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Looking for help planning a boundary waters trip. For those wo have no idea what im talking about, its a national park on the border of minnesota and canada. I know what your thinking. Why not ask the minnesota guys? Well ive posted there before and they've got a cool 1800 or so threads total lol. I guess there too busy fishing in one of there 10,000 lakes while we scramble to our 100 lol.
If anyone has ever gone and has some input i would apprieate it. i got all the permit info, its just the amount of water up there is staggering. Looking for best fishing, of course. Going aroung mid june.
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have fun catching 10 billion wall eye!!! if trout_Slayer could, he would chime in with what to use etc... i rember tons and tons of jigs tipped with minnows and night crawlers along with 33, 30 packs of beer. post pics!!
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Have you guys been there? im gettin excited and its 6 months away!!!![url "http://www.canoeit.com/fishroutes.cfm"][/url]
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i fished just south of it a while back... i was throwing an 8 weight for bass and having a little luck here and there for carp. so we switched to jigs, both tube and maribu (sp) and started having a blast. there are so many places within one hour to fish it blows me away. you can also pike and musky fish up there. if you get the chance buy a map and find some of the smaller creeks that feed the lakes. alot of them you can actually run up with a boat and do some awesome pike, wall eye, and musky fishing with the occasional toad small mouth suprise and stacks and stacks of crappie!
make a count down timer cause if your trip is 6 months away ill be getting home from the middle east (where im sitting right this second) and it will be ice off in UT,ID, and CO right when you leave on your trip!
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My buddy at the SL Tribune was in the Boundary Waters this past spring. I'm sure he would share his info with you if you shoot him an e-mail - brettp@sltrib.com
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I have not been there for 15 years or more, but I wish I was going with you...
We used all lures and would half to stop fishing to let our arms rest, lots of bass and eyes and lake trout as well..
Good luck and great fishing...And take your camera and post up when you get back..
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Lived in MN for 15 yrs many trips to boundary waters. Walleyes - 1/8 to 1/4 jigs tipped with plastic grubs or leeches/crawlers. Best bite is sunrise/sunset. Jig points, islands and rocky humps if you can find them. Also blasck/gold Rap minnow baits - husky jerks are my pick.
Smallies can be caught on jig and twister grubs - I prefer crawfish type colors like pumpkinseed or watermelon but yellow sometimes works. Just work shorelines and rocky points. Any timber lying the water likely holds a smallie.
Pike - the basic red/white or jack of diamonds spoons.
Key on any river inlets especially those with a waterfalls and a deep pool. I always trolling a spoon while canoeing and caught some nice pike that way.
As to where to go, for a first timer I'd suggest Ely and the Basswood Lake area. Drop in to any area bait store and they will be happy to give you the latest info and set you up. Top of Gunflint trail Seagull lake is another option and my personal favorite. Couple of lodges/outfitters up there to help you out.
Just a heads up - mid June is major bug time. Load up on DEET.
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Spent 5 days there 4 years ago on my honeymoon. I 2nd the Ely reccomendation. We launched from the Basswood lake area, can't remeber the exact entry point point and came out 5 days later at Chainsaw sisters, approx a 40 mile trip. Smallmouth are everywhere!! Walleye liked a jig head baited with a live leech, pike loved a red white spoon. We found the best fishing for pike and walleye off the points on small islands. We were there June 24-30, bugs were not bad until the sun went down, I hear it is almost intolerable in july and august.
Pack light and have a light canoe, some of those portages are a butt kicker. we literally caught 100's of fish and saw 1 other person the whole time
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I was there this year in July for a week of fishing and portageing. I was there with "outward bound" i certainly dont recommand that trip but i have been there before and used "sawbill outfitters" on sawbill lake. they equip you with maps, canoes, food the whole shot and turn you loose...http://www.sawbill.com/ check out their website. I will tell you from personal experience, the only tackle you need to catch walleye, small mouth bass, and pike is the the original "Gold" rapala "floating", we caught 100's of pike, walleye, and smallies on that lure...others demanded to use their favorites but since i had been their done that i stuck with what i knew....i out fished everyone 10 to 1 with that lure until they all finally switched.....of course this depends on the time of year and how deep the fish are, but during the summer its all you need. We pounded nice 4lb walleye and 4 pound smallies on the Kawishaiwi river that was our favorite spot....good luck, it will be the most amazing fishing trip you take.
I will also warn you of the mostquitoes....they eat
DEET for breakfast, lunch, and dinner! You will want the 99.9% deet from cabelas or sportmans...obviously harmful to open wounds but its the only thing that kept the mostquitoes at least 1 inch away from your skin, it will sound like an airport outside your tent at night...also bring mostquitoe head nets...invaluable..believe me on this if you dont prepare for the bugs your trip will be miserable! You will also want a good water filer system, everything you pack in you have to pack out, so filtering water is the best option for powered drinks.
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This boundary waters area sounds pretty sweet. Anybody have any more experiences up there to share. I'm thinking I might have to make a trip up there. What times are best to go? What lakes do you recommend? What outfitters, etc.?
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Lived in Wisconsin and did a few trips there including a 50 mile canoe trip in BW as a scout. A couple of memories:
*Listen to those who say bring the bug juice.
*Bring along as many night crawlers as you can they were the go-to bait when all else failed.
* When camping string your food pack(s) on a rope between trees at least 6-8 feet apart - or the racoons will leave you without provisions (seems funny now-wasn't back then).
*Bring along mosquito netting for head/sleeping bag and anywhere else you plan to be.
*Keep to the shorelines when the wind picks up.
*Bring the best (most detailed) maps available in waterproof bags - the water is immense, the portages sneaky and islands by the hundreds.
*Be ready for a trip of a lifetime - you will likely be amazed to see fish through the gin clear water come from the rocks below to slam your bait.
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[indent]As everyone else said, you will not be dissapointed. Here are a few pictures from a trip we made there a few years ago.
The thing that surprised me the most was the number and size of the small mouths we caught.
Take some weedless rubber frogs, and skip them over the grass beds. The northerns blow them up right through the grass, very fun.
This is really giving me the itch to get back, go to figure out how to get it done.
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