Fishing the Boundary Waters Area of Minnesota

[tarheel235]

I am going fishing in Minnesota on the boundary waters area--lake trout, walleye, small mouth bass and northern pike. Anyone have any advice for bait and lures to use????? Most of my fishing experience has been for catfish, large mouth bass, river/stream trout, bream and river salmon. I would appreciate any ideas-you can email me at tarheel235@yahoo.com. THANKS!!!

[Osprey]

Well let's see...I would not head in that direction without a selection of Daredevil Spoons in red/white, red/yellow. Bring some Mepps spinners for sure. I like the Aglia #5, silver blade/white squirrel tail with red feather dressing. Also pack along a handful of Rapala's. Go for the larger ones in this situation,
there are certainley big fish where you are going...May as well target them.
As for styles of Raps? I wouldn't be caught up there without a few original floaters in silver/black back, silver/blue back. Those are great colors almost anywhere. Northern Minnesotan and Canadian waters tend to be tannin stained, so some darker colors wouldn't be bad either. Perch is one that I like, firetiger is another. You might want to consider some lipless crankbaits. Again I lean towards The Rapala product. Consider the colors that I have already mentioned and maybe add a few in shad and in bone. Since I don't know what species you are targeting I will say go with 3/8oz to 1/2oz for the smallies, 3/4oz and perhaps 1oz for anything bigger. Of course you shouldn't forget to bring an assortment of jigs and twisters. As to weights and colors? I like any of those green pumpkin seedy sort of grubs also black and white are a must. Start with 1/16oz and go all the way up to 1oz depending on how deep you plan to fish with them. The 1/16, 1/8 3/16 and 1/4oz weights are essential. You mentioned laketrout, they've got them up there in the deeper lakes. Depending on the time of year you are planning your trip for you may find that the lakers are pretty deep. If the plan is to hit the few lakes of the BWCA where power boats are permitted, bait walkers might not be a bad idea. The bait walkers can be used to troll crank baits which can be very effective for walleyes as well as the lakers. On the other hand if it's a canoe you will be fishing from your options are limited where the lake trout are concerned. You might want to consider fishing vertically with jigging spoons. As to the question of live bait? Simple, minnows and leeches.
Good luck and let us know how you do.

[Choupiquer]

Or just back a semi up to Osprey's garage and load up. You should be able to fit about half of his lure selection in it.:o

[Johnny]

I have gotten skunked in the boundary waters before. It can be difficult to locate fish in some of the bigger areas of water.

I would call bait shops in the area you will be and ask them what you should use.

Visit bait & tackle shops and ask questions. Request maps with good fishing locations.

I would suggest watching the guide boats very carefully. They will hit all the spots with fish. The guides are about the only ones who have gps locations for under water structure, drop offs & holes.

I would also watch any boat that seems to be a local. These boats will also lead straight to the fish.

Watch for birds swooping and feeding in the water. Birds are a sure sign of where to find bait fish. Big fish are always by the bait fish.

Be ware: Make sure you have a Canadian fishing license. You must have the appropriate license for the area of water you fish. If you launch in Minnesota, you will still need a Canadian Licence to fish Canada's waters. They make allot of money on this misunderstanding.

I wish you the best :thumbs_up

[almostevilboy]

if you searching for fish = loud ass rattlin rap(chrome with a spot, or shad color are my favorites)

if you have located a good section of holding fish or pattern = use plastics of different types(my favorite being the worm family, preferably senco/yum dingers...

if all else fails then bust out the live bait, leeches are my first choice = get a lindy rig or bottom bouncer and search different depths for good size walleye and bass, or just a simple 1/4 oz jig head and find the bottom....

just some of my elementary seek and distroy mission formulas...now if you have time some of the boy's on this site could realy get in depth with ya on the how to and the why for's .......good luck to ya..