Fishing the Boundary Waters and Quetico
- Getting Started.

The following discussion is intended to be a beginnerís primer for fishing the BWCA/Q area lakes and rivers. Anyone who does not fish on a regular basis but wants to take advantage of the tremendous opportunities available during a wilderness canoe trip will find it useful. Please understand that there are as many ways to catch fish, as there are fishermen, especially in the BWCA/Q where fish are often eager to bite. The canoe fishing equipment and techniques outlined below emphasize simplicity and ease of use for the beginner or occasional fishermen. My hope is that veteran fisherman may also find a few of my ideas useful.

Please fish responsibly within the rules of the parks, keeping only what you will eat and releasing the rest carefully so they can fight another day.

First letís talk about equipment. I use all sorts of different rods and reels in my day-to-day fishing but when I do canoe tripping I keep it very simple. I would recommend medium action spinning rods and reels. I do not take my best gear because it tends to take a fair amount of abuse on portages and around camp. The rods and reels I use cost about $60-$70 each and are more than a few years old. I take 2 complete rods for myself and plus one for each additional person who will be seriously fish. We had 5 rods for 4 people this year and I broke a reel on the first day. Luckily, there were only 2 serious fishermen in our group. Spool some of your reels with 20lb. spiderwire (or equivalent) and some of your reels with 8 lb. monofilament (I like Stren green). Some reels come with an extra spool. If you have one it may come in handy spooled with either one of the above lines or try something different.

Once you have your rods and reels set up (there are basic spooling instructions that come with new line-make sure you follow them) learn and practice the Palomar knot. It will be the only knot you will need to know in order to tie many kinds of line to different kinds of hardware and lures. It's simple to learn and easy to tie in poor light or if your vision is not the best like mine. I'm serious about practicing. Learn to tie it in the comfort of a steady chair, in good light because it will be tougher in a canoe thatís bobbing in the waves or current. Test the knots you tie for strength to make sure you got it right. Practice it on a few different kinds of hooks, lures and sinkers to get a feel for it.

Here is a list of the items in my tackle box for an 8-14 day canoe trip and then a description of how, when and where I use each item.

TACKLE BOX

-needle nose pliers and forceps  
-nail clipper  
-stringer  
-tape measure  
- 2 each 20lb. steel leaders about 8" long  
- 6 each 20lb. ball bearing snap swivels  
- 1/8 and 1/4 oz jigs with wide gap hooks in assorted colors-  
 about 8 of each  
- 6 each large sized jig spinners-2 of each in gold and silver  
- 20 each 3" white Kalin grubs or equivalent twister tails  
- 20 each 3" chartreuse Kalin grubs  
- 10 plastic leech imitators  
- #5 Mepps dressed Aglia spinners  
  2 or 3 gold blade
  1 or 2 silver blade  
  1 or 2 chartreuse blade  
- 2 #5 and/or #7 Rapala deep diving Shad Raps-gold/black and blue/silver  
- 2 each 4-5" Original floating Rapalas-one in a dark color pattern      
  and a light one. (Perch is good too)  
-1/4 and 1/2 oz Rattle Traps in light and dark patterns
  (white or silver was good this year)
- 1 Surface/Topwater plug ‚ your choice ( chug bug, Pop R, etc.) they all work.  

And if you want to fish for lake trout:
-3 each 1oz and 2oz bell sinkers
-6 each 3way swivels
-3 spoons-2/5oz Little Cleos -blue/silver, chartreuse/silver, or Crocodile spoons ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ

Needle nose pliers and forceps: Itís nice to have a lanyard on the needle nose pliers because you will use it often 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 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. Do not use them with the jig spinners, jigs or lake trout spoons. Use ball bearing snap swivels with jig spinners and trout spoons and whenever I want to gamble and not use a leader.

Jig spinners: Also called Beetle Spins, consist of a safety pin style stainless steel wire, blade and a jig to which you can add a grub or twister tail. They can be used with ordinary jig heads but I find they work much better with jigs that have oversized wide gap hooks. The 1/8 oz weight jig works best with the larger sized jig spinners. Jig spinners can be bought without the jigs attached in both gold and silver colors. Color is not very important in the jig head itself but you may find a definite preference in the color of the grub or twister tail that is added to it. The fish will eventually let you know what they want. Try to thread grubs and twister tails onto the jig with the curve in the tail facing down or up for the most natural action.

