PJ,
Maybe I need to dust off my Abu Garcia Ambassadeur 6500 CS3 and 7 foot St Croix rod for trolling in Quetico.  I received the rod and reel as a present over 20 years ago for fishing for muskies on Leech Lake when we had a place on Leech Lake.  I never did catch a muskie, but we spent more time water skiing than we did fishing.  I also thought that the rod and reel was too much beef for fishing in Quetico.  Maybe I will give it a try this July when my wife and I head into BH and Quetico Lake.  Do you lose some of the fun catching fish when you use such a heavy setup?