My therapist is talking about reducing my medication.......but my other therapist is talking about increasing my dosage.......I'm thinking about getting a third opinion.

Going through my stuff the other day and thought my fishing stuff seemed sort of heavy.......one watershed duffel and one Orvis backpack filled with reels, leader material, 9" needle nose pliers, boga grip and a big honkin pile of oversized lures (small fish need not apply).

I was taken aback when I read the boga........over 36lbs of just fishin stuff not counting 5 rods. Yikes......one day, maybe a day and a half of triple portaging and then just paddling for a few days to get to the promised land.

Definitely the most I have ever brought in. This will be the other end of the spectrum from the 8 crankbaits I brought once for a two week trip. That worked out fine but I want options on this base camp trip.

The age old question......how much is to much? I want to troll, deep jig, cast weedbeds, cast and troll at night........several diving aids to troll deep.......solar panel and 6lb lithium ion battery for my energy pig depth finder (that is Kerry's fault) etc. etc. etc.

Sounds like me when I needed a trailer just for fishing gear. These days I'm around 8 lbs total for canoe trips. Don't give yourself a hernia.

Haha...makes me think of my tournament days...a box(or 2) for every system. Spinnerbaits, worms/creatures/flipping, carolina rig, topwater, shallow cranks, medium depth, deep divers, etc. Going to the BW was very eye-opening!

Put in one pile ;ures that actually caught a fish in the last trip...look for duplication, i.e., a long line shallow troller can be the same lure you caast towards weedbeds at night. Also, a medium troller can be the same lure as a deep troller, just adjust the line-out length. The key is knowing the capabilities of the lures you take...as they say in Apollo 13, " What can it do, not what is was designed for." Also, (your're not a novice, but still, don't fall in to this trap), you don't need to bring every color of the rainbow. The key is a little advance info of the lake (s) you are going to. Ensign is tannic colored, so gold is king. You don't need "clown" color, or rainbow trout color. Just have confidence in DEPTH+SPEED+PRESENTATION=FISH ON!!

Also, some of the "advanced" techniques are need really designed for use in a canoe. Sure a Dipsy Diver might help with catching lakers in the summer...but really? in a canoe? There are plenty of cranks to get to 25-28ft.(3/8oz. hot-n-tot for one). We are not trying to force a technique, we are just having fun. Much easier to wait for that fly-in trip(and that money undertaking) to bring in exotic stuff.

August......can be a tough time to catch big fish. They are typically fat and happy and can be deep. I want options....

I have pulled a large dipsy out of a canoe before but it can be tricky and tiresome. I was using a long Rod with power pro and the leverage provided when I hung the dipsy on the bottom in 80ft of water definitely got my attention as the boat heaved over quite a bit. Fortunately it was a big boat and I had the drag set correctly but the potential for it pulling you over is there. So I will drag a mid sized dipsy and fish with a shorter Rod and not angled out from the vessel but rather back. All it takes is desire and some grit. I like the idea of a really big flutter spoon at 50 ft.

I also have some smaller 3oz diving aids (angled lip) for trolling things like the 6" flat rap. A modestly large lure which I have seen at only one place in all my travels......the Gander Mnt. on the Wisconsin / Illinois border right off 94. They will troll nicely at 9' but with the addition of the diving aid maybe twice that?

The problem I have is the variety of fish......the big 4 are there so why not fish for them all? And that means options. Big lures are heavy and require specialized gear to handle them effectively and comfortably. I am chompin at the bit to get going.

quote bassnet. The key is knowing the capabilities of the lures you take...as they say in Apollo 13, " What can it do, not what is was designed for."
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This is why I always pay attention when you post, always good info !