Hey everyone, I'm still relatively new here but I've been trying to read up on fishing for an 8 day BWCA trip starting 8-28. Last year I had no luck with the fish, and so this year I want to make sure I'm off to a good start. We're heading in at EP4, and planning to spend the week on Cummings lake, with a few days possibly in the Canthook PMA (I've got another post looking for information on that area here

I know there's a lifetime of things to learn about fishing, and rather than just ask "what lures should I bring" I wanted to see if I learned anything in my reading and try and put together a kit on my own. I've still got to learn where to find the fish once I get in the lake (more forum reading ahead) but I have put together a tacklebox and would like to get a little peer review if you have the time. I've tried to gear it towards catching NPs with a few SMB lures thrown in.

Feel free to offer any points, advice, suggestions, or mean spirited ad hominems (I can take it). I'd also just ask generally, given the lures I've selected what is one that you would suggest I don't bring and one that you think I need given my fishing selection. Feel free to reply without quoting this post to keep the information relatively compact.

Thank you in advance for your help!

My kit so far:

Cummings area is known for bass, so I'd add 4" and 5" wacky worms (yamasenkos or yum dingers on wide-gap gamagatsu hooks)to the arsenal as well as flukes like zulus (search zulus).
Other than that it looks good to me. If you make it as far west as Buck Lake you'll want some leeches and more jigs for walleyes.
Plus, I like Rapala Husky Jerks for all species.

quote lundojam: "Cummings area is known for bass, so I'd add 4" and 5" wacky worms (yamasenkos or yum dingers on wide-gap gamagatsu hooks)to the arsenal as well as flukes like zulus (search zulus).
Other than that it looks good to me. If you make it as far west as Buck Lake you'll want some leeches and more jigs for walleyes.
Plus, I like Rapala Husky Jerks for all species.


"

+1. I'd also add some 1/2 oz and maybe 3/4 oz spinnerbaits in white, chartreuse, orange and black. They are much more weedless than the lures you have, and the pike eat them up. You also need more leadhead jigs in 1/4 to 3/8 oz.

i like what you selected, a nice amount without going over kill, maybe 1 more surface lure- 1 more diving crankbait (i only see 1) not sure if your just showing an example of some jigs , but more jigs and add an extra jig spinner or two, one of my favs that catch everything and very versatile. BEST OF LUCK !!

You will catch the most fish on what you have tied on. Just be sure you are casting the best lure for the situation, instead of casting what YOU want.

I'd add lindy rigs, slip bobbers, split shots and hooks. Also need a leech locker, stringer, and a filet knife

What kind of blade is that on that white spinner bait, if that is what that lure is? I have never seen anything like that before.

I wouldn't go up there without Strike King Zulus (Z Too's) or ZMAN StreakZ (ShadZ) if I were smallie fishing.

quote QueticoMike: "What kind of blade is that on that white spinner bait, if that is what that lure is? I have never seen anything like that before.


I wouldn't go up there without Strike King Zulus (Z Too's) or ZMAN StreakZ (ShadZ) if I were smallie fishing. "

Thanks everyone for the pointers! I definitely have to add some things in based on your suggestions. I don't know if I'm bringing leeches, but I think one of my canoe mates is going to.

QM, that is a proprietary blade that a client of my old law firm developed and patented. One of the patent partners, who doesn't fish, gave it to me last year to take into the BWCA. As I am/was terrible at fishing, I think I made a handful of casts with it unsuccessfully. Good eyes on picking it up!

For colors, I'm trying not to go too crazy, but my understanding is that white and pinks are good in clearer water, while chartreusse, gold, and red are good colors for murkier water. Am I in the ballpark on that?

For bass and pike (and anything that swims pretty much) I would suggest adding soft swimbaits such as Yum Money Minnows. You will need 1/2oz jig heads to work these properly. I prefer hologram shad...

Money Minnow

I got lots of advice here too. I'm not really a fishing junky, so my big concern was just being space efficient. I went final on my tackle box mostly with plastics. The nonobvious benefit of using plastics over plugs is that they seem more space efficient; and, based on what I was told just as effective.