A good combination to start with is a large gold Colorado blade jig spinner, 1/8oz jig with oversized hook and a 3î white grub. This can be cast to likely looking shorelines that have a gradual slope with fist size to soccer ball sized rocks. A few big rocks mixed in is also good, and if there is a little weed growth present you have a hot spot. The rockier it is the more likely it will hold smallmouth bass. The weedier it is the more likely it will hold northern pike and bass.

The jig spinner is reasonably snag proof and can be retrieved fairly slowly over rocks and even wood without too much snagging. Since it has only a single hook it is also easy to release the fish.   Donít be afraid to throw it right to the shoreline in less than a foot of water but be prepared to chase down a few snags until you get comfortable with how it works. Another trick for targeting walleyes is to toss it out into deep water, let it sink to the bottom and then slow roll it back to the canoe, retrieving it slow enough to maintain occasional contact with the bottom. After you catch a few large fish with it you may have to bend it back in shape or replace a worn out grub. The beginners in my groups love this easy to use lure and catch some very impressive fish with it.

Mepps spinners ‚ The original #5 Aglia with the squirrel tail: Year after year this lure is the real trophy catcher and all around fish producer. I would not go to the BWCA/Q without several of them. Iíve tried other smaller sizes but find that the fish in these waters are not shy about hitting the larger #5 size. As a result I have stopped taking any smaller Mepps spinners. They should always be used with a leader because they attract pike from far and wide like no other lure. The Mepps is a little tougher to use for the beginner but is well worth the time it takes to become proficient with it. The difficulty lies in the fact that it sinks quickly and is easy to snag.  By adjusting the speed of your retrieve the Mepps can be run deep along the bottom or shallow, just under the surface. The absolute most effective way to use this lure is to find an area as described above for jig spinners or a weedy bay and cast the lure over around or even through the weeds for pike and bass. Pike will be in as little as 2í of water and viciously attack this lure. If a pike strikes and misses the spinner, keep up the retrieve and they will usually circle and hit it again.

One of the first places we stopped to fish during an í04 trip was a narrow channel between 2 islands that varied between 2 and 4 feet deep but there were scattered weeds growing there. My friend Kyle and I tied on our Mepps spinners and after about a dozen casts I caught a 24î northern. A short time later Kyle hooked his first Quetico fish, a monster 43.5î pike that we had to beach in order to photograph and release. Later during the same trip, we also had our most productive day of fishing throwing Mepps spinners in weedy/rocky bays. We caught about 50 fish in a few hours one morning, with several bass over 18î and lots of pike around 30î. Kyle found that bulging the spinner (retrieving the spinner extra fast just below the surface to cause a bulge in the water ahead of the lure) is what the fish wanted that day. And the color they wanted was gold. At times other colors will work better but gold is always worth a try.

If you use this lure without the steel leader at least use a snap swivel as this lure is prone to cause line twist and eventually a nasty snarl.

Deep diving shad raps by Rapala dive to about 10-12í and can be used as a search lure for walleyes. They can be cast toward steeper shorelines and rocky points but they are lightweight, do not cast very far and are blown around by the wind easily. A more effective way to use them is by trolling. Generally, the depth at which you can see bottom on most lakes in the BWCA/Q is about 10-15 feet. So if you paddle slowly along the shore just outside of where you can see bottom on a sunny day you will be over about 10-20 feet most of the time which is prime walleye depth during daytime hours in the summer.  I say during the day because after dark walleyes commonly go very shallow to feed and can be caught by casting to shorelines and rocky points.

