Here are some of the smallies I caught last week. My thumbs are still sore from lipping all of the bass we caught. I think all of these were caught on the Zulu.

Nice fish! Thanks for turning me on to the zulu. Anthony

What was the water temp?

quote Quetico Tom: "What was the water temp?"

Did not take any readings, but that water was cold. Saw a glacier on Agnes lake. Some creeks flow over the cliffs during high water and there was still a patch of ice and snow at least 50 feet wide and it dropped a 130 feet from the top to the bottom. But that was on May 25th, it might be gone by now. The big lakes still were cold, the small shallower lakes you could tell were much warmer. Smallies are starting to move in closer to shore, maybe 10 to 15 feet out in 6 to 10 FOW.

Donkeys!!!

Well done sir!

HUGE fish, Mike! I'm so impressed.

Look like nice fat smallies. A little beef on them.

What depth where you cathcihg them at?

Nice work Mike!

Mike, I keep returning to this thread to look at your fish. They are so deep and long. Did you measure any of them? Your new moniker should be bassmasterMike.

quote missmolly: "Mike, I keep returning to this thread to look at your fish. They are so deep and long. Did you measure any of them? Your new moniker should be bassmasterMike."

They were all 20 inches or a little better......

quote CrookedPaddler1: "What depth where you cathcihg them at? "

6 to 10 FOW

Wow! Those are some hogs. I'll be happy getting just 1 that size next week.

Are you fishing the Zulus weightless or adding split shot to the line, etc?

quote QueticoMike: "

quote missmolly: "Mike, I keep returning to this thread to look at your fish. They are so deep and long. Did you measure any of them? Your new moniker should be bassmasterMike."

They were all 20 inches or a little better......"

They sure look it, but it's their depth that really impresses. Those are heavy fish. I don't know that I've ever seen as impressive a grouping from a single trip on this site.

Wow those are really impressive fish. Based on your postings I have used zulus in June in year's past with great results in BWCA and in Canada north of Quetico.

This year my trip is in the last week of July/first week of August.

Do you have any observations about the effectiveness of the zulu in that mid summer period? Would you still fish it in 6 to 10 FOW?

Zeke

quote TeamTuna06: "Are you fishing the Zulus weightless or adding split shot to the line, etc?"

I use a heavier swivel for the weight.

quote zeke1000: "Wow those are really impressive fish. Based on your postings I have used zulus in June in year's past with great results in BWCA and in Canada north of Quetico.


This year my trip is in the last week of July/first week of August.


Do you have any observations about the effectiveness of the zulu in that mid summer period? Would you still fish it in 6 to 10 FOW?


Zeke "

More than likely I will fish them the same. I am heading back up in 3 weeks and I don't see fishing much differently. I might fish a little more shallow though. Fish them at all levels and let the fish tell you where they are for the most part.

Just returned from a smallie trip to Basswood Lake via Prairie Portage last week (sat-thurs). Water temps rose from around 50F on saturday to around 56-58F by Thursday after 4 sunny days in a row. Smallies were slamming tubes and anything that looked like shad off wind-blown points and small bays on either side of the points. No wind = slow fishing. Dropping anchor and a good paddling partner was key to staying on the fish. Fish had not moved up to the banks/bays to make beds yet but imagine that is where there will be very soon if not there already. Most fish were caught in 5-15ft of water, usually starting around noon after the water had warmed up a bit. Caught prob ~150 fish in 4 full days ... 6 that were 20"+ with rest in the 15-19" range. good weather, lots of fish, and NO BUGS made this one of the better trips we've had.

very impressive fish indeed, way to go !
Thanks for sharing
What lakes were you on ?

What is your guess for where they will be 06/16 thru 0622. Will the spawn be on or over?

All I can say is........WOW Mike! For many anglers, that is a catch of a lifetime. Way to go dude!

way to go mike ! VN !

Beautiful fish Mike, those things look like they bent the rod just right .

Very nice fish Mike. Thanks for posting the pics!

Nice!!

Wowsers!

quote Quetico Tom: "What is your guess for where they will be 06/16 thru 0622. Will the spawn be on or over?"

I guess that will all depend on what lake you are on and the water temps. So maybe, maybe not.

quote Basspro69: "Beautiful fish Mike, those things look like they bent the rod just right ."

Yep, there was a little rod bending going on all of the time on this trip, I had a great time. Thanks to everyone for the nice comments!

We should change the thread to: 20 Questions with QueticoMike...or A virtual townhall meeting with QueticoMike!

Thanks again for all of the information you share Mike. Beautiful fish.

Pat

quote TeamTuna06: "We should change the thread to: 20 Questions with QueticoMike...or A virtual townhall meeting with QueticoMike!


Thanks again for all of the information you share Mike. Beautiful fish.


Pat"

Mike catches the krakens and we listen. We'd be stupid to not listen.

As always very nice.

