Just got back from a 5day trip with the wife and kids and I want more! Doubt I’ll get it done this fall, but thinkin next year. Starting my planning now. I’d like to do a rifle deer hunt and bring along some steel for otters and beaver. Anyone on here have some experience huntin and trapping up there?

Other than shooting the odd grouse while trapping, I've never found that trapping and hunting mix very well.

100%
I carry a gun on the lines for potting meat that presents itself while I am trapping.Mostly grouse in the fall.In winter I dont normally carry a gun on the line.
I have shot a few fur animals over the years,usually fox but mostly if I see fur on the line I will not shoot it I will set a trap or snare and take it that way.

Probably the last 10yrs or so I’ve been headed up Leech Lake and I’ll set beaver and otter off the roads by my hunt camp on Friday afternoon before rifle season starts. Only 4-6 locations and a dozen or so sets. Hunt the morning and afternoon hunts. Skin and reset midday. It works for me in that setting.
Hoping I could pull it off in that remote setting. There are a few spots on the Ely side of the BWCA where there are loads of beaver/otter sign, I figure I could have a camp, make a small line to the north and small one to the south the next day since we have a two day check on conibears. And it’d be too much if stick with just one line.
My main concern is weight. I hate double portaging with a passion. Which will be a must on a trip like this. Cold and water don’t mix. Also got potential for freeze up that time of year. Thinking lightweight tent with wood stove. Throw in the potential for some deer quarters, steel and beaver hides and it would get heavy in a hurry!

it sounds like it would be fun and a lot of work.

I would test how many sets you could fit in one more pack minimizing portage concerns and give it a go the first year.

you will learn as you go , for sure

also one line would give you more time to hunt.

You ought to read " Trapping the Boundary Waters" a tenderfoot in the border country,1919-1920 by Charles Ira Cook Jr. if you haven't. It's a great account of trapping and hunting the area. My son &I have canoed the areas he was in a couple of times, sure gives you an appreciation of what he did.

I’ve read the book. Sittin on my bookshelf right now.

Snares might be a better option.

FYI-MN has a three day check law on conibears

I've always wanted to do a bwca trapping trip. I've worried that I would get frozen in at that time of year. It'd be a fun adventure though.

find some lakes where you can take a motor boat. 330s and snares! Probably catch more than you'd want too

The BW can be pretty big country. You get a line established and then a 6 inch snow and things change fast. The same can be said for the ice. The "Lynx Zone" rules are sort of a PITA but if you just want the adventure, not piles of critters, go for it! Also, there is LOTS of good country on the borders of the BW but outside the boundaries. Little things can become a pain up there like lure. Your 4 ounce glass bottle of Backbreaker is prohibited up there.

This^^^

Yeah, that’s the allure for me. I love roughing it. Playing mountain man with my modern equipment. It would definitely be a weather dependent hunt as things could change in a hurry. On a warmer fall I think it’d be a blast, deer usually ain’t running too hard, down here, that first weekend if it’s warm. Also figure I might look at water with current to help with ice and that might allow me to stick to smaller water so wind and waves wouldn’t be as much of a hazard. The garmin inreach and a weather radio would be a must.