For me, my fishing kit consisted essentially of: a first small ziploc type bag containing a plurality of pumpkin colored 5" Yamesenko rubber worms and a plurality of Zulu knock off type swim baits; a second Ziploc type bag smaller than the first bag containing one or more yellowish, white, or black berkely power grubs (like in your photo above); and, a tiny tackle box containing about 6 jigs, a plurality of 1/0 worm hooks adapted for use with the swim baits, a plurality of 3/0 octopus hooks adapted for use with the rubber worms, a plurality of elastomeric annular rings adapted for attaching the 3/0 octopus hooks to the rubber worms wacky style, two Mepps spinnners (I think #4), one Ti leader, and three top water plugs. I think next time I'd use the same kit above, wherein the top water plugs would be left at home (but that's just me), and the fishing kit would further comprise at least one size 12 Husky jerk rapala and maybe one more leader - but I think that would depend on the time of year and what I was fishing for.

I brought a pliers but no net or fish lip grabber. If I was fishing for pike I might have brought the above fishing kit further comprising the net and the fish lip grabber.

The nice thing about this site is that if you are specific about the lake you are fishing, the type of fish you are after, and the time of year, then you will get really good specific advice.

Thanks everyone for your feedback! I've got a running list of things to pick up at VNO when we get into Ely. Now all I need to do is learn how to fish with all of the different types of lures that I have. More reading ahead, definitely.

quote Blackstone:


Thanks everyone for the pointers! I definitely have to add some things in based on your suggestions. I don't know if I'm bringing leeches, but I think one of my canoe mates is going to.

Reminds me of a funny incident several years ago while fishing on Basswood. My brother and I were slaying the walleyes and smallies. A tandem canoe paddles by us and the two guys in it had been fishing all day and hadn't been catching anything. They asked us what we were catching fish with..."Leeches", we said. "Leeches, huh..." they responded, dejected...and you knew there wasn't a leech in that boat. We offered to give them some leeches, yet they declined. I don't think they knew how to fish with live bait.

When I was younger, I remember slaying walleye up in Canada with my father using an Erie Dearie and leeches. I've thrown the one I could find at home in the tackle box, in case we decide to make a day trip out of buck or big moose. At this point its approaching antique status, so maybe I should just pick up a new one and hang that childhood memento up with my old shooting glasses.

You've got a good start and good suggestions.

I agree with adding another spinnerbait or two. Both species you're targeting will eat those and they're pretty hard to screw up and/or snag.

I also agree with adding maybe another diving crank or two (like a Flicker Shad or something in the 6-10 ft range)

Make sure you've got good, new line on your reel. All the lures in the world don't matter if you're trying to chuck them with 20 yr old mono that's sat in the sun.

quote cyclones30: "You've got a good start and good suggestions.


I agree with adding another spinnerbait or two. Both species you're targeting will eat those and they're pretty hard to screw up and/or snag.


I also agree with adding maybe another diving crank or two (like a Flicker Shad or something in the 6-10 ft range)


Make sure you've got good, new line on your reel. All the lures in the world don't matter if you're trying to chuck them with 20 yr old mono that's sat in the sun. "

+1.. i fish often, after a BW trip i put new line on my reels, it takes a beating up there, have fresh line.

quote Blackstone: "When I was younger, I remember slaying walleye up in Canada with my father using an Erie Dearie and leeches. I've thrown the one I could find at home in the tackle box, in case we decide to make a day trip out of buck or big moose. At this point its approaching antique status, so maybe I should just pick up a new one and hang that childhood memento up with my old shooting glasses."

ive got an old little cleo with the topless hula dancer stamped on the back. it will never see the water again.

It is interesting how difference our "go to" lures are.
I'm a southern boy who fishes for crappies down here.
I've been thinking about reducing my tackle box to the lures that work for me, then I read a post like this and have to get stuff I don't have! Especially the large soft plastics.
This is what works for me:
I use almost exclusively deep diving cranks like the flicker shad but especially Storm Wiggle Warts in firetiger colors. From the canoe, it is a deep diving crank. Catches all 4 species.

From shore, it is a 3" Berkley ribbontail powergrub in firetiger or Christmas lights, on a 1/8 oz jighead. Catches all 4 species.

I fish for meals, I eat well most of the time. I don't have or use a fishfinder and this is what I find. The darker the water, the better. The rougher the water, the better. If I can see the bottom, I don't bother fishing there. "if a fish can see its shadow, it wont be there".

Oh, always have to bring a topwater or two. The fish will tell you when they work.
Joe