Trolling in a canoe can be accomplished with one or two people. If alone, sit in the bow seat facing the stern and paddle the canoe stern first. For two people, have the passenger sit in the bow seat facing backward and the paddler sits in the stern seat. To get started, snap on a lure, get the canoe moving in the desired direction, place the lure in the water to observe the action at various speeds, and then make a full cast behind the canoe and let out another 10-15 yards of line. This should place the lure about 40-50 yards behind. Continue paddling as needed to make the lure ìworkî with the passenger fishing on one side of the canoe and the paddler on the other. Occasionally you will bump the bottom. Thatís your cue to move a bit deeper. If youíre never bumping bottom, move a little closer to shore. Zigzag along shore like this until you catch a fish. Only one person should paddle while trolling because the speed generally should be only fast enough to get the lure moving and to dive. Occasionally speed up and slow down to see if that triggers a strike or that the fish prefer a certain speed. Never lose contact with your rod as some of the strikes can be quite powerful and itís possible to lose a rod overboard. If trolling is something you find you like to do, it may be wise to check out rod holders for canoes.

The original floating Rapalas run shallower (about 4-5í deep) than the shad raps-note the size of the lip on each. They too can be cast toward shorelines and be effective but I still prefer to troll them. When trolling with two people a good plan is to have the rod on the shore side of the canoe run a shallow lure and the other side the deep lure. If the shallow lure is getting all the action it would be wise to fish shallower with both rods or vice versa if the deep lure is catching fish.

Trolling is a great way to see the shoreline, observe wildlife along the way and locate fish. As you troll along, take mental notes of weedy bays where you may want to shift gears later and do some casting with spinners. Rocky points commonly hold walleye. If you catch one off of a rocky point and you are able to hold the canoe in position, itís time to make a few casts all around that point with the same lures you are trolling or you can try a jig and plastic which are discussed later. 

The lures that Iíve recommended for trolling so far are all floating lures and for good reason. If you need to stop or slow down to catch a fish, the other lure will just float to the surface rather than sink to the bottom to get snagged amongst the rocks. For the most part these lures will bounce over and around rocks without snagging. Occasionally they will get wedged between rocks and then you will have to back up to retrieve it but that does not happen very often. Because these lures are working amongst the rocks much of the time, the first 2 feet of line ahead of the lure will get beat up, especially the monofilament line. Inspect this section of line frequently and remove and retie if it feels nicked or abraded. If you neglect this advice it may cost you a trophy of a lifetime. 

Trolling with sinking lures is also possible but not usually worth the trouble. The depth they run at cannot be controlled as well and they are far more prone to snags.

Rattle Traps by Bill Lewis are sinking lures that cast well and are especially good at bouncing around and over rocks or wood if retrieved at a steady pace. The bumping and banging are what actually gets the fishís attention and triggers the bite. They are especially good at mimicking crayfish. I like to use these lures for casting in areas like rocky points or wooded shorelines where I may have already caught a fish while trolling and there are likely more of them there. Rattle Traps are filled with small BBís, which give the lure a unique sound underwater. Rapala, Berkely and others make versions of this lure that can all be effective.

Surface lures like Chug Bugs, Skitter Pops etc. are just fun to use in calm water. Cast the lure out far from the canoe then wait for the rings around it to settle. It will float high out of the water. Twitch it a couple times and then wait. Retrieve the lure in a series of twitches and pauses being very patient. The bite that eventually occurs is often a startling explosion but not always. Sometimes large bass will just casually suck the whole thing in. Donít set the hook until you feel the fish on the line. This is easier said then done. Many times I have set the hook too early at the sight of the fish. Fish will frequently miss these lures on their first attempt but if the lure remains nearby they will often strike it successfully a second time. Calm weedy bays are good places to use this lure but rocky points can also be good. Smallmouth bass have been known to come from very deep water to hit surface baits. Do not use a leader or even a snap swivel with this bait. Tie it directly to your line to give it the best action. Try this lure for the fun of it.

