple buy it buy the refills you wont be dissapointed i promise you that. You go up to your camp to enjoy yourself there is no reason your wife should have to sit inside she might as well stay home. This thing works do a search on this sight you will see im not the only one that says it.


http://www.mosquitorepellent.com/

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/t...=mode+matchall&Nty=1&Ntt=thermacell&noImage=0


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## UPJerry (Dec 14, 2006)

walleyeguy22 said:


> ThermaCELL plain and simple buy it buy the refills you wont be dissapointed i promise you that. You go up to your camp to enjoy yourself there is no reason your wife should have to sit inside she might as well stay home. This thing works do a search on this sight you will see im not the only one that says it.
> 
> 
> http://www.mosquitorepellent.com/
> ...


 I tried this for the first time on a recent three-night camping trip and was not impressed with the results. It seemed to maybe work for a little while (less than an hour), but after that it was not uncommon to see a small swarm of mosquitos six inches away from it. :sad: I know many others say they have had success with it, though.


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## Chromedoggy (Mar 25, 2007)

I use a herbal blend called Buzz-off that an indian woman in Maine created years ago. I buy it when I am in Maine, but there is some on Ebay. If you search on Ebay "buzz-off repellent" it will come up. Its in a 4 oz bottle. My kids use it with excellent results.
I am also a fan of Exofficio's insect shield clothing. I have tested it extensively. There is a lot on ebay at great prices for kids and adults.


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## smokepants (Dec 4, 2006)

I hit the Chocolay the other day and had a long sleeve shirt on that was sprayed with Deep Woods Off and the mosquitoes stayed away for about 10 minutes then laughed at me and swarmed again. Seems like right now if it is not the mosquitoes it is those darn black flies.

Neil.


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## Whit1 (Apr 27, 2001)

rocknut said:


> We have a cabin north of Newberry


 
Where is the cabin?

Many years ago we would fish for steelheads in the Two-Hearted R. and stayed at friends' cabin a few miles SW of the Wolf Inn which is on CO407.


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## rocknut (Jun 23, 2008)

Whit1 said:


> Where is the cabin?
> 
> Many years ago we would fish for steelheads in the Two-Hearted R. and stayed at friends' cabin a few miles SW of the Wolf Inn which is on CO407.


It's on the Two Hearted WNW of Pine Stump. It is a gorgeous area isn't it? I'm willing to battle the hordes of mosquitos and occasional wood tick ...


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## Sparky23 (Aug 15, 2007)

Come up here to Alaska and then tell me the U.P bugs are bad. It is unreal up here, Im glad they dont bother me much, but I feal sorry for my gf and others.


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## Trout Junkie (Feb 8, 2007)

Bugs are just part of the equation when trout fishing the U.P. There, someone had to say it. I don't like them either, but I get by with bug sprays and such. If they get real bad you can wear a head net or bug jacket of sorts. They are usually only bad at dawn, dusk, or when the sun is hidden. When it's sunny, the mosquitos seem to dissappear.

For what it's worth, I just got back from a week long trout fishing mission in the eastern U.P. The mosquitos were annoying, but the ticks were terrible. My buddy had 40 on him after hitting one of our secret spots. Yep, FORTY. I only had four on me, but I had waders on all day. He was wet wading.

I can understand the concerns with little ones though. My boys are bitten up pretty good right now, but that is from the black flies near our home in the central yoop.


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## redneckdan (Dec 14, 2004)

Sparky23 said:


> Come up here to Alaska and then tell me the U.P bugs are bad. It is unreal up here, Im glad they dont bother me much, but I feal sorry for my gf and others.



I was riding from KI sawyer to marquette. Sceeters were so thick I had to stop every 2 miles or so to scrape them off my face shield. I literally couldn't see the road.


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## rocknut (Jun 23, 2008)

Trout Junkie said:


> For what it's worth, I just got back from a week long trout fishing mission in the eastern U.P. The mosquitos were annoying, but the ticks were terrible. My buddy had 40 on him after hitting one of our secret spots. Yep, FORTY. I only had four on me, but I had waders on all day. He was wet wading.
> 
> 
> > FORTY!?! :yikes: UGH, that just gives me the creeps...I pulled ONE off myself a couple of weeks ago, and took one off my dog that was the size of a grape (hideous thing). I need to get my chickens back soon--had them in the yard all last summer, and didn't see a single tick, I think they do a good job of taking care of them, at least around the house!


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## frenchriver1 (Jul 5, 2005)

rocknut said:


> Trout Junkie said:
> 
> 
> > For what it's worth, I just got back from a week long trout fishing mission in the eastern U.P. The mosquitos were annoying, but the ticks were terrible. My buddy had 40 on him after hitting one of our secret spots. Yep, FORTY. I only had four on me, but I had waders on all day. He was wet wading.
> ...


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## REG (Oct 25, 2002)

FWIW, with the young one, Ex Officio makes Buzz Off clothing which incorporates Permethins into the cloth. If you get this stuff at a retail store, it is kind of spendy, but check out Sierra Trading Post for decent prices.

Anyways, just out of curiosity, I bought one of these when I went to camp in WI, which had a goodly number of mosquitos after all the flood waters. This shirt did seem to work.


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## Chinookhead (Mar 4, 2005)

Cutter Advanced works extremely well.....non-deet and not stinky. It's worked for me in Michigan and Alaska! I stay away from Deet because Deet will kill anything made of nylon like your fancy hiking clothes, bags, waders, and most scary.......your fishing line!! If u get it on your waders then make sure to wash it off soon.....only gore-tex waders are not so sensitive to it, but most breathable waterproof materials are ruined by it.


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## fishinDon (May 23, 2002)

I wasn't aware of Deet ruining breathable waders, that's interesting...I'm going to make sure to keep that stuff away from my breathables from now on...

Thanks everyone for all the input on the different non-deet bug sprays. Time to do some experimenting.

Thanks again! 
Don


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## tedshunter (Dec 27, 2004)

Chinookhead said:


> Cutter Advanced works extremely well.....non-deet and not stinky. It's worked for me in Michigan and Alaska! I stay away from Deet because Deet will kill anything made of nylon like your fancy hiking clothes, bags, waders, and most scary.......your fishing line!! If u get it on your waders then make sure to wash it off soon.....only gore-tex waders are not so sensitive to it, but most breathable waterproof materials are ruined by it.


 I found out the hard way years ago on a trip to the U.P. that Deet will also burn your fingerprints into the paint of your car while you close your trunk if it is still on your hands:rant:The sceeters were so bad I did'nt even notice that it had happened until we packed up the next morning.


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