T

I will post some more pictures once I receive them. These are the only 5 pictures from the trip I have. My partner sent me an email with these shots, I knew there is probably 20 more pictures of nice bronzebacks. He will be sending them to me (snail mail) this Friday, so sometime next week I will post a few more.

Very nice fish! It looks like the kind of trip any angler dreams about!

More pics!

Very nice!!
I hope I have something like that to share this summer.

Great looking fish Mike...we leave Sunday for Quetico, 12 days on the water.

quote QueticoMike: "Here are some of the smallies I caught last week. My thumbs are still sore from lipping all of the bass we caught. I think all of these were caught on the Zulu. ..."

Crap. I was on Seagull Lake over Memorial Day. I thought the water was too cold and I never tied on a Zulu...

My loss.

Nice fish!

quote Wallidave: "Great looking fish Mike...we leave Sunday for Quetico, 12 days on the water. "

Looking forward to hearing about your trip. Good luck Dave!

Very impressive fish. It sure whets my appetite for Quetico smallies. Well done!

Very impressive fish. It sure whets my appetite for Quetico smallies. Well done!

You are one hell of a fisherman Mike. All those fish are nice.

JB

quote QueticoMike: "

quote Basspro69: "Beautiful fish Mike, those things look like they bent the rod just right ."

Yep, there was a little rod bending going on all of the time on this trip, I had a great time. Thanks to everyone for the nice comments!"

Thanks for posting the pictures, it never ever gets old. I could look at fish pictures all day.

WOW!!! Beautiful!!! September can't get here fast enough

Some great fish, bet they pulled some drag! I was up there fishing area lakes/rivers around Ely and I'm not debating which spots are better but sometimes you can catch great fish close to home without traveling and spending a lot of money.

We caught tons of smallmouth in pre-spawn in very shallow water and in river's from 19-22 inches and most all were stuffed ready to lay eggs. I'll post some pics to show the fatness of these smallies.

Fishnut your statement is very true, you can catch some very nice fish all over the country, and if it was just about the fish I dont think Mike would go up North. He clearly can catch fish in a bathtub, but its the striking beauty and wildness of the area that draws us to the BWCA and Quetico in addition to the great fishing .

Novice question time: Are all Zulus the same length? Just did a very quick search and came up with a variety of colors in the 5" range. Heading up to Q in a couple of weeks and would love to have just one similar pic to post!

Now that's what I call slayin'!!!

Moonman.

quote Basspro69: "Fishnut your statement is very true, you can catch some very nice fish all over the country, and if it was just about the fish I dont think Mike would go up North. He clearly can catch fish in a bathtub, but its the striking beauty and wildness of the area that draws us to the BWCA and Quetico in addition to the great fishing ."

+1

I can go to Upper Red, and catch dozens and dozens of walleyes in one day. I'm frequently bored with it, by the middle of the 2nd day. I NEVER feel that way in the boundary waters. It is SO much more beautiful. The fishing is just frosting.

As much as I enjoy catching crappies, walleyes and pike on URL, it IS the ugliest lake I fish. I am very blessed to be able to fish the st. croix, and bwca. Just amazing scenery.

I usually don't take a second look at smallmouth pictures but those are some big bass.

quote Basspro69: "Fishnut your statement is very true, you can catch some very nice fish all over the country, and if it was just about the fish I dont think Mike would go up North. He clearly can catch fish in a bathtub, but its the striking beauty and wildness of the area that draws us to the BWCA and Quetico in addition to the great fishing ."

True story. That's why I do almost all of my fishing up the Gunflint.

quote Frenchy19: "Novice question time: Are all Zulus the same length? Just did a very quick search and came up with a variety of colors in the 5" range. Heading up to Q in a couple of weeks and would love to have just one similar pic to post! "

Sorry it has taken me so long to reply, I haven't been on this site in a few days. Yes, all Zulus are 5 inches long. They also come with a split tail and those are called Z Too's. Z Too's are 5 inches long as well. I should be getting the rest of my pictures soon and will post a few more. Only 17 more days before I start the drive up north again! :-)

quote QueticoMike: "

quote Frenchy19: "Novice question time: Are all Zulus the same length? Just did a very quick search and came up with a variety of colors in the 5" range. Heading up to Q in a couple of weeks and would love to have just one similar pic to post! "

Sorry it has taken me so long to reply, I haven't been on this site in a few days. Yes, all Zulus are 5 inches long. They also come with a split tail and those are called Z Too's. Z Too's are 5 inches long as well. I should be getting the rest of my pictures soon and will post a few more. Only 17 more days before I start the drive up north again! :-)"

I look forward to getting more pics and am happy you'll be returning to battle more beasties!

I bumped this to take another look at Mike's huge fish.

quote missmolly: "I bumped this to take another look at Mike's huge fish. "

He stuck some SOLID fish that is for sure.

We generally stick solids too, but this year we only managed 2 over 4, and lots, and lots of 3.5's.

Later,

Geo