Jigs and plastic grubs or twister tails are usually high on most fishermenís lists of tackle to bring to Canada. On my list, as you can see, they fall somewhere near the bottom. Itís not that they donít catch fish. In fact when Iím motorboat fishing they are my favorite lure. But in a canoe there are some difficulties with the jig presentation. A proper presentation of the jig generally relies on holding the boat in a steady position; casting and then slowly jigging the lure back to the boat or remaining vertical over the jig and fishing straight down in deeper water ‚ both methods are often difficult in a canoe. Jigs are a slow presentation and very prone to snagging. Most bottom areas are a jumble of rocks and a lead head jig will always find a way to get wedged between rocks. Therefore, the only time I will rig and use a jig and plastic is when I have already found fish and am reasonably certain that I can coax a few more into biting with a jig. Most of the time in the BWCA/Q there are enough aggressive fish available that jig fishing is rarely necessary. Jig fishing relies greatly on feel ‚ your ability to distinguish between rocks, wood, weeds and fish biting at the end of your line. All good fishermen are good jig fishermen. There is great satisfaction in coaxing a fish to bite a jig, feeling the tell tale tap and setting the hook into a nice walleye. Do play around with them if you get a chance especially from shore at camp. You may be surprised at what you can catch. Just be prepared to lose a few. Tie the jig directly to the line using a Palomar knot with no leader or swivel.

Midsummer lake trout fishing is a basically trolling as described above, except that it is done with the lures running much deeper. To accomplish fishing at depths greater than 20 feet extra weight or a diving device needs to be added to the line in front of the lure. Iím sure diving devices like Dipsy Divers work and they have their following but I prefer to use whatís called a 3-way rig. The key element in this rig is a 3-way swivel that has one eye attached to the main line, back to the fishing rod. Another eye is attached to a 15î length of 8 lb. test monofilament line with a 1 or 2-ounce bell sinker tied to it. The 1-ounce weight will be good to about 25 feet deep and the 2-ounce to about 40 feet deep. The third eye is connected to a 3-foot leader of 8 lb. monofilament, which has a ball bearing swivel and a snap. Spoons of various sizes, shapes and colors can be easily snapped onto this leader without having to retie. You may also tie crank baits to this rig but Iíve had better luck with spoons.

This whole affair may seem awkward out of the water but once deployed behind a moving canoe it performs quite well. Get the canoe moving forward fairly fast over deep water and then let out line slowly 3 feet at a time to prevent tangles. It may be wise to measure the amount of line that you let out. A simple measuring stick is the length of your fishing rod, which will likely be 5-6 feet. If you know how much line you let out you will be able to return to the same depth should you catch a fish. Another possibility is to mark the line with a bobber stop or other type of marker that can be reeled onto the spool. As you troll, keep the line going back from the canoe at about a 45-60 degree angle to the water. This will actually be a fairly slow speed, but spoons do not require much speed to work and they will reach their maximum depth.

Lake trout prefer water temperatures in the mid fifties. Up until about late June water temps around 55 can be found in depths less than 20 feet. As July gets under way, depending on the local weather that year, lake trout will be roaming deeper and deeper to find their comfort range sometimes spending time as deep as 60 feet or more. Rarely though have I had to fish much deeper than 40-50 feet to catch these fish. Lake trout will not hesitate to move shallower quickly to grab a passing meal.

Lake trout feed on pelagic species of fish like shad, ciscoes and smelt which move in huge schools in deep cool lakes. This type of baitfish tends to roam widely all over the lake and the trout will follow them. It is perfectly acceptable, and often productive, to simply troll back and forth across the middle of a deep lake until fish are located. You can also target deep rock walls or gravel bars but do pay attention when you catch that first fish because you will want to repeat what you where doing.

The overall size of the lake has less to do with whether it holds lake trout than the depth. For the most part, the deeper the lake the more likely it is to have trout. In the BWCA/Q lake trout are commonly caught in lakes as small as 50 acres. In fact, during the heat of summer when trout are at their deepest it is much easier to locate fish on a smaller lake that has a smaller deep basin.

Live bait: Some types of live bait are allowed in the parks with restrictions. If you choose to use live bait please be aware of them. Iím sure that live bait will out perform artificial bait most of the time. However, I personally have never found it necessary to use live bait to catch lots of fish. In addition, live bait has special needs for keeping it lively and useful during your trip that I have never found to be worth the effort. I suppose there are times very early in the season just after ice out when having and using live bait is essential to catching fish, but I suspect many beginning fisherman will not choose this time of year for their trips.

