Hi All,

A group of 4, we are going to trip for 14 days in Quetico (Aug 13 to 27).

I have a couple of questions reagrding the fishing side of the trip.

_Barb hooks, are allowed, tolerated? people still take them? What's the deal?

_Hopping to catch some to eat, what the best thing to do with the head and the guts of the fish (to dispose them)?

_ Looking for walleye and pikes, should I use a leader, or just some fluo after the braided?

_ I have a Chrismar map for the park, however I'd like to know where can I find a map with lake depth contours?
Checked the MNR website, but I doesn't show.

Thanks.

No, barbs are not allowed on the lure you are using.  They can be on other tackle in your box but not the one tied to the end of your line.

Put your fish gut's on an exposed rock away from your campsite and let the gulls eat them.

I never use a leader. - personal preference though.

There are no contour lake maps of Quetico available.

Welcome aboard!


Boubiche wrote on Aug 1^st, 2011 at 6:21pm:

_Barb hooks, are allowed, tolerated? people still take them? What's the deal?

Barbless or crimped barbs before use.


Quote:

_Hopping to catch some to eat, what the best thing to do with the head and the guts of the fish (to dispose them)?

At last check, deep-six the carcass.


Quote:

_ Looking for walleye and pikes, should I use a leader, or just some fluo after the braided?

I'd go titanium leader for large pike (steel tends to get twisted into knots).  I don't use a leader for walleye.


Quote:

_ I have a Chrismar map for the park, however I'd like to know where can I find a map with lake depth contours? Checked the MNR website, but I doesn't show.

I'm not aware of any source for depth contour maps for Quetico.

dd

PhantomJug wrote on Aug 1^st, 2011 at 7:27pm:

No, barbs are not allowed on the lure you are using.  They can be on other tackle in your box but not the one tied to the end of your line. Put your fish gut's on an exposed rock away from your campsite and let the gulls eat them. I never use a leader. - personal preference though. There are no contour lake maps of Quetico available.

Thanks for the correct answers, you got me on the previous ones ...

Quote:

_ Looking for walleye and pikes, should I use a leader, or just some fluo after the braided?

I use a Titanium leader when/if I fish intending on catching pike. As we all know NP seem to be most everywhere and many have lost costly lures when they bit thru the mono sans leader.
I found that when fishing for Waldo/Lakers that I received some degree of protection from NP by using a leader made out of the 20# Braid I use on my heavy trolling rod.
Not as good as a real dedicated leader, but way better than mono alone.
I keep a eye on it if I'm catching the unintended NP, and at the first sign of fraying, I replace.
20# Power Pro is the equivalent of 4-6# mono, and has a very soft hand. I'm no fishing expert by any means, but I don't think the Waldos/Lakers know the difference ;)

Boubiche wrote on Aug 1^st, 2011 at 8:18pm:

Thanks for the correct answers, you got me on the previous ones ...

Now that "newbies" are all paying customers now I believe I should probably curb my sarcasm from here on out - damn.   ;)

At the risk of further exhausting an already exhausted topic, I want to mention how surprised I was at the number of walleye caught while using leaders (steel) this past June.  I always assumed a wire leader would prevent walleye bites, and maybe it does result in less strikes, but it's definitely not the deal breaker that I had thought. 

Thanks all for your input, I appreciate it.

Hopefully I will catch some nice fish and post some pictures.

The above posts address your other questions. As for maps, as stated above, there aren't any contour maps of Quetico lakes (apparently its a Canadian national secret)

   
I would put in a vote to try some 8# flouro. I believe we did much better with it then when using braided line overall. I meant to buy some 6# mono for jigging walleyes but was talked into the flouro instead.

Last time out after about five days of fishing I can't say that we lost one lure, and we had the best walleye fishing that I can remember, although I don't do as well fishing as most on here. That was a first for me, especially considering we C&R a few nice pike along the way. Probably a fluke though. I do like to check the line and retie my knots often.

You should probably go with the heavier gear and some type of leader if specifically targeting the NP though.

solotripper wrote on Aug 1^st, 2011 at 10:17pm:

Quote: _ Looking for walleye and pikes, should I use a leader, or just some fluo after the braided? I use a Titanium leader when/if I fish intending on catching pike. As we all know NP seem to be most everywhere and many have lost costly lures when they bit thru the mono sans leader. I found that when fishing for Waldo/Lakers that I received some degree of protection from NP by using a leader made out of the 20# Braid I use on my heavy trolling rod. Not as good as a real dedicated leader, but way better than mono alone. I keep a eye on it if I'm catching the unintended NP, and at the first sign of fraying, I replace. 20# Power Pro is the equivalent of 4-6# mono, and has a very soft hand.

i've had the less expensive steel leaders from basspro fail 2 years in a row. last year it was the snaps, so i replaced them with upgraded snaps. This year a swivel broke on a 6# pike. That's no protection. After that incident all the leaders came off and had no prob with the 10# braid. If going with a leader, I'd  use a better quality one, or make your own with something like 20# powerpro as stated above (this is my path for next year).

If you're trolling, using a leader will have essentially no effect on your catch rate for any species.  The fish does not have time to size up the bait.  The fish either commits to a strike or loses the opportunity to feed on a seemingly easy meal.

The Chrismar map is an excellent map for locating portages and seeing the entire park but if you will be on confusing lakes with lots of points/islands, or if you just would like to look at your map without squinting, pick up either McKenzie or Fisher maps that will give you a lot more detail, including some of the campsites in the area. 

If the McKenzie/Fisher maps disagree with the Chrismar on the location of a portage, it's been my experience that you should trust the Chrismar to be correct.  McKenzie's have topographical lines which are an additional aid to navigation. 

No map I've ever found has lake contours for the Quetico.