Mesaba is a bust from what I have heard and experienced...Cherokee, holds the native (non stocked), and Frost have produced for me, nothing huge but good eaters.

The MN DNR lakefinder will help on the search in some regards.

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Also there is an article in the Boundary Water Journal about "reds" in the Fall '06 addition.

I focus on saddles with deep water on either side, "ledges" adjacent to deep water, and deep water breaks near bays and narrows.

#2,3,4 vibrax spinners in silver have out produced all other lures for me, with weight to get them down. The down side is line twist even with a good quality swivel, which is guaranteed with long lining on a spinning reel setup.  Shallow (15-30') in spring and deeper (30+) when summer like temperatures come around has been my experience.

This is the way that I started to fish them, the ye old spinner set up, now I am running a smaller line counter so I can apply weight and line recipes to fish to specific depths, an application of great lakes trolling methodology.

I vary the speed, it varies between 1.8 to 2.6 mph...easy paddle speed with out a GPS as Furtman suggests.

Spring (ice out) through the end of June is the hot time, but I have caught them in July. Still have not figured out how to catch well in  August and early September...MMMMmm, just something to work on in the future.

And for goodness sake dont bang around in the boat, it will shut 'em off. ;)

Good eats.

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