Having handled thousands of fish of many species and sizes I often take it for granted that catching is the hard part. But in reality there can be serious painful consequences if some species of fish are not handled properly. Let's look at each of the species of fish you will likely encounter in the BWCA/Q and how they can be handled safely.

Northern Pike:

Small ones, big ones, all sizes have teeth that can cause severe lacerations if slashed across your skin. Pike do not bite per say but usually thrash wildly with their mouths wide open. In addition, pike have what's called rakers attached to the red tissue in their gills that are just as sharp as their teeth. Add to all this the fact that pike tend to go completely spastic at just the wrong time, usually in the bottom of the canoe with one or two treble hooks hanging out of their mouth or just before that photograph is taken. That's why we never bring a pike into the canoe. Even the small ones are unhooked at the side of the canoe. Many times if you just firmly grab the hook with the needle nose pliers (here's where that lanyard on your pliers comes in handy) the pike will shake itself loose. If not grasp the fish firmly across the back of the head and take your time backing out each hook until the lure is loose. The fish will be ok if this takes some time because it is still in the water.

Extra large trophy fish are handled a little differently. First, we make every effort to find a suitable place along shore to beach the fish, get him unhooked and get a few pictures. The other thing we do is to use a pair of light leather or fish handling gloves (available at sporting goods stores) to protect our hands. Once at the shore and when the fish is calm, slide your hand under the gill flap (avoid touching the red tissue) all the way to the lower jaw area where you will feel a substantial bone to grab onto and secure your grip to remove the lure. You can lift the fish out of the water by this grip alone but it's best to support the back end of the fish if it's large. Keep a secure grip at all times on that jaw hold. Take a few quick pictures and then release your trophy by supporting the fish by the tail and under the belly in the water until he is able to swim away on his own. This may take several minutes if the fish is especially stressed. Be patient.  

Walleyes are underrated for there ability to inflict injury. They have teeth, dorsal spines, and razor sharp edges on their gills and itís these gill edges that are the most dangerous and cause the most injuries. Be very careful as you reach for a walleye and it flares its gills. The best way I've found to handle walleyes up to about 24" is to get them alongside the canoe and grab them firmly across the back of the head so that your hand closes off the gills (so he can't flare them). Once you accomplish this you'll have several seconds to get the hooks out and get him on a stringer if you like. Don't discount the little ones. Their gills are even sharper. One tip with smaller walleye: as soon as you get the grip described above tip them upside down. It will momentarily disorient them and they will stay quiet for several extra seconds giving you time to remove the hook. If you do catch a really large one, handle it the same as a trophy pike.

Bass - smallmouth and largemouth - are the easiest and safest to handle. They do have dorsal spines which can be easily avoided by lip landing them. As you get a bass alongside the canoe stick your thumb in the fishís open mouth taking great care to avoid any hooks, and grab the lower lip tightly. Remove the hooks and release or put on the stringer.

Lake trout are not especially dangerous to handle although they do have substantial teeth. Lake trout teeth are stouter and seem somewhat less sharp than northern pike or even walleye teeth. Iíve been able to use fish handling gloves to lip land the largest trout despite the teeth. I would not attempt this without the gloves however.

A note about putting fish on a stringer: almost all species of fish have a very thin but tough area of skin stretched between and across the bones of the lower jaw. The pointed metal end of the stringer can be poked through this skin up into and out of the mouth with the rest of the string looped around lower jawbone. Fish will stay alive indefinitely if secured this way versus through a gill.

The advice above will get you started. The real joy of fishing is to try new products and techniques and develop your own style. Above all have fun and enjoy a great resource.

About the author:
Darrel Brauer (Kingfisher) has made several trips over the years to the BWCA/Q since 1977, each time experimenting with different ways to find and catch fish. At home in the Milwaukee, WI area he spends 80-90 days per year fishing around his home state for fish of all species. He derives great satisfaction from guiding and teaching others, especially beginners, to understand fish and how to catch them. If you have comments or suggestions about the article below he would love to hear from you. IM Kingfisher from Quiet Journey.com or email to mrdb11@aol.com.