Quetico and the Boundary Waters Fishing

Needle nose pliers and forceps:
It's nice to have a lanyard on the needle nose pliers because you will often use it over the side of the canoe to unhook northern pike. We do not bring pike into the canoe. They tend to go wild in the bottom of a canoe and there are just too many sharp teeth and hooks thrashing around at your feet. The largest trophy pike may need to be beached and unhooked before taking a few pictures. The forceps can be used on all smaller fish and any that may have swallowed hooks (see my post on catch and release).

Steel leaders and snap swivels:
Both do essentially the same thing in that they allow you to quickly change lures without tying a knot and they both provide protection against line twist which is very problematic when doing a lot of casting especially with spinners. The steel leader provides extra protection against the teeth of northern pike and musky. If you choose not to use a steel leader when fishing in pike waters you will not only lose lures but will also lose fish that are likely to die with a lure lodged in their mouth. One drawback of the steel leader is that it tends to inhibit the action of lightweight lures. Use the ball-bearing snap swivels with jig spinners. Tie jig heads directly to the line with the Palomar knot.