boundary waters

[darren]

im headed up north to boundary waters june 6-10.. never fished there, never caught a smallmouth, never fished out of a canoe. any pearls of wisdom would be greatly appreciated as i dont really know what lures to bring besides what i have read i.e. tubes, grubs, spinnerbaits, senkos, spinnerbaits, cranks, etc...thanks in advance.....darren

[Chris W]

Do you know which lakes you are going to fish? I go every year for about 16 years now. I took way too much my first trip I am sure you will too. I usually take Senko's, tubes and Flukes in soft plastics, Some topwater, 10 or 15 Spinnerbaits and that is about it. I quit carrying crankbaits after taking them out of someones hand 3 years in a row. My best advice is to not take a bunch of colors keep it simple. Something bright like a White or Charturse, something dark like a Smoke or a Black, and Watermelon or Watermelon Red, make sure to take extra line. The fishing is fantastic 80 to 100 fish days are the norm, I have had several 250+ fish days over the years. Good Luck and let us know how you did. I will be up there June 12 - 18. Oh yea if you do not have a very good set of rainwear I would go purchase one now they come in very handy.

[darren]

i dont know what lake we are going to off hand....we will be there from june 6-10 and all i know is that we will have to row several miles then port a half mile to get to camping spot...i cant wait,,,thanks for the help.....

[authentic]

Just curious how one would go about planning a trip like this? It sounds like something I would love to do. Up to this point, I've only fished my home waters (which don't have a ton to offer), but I'm looking forward to branching out. I've started looking at different trips up to Minnesota/Canada, but there's so much that my head starts spinning.

[bigfruits]

start by becoming a member on the message boards here: http://www.bwca.com/

i did 5 days, 4 nights a few yrs ago. beautiful area, will never forget that trip.

[NBR]

Protect you food from the bears!

[northern basser]

Chris W said it pretty well.  Add a couple buzzbaits to the spinnerbait arsenal.  Also, when asked the ultimate question, "if you only had one lure" a lot of people up here's response is the old fashion 1/8 or 1/4oz. jighead with a 3 or 4" white twister tail on it.  A scented one preferably since they are so abundant these days.

[bonzai22]

i go on a trip to minnesota near the boundary waters every year and ive had the best luck with a jighead with a four inch senko its dynamite for smallies

[BassThumb]

Finesse tubes, 1/4 oz spinnerbaits, 1/8 oz buzzbaits, suspending jerkbaits, jig/grub, flukes, Senkos.

Natural colors, white, and black.  Keep it simple.

[uptonfish]

If I had one bait to take up there it would be a Rapala J9 or J11 in gold.  I know it is not nearly as pretty as some of the newer baits but it is killer on early season Smallies up there.

[Chris W]

Chris W said it pretty well. Add a couple buzzbaits to the spinnerbait arsenal. Also, when asked the ultimate question, "if you only had one lure" a lot of people up here's response is the old fashion 1/8 or 1/4oz. jighead with a 3 or 4" white twister tail on it. A scented one preferably since they are so abundant these days.

You know I thought I had put topwaters in there but I totally forgot. The Horny Toads and Ribbits work great too in addition to a buzzbait. Also if you are going to fish for walleye any the Gulp Minnows are great on a jighead.

[geckoes]

Check out an earlier post from 15Jan for additional tips for a Boundry Waters trip.

[smashingsmallies]

Being from Minnesota, I have the following most important information that you absolutely need to follow!!!

DO NOT!, I say again, DO NOT FORGET MOSQUITO/BUG SPRAY OR YOU ARE SCREWED!!!  The Skeeters are by the billions and the deer flies and horse flies will bite the crap out of you all day and all night.  Good luck with the fishing and like you've been told, the BWCA offers abnormally large quantities of fish--have fun and make sure you take pictures and post them on here!!!  Fish on, John .

[kms399]

Being from Minnesota, I have the following most important information that you absolutely need to follow!!!

DO NOT!, I say again, DO NOT FORGET MOSQUITO/BUG SPRAY OR YOU ARE SCREWED!!! The Skeeters are by the billions and the deer flies and horse flies will bite the crap out of you all day and all night. Good luck with the fishing and like you've been told, the BWCA offers abnormally large quantities of fish--have fun and make sure you take pictures and post them on here!!! Fish on, John .

sound advice!!!!!!!

I am going june 10-14 this year. I am bringing

lizards

senkos

jigs

a couple walk the dog type topwaters

shallow and mid range crank baits

a bunch of different poppers

a couple big zara spooks or rapala x walk 13's

and as many craw tubes as I can afford.

[wisturkeyhunter]

Northland mimic minnows for walleyes and smallies

Fat ika,beaver, craw, or any other bait you can crawl slowly on the buttom and also use for bedded fish. I've caught bedded smallies in mid june up there.

Top water baits I like something smaller for smallmouth like a regular spook or devils horse, than a super spook or baby wake for pike and big smallies.

Spinnerbaits, and bucktails 2 of each should be plenty plus 1 buzzbait.

1 or 2 crankbaits like minnow raps, shad raps, or flicker shads good for trolling behind the canoe going across the lake

2 spoons which are also good for trolling behind the canoe pike and lake trout love em

That should cover everything from top to bottom and all 4 species of fish your likely to want to catch.

[wisturkeyhunter]

Also don't forget steel or floro leaders for pike.

[darren]

thanks for the info i really appreciate it...ya i was wondering about the mayflie hatch, and how that would affect us, and should i use a steel leader every time or only when i have an expensive lure on????thanks again, i am leavin in 4 days i am gettin nervous.........

[Chris W]

thanks for the info i really appreciate it...ya i was wondering about the mayflie hatch, and how that would affect us, and should i use a steel leader every time or only when i have an expensive lure on????thanks again, i am leavin in 4 days i am gettin nervous.........

If the mayflies are hatching the topwater bite will be on, good popper style bite. I never use a leader the smallmouth do not bite as well with it. After a while you can tell what is a pike bite and what is something other than a pike I just do not set the hook on a pike they will usually let go of the bait after a few seconds. Good luck on your trip hope you have fun, I started packing for mine Monday, I am leaving next Friday.