I am making my first visit to the BWCA from Utah. I am flying in and will have limited space to bring gear. I am an avid fisherman, but haven't fished for the species of the BWCA and thus don't have most of the needed gear. I have an outfitter that is providing full outfitting for my group. I have two questions for you.

What is one item that I might not have thought of that I should plan to bring from Utah?

Should I plan to buy BWCA specific tackle now (likely off ebay) or when I get to Minnesota?

Thanks

...trip is first week of June heading to Iron lake possibly crooked...

Send me an email at - queticomike@yahoo.com - and request the Grand Slam Lure article. I would purchase my tackle before hand or at least as much as possible before I arrived in town.

One item? Small net maybe? An anchor bag or basketball net to use as an anchor maybe?

Maybe if you provide a list of what you are bringing and what the outfitter is supplying, we can make suggestions on what else you might require.

Wait until you hit town and stop at "The Great Outdoors" bait and tackle shop. Then to Voyager North Outfitters bait store. If they Don't have it you Don't need it. Both on main drag in Ely.
Also you could ship some gear to your outfitter to hold if you can't fly it all.

Fish Gripper

For your first question I would say buy a headnet for the bugs.

As far as tackle, just a small Plano box will be fine. Bring a few top water bass lures, a few 4-5" Rapalas, and a slip bobber for day and a lighted bobber for evening fishing. Also split shots, hooks, bobber stops. I would pack this stuff myself.

What overthehill stated just "ship your pants" and all your other gear to the outfitter. Last year when my son and I arrived at the end of the Gunflint Trail at an outfitter just in time to watch them unload a pickup truck load of heavy boxes from a UPS truck. I asked the one young man working for the outfitter if it was supplies for the outfitter he said no its gear one group that shipped gear and supplies ahead since they were flying in. As they kept unloading I was glad I wasn't portaging all that. Good greif did they have literally a ton of stuff.

As far as personal don't leave home without......Bring your helinox chair and thank me later.

SUNGLASSES. Don't forget your SUNGLASSES. If you don't have good ones, as if there's a Ute without good sunglasses, then drop some coin on some good polarized sunglasses.
A tarp would be really nice, too, and an outfitter could easily hook you up with that.
+1 on the bug net.
+1 on the Helinox (or maybe a knock-off?) Chair. They're quite cozy for only a couple pounds. I have a 'knock-off' on order through Amazon. I'll let you know whether it appears to be worth the $40.


I'd buy my fishing tackle in town at one of the local bait shops. If you need it, they have it.
IMHO, not much is needed to absolutely slay bass, pike, and walleyes in BWCA.
Terminal tackle like hooks, sinkers, slip bobbers, round jigheads, tube jigheads, and a couple little bags stuffed with curly-tail grubs and tube jigs can go a long way toward putting bass and walleyes in the boat. I like to use in-line spinners like Mepps size 4 and 5 for bass and pike. A couple decent-sized spoons for pike. Some wire leaders, and a few crankbaits could round-off your arsenal. Might be fun to wacky-rig some Senkos in the weeds for a change-of-pace. The weeds probably won't be grown-up very thickly yet.
-BUT I'd expect live bait to be the most consistent producer during the mid-day hours. We're bringing in a few dozen nightcrawlers, and a minnow trap (maybe a seine, if my family doesn't talk me out of it)...
I am going to be on Iron Lake on June 4,5,6 after a June 2nd entry to EP 16 (Stuart Lake).. If you're coming up through Stuart, you should stop by, otherwise, we could meet up on Iron and exchange a little info on the 'hot bite'.. :) The washout of Curtain Falls will likely produce dinner for at least one night on Iron.
If not, the minnow trap may catch crayfish. We saw SO MANY rusty crayfish on our trip to EP 37 one year, that if we had a trap, we could have boiled up 100 and barely put a dent in them.

BTW: From which outfitter, and which models of canoes did you rent?

Safe travels, Marty.

quote uteah: "I am making my first visit to the BWCA from Utah. I am flying in and will have limited space to bring gear. I am an avid fisherman, but haven't fished for the species of the BWCA and thus don't have most of the needed gear. I have an outfitter that is providing full outfitting for my group. I have two questions for you.

What is one item that I might not have thought of that I should plan to bring from Utah?

Should I plan to buy BWCA specific tackle now (likely off ebay) or when I get to Minnesota?

Thanks"

What species are you targeting in particular, that will help us recommend some lures and Quetico Mikes Article is also a very good reference ! p.s. Do not forget sunglasses, toilet paper, sunscreen, and for sure don't forget insect repellent.

The absolute best rain gear you can find, and a head net to keep the mosquitoes and the black flies at bay.? I know these aren't really fishing gear related , but they can make fishing much more enjoyable at times.

Bring or buy a pool noodle and cut it up to fit over the edges of the canoe where your knees will rest against the sides

We are entering on Moose River June 4th. I fish for a lot of Trout and LMB here in Utah. I would like to target Walleye, SMB and Pike. I am not really worried about Lakers on this trip.

We are using Canoe Country Outfitters and we are getting their complete Deluxe Kevlar Outfitting. It looks like they use Wenonah and Souris River Kevlar canoes. Should I prefer one brand over the other?

I am also tall 6'6", is there anything that will make Canoeing for that long a little more comfortable?

I will definitely go out and get a head net, Fish gripper, pool noodles (although these will be purchased upon arrival), high quality polarized glasses... Anything else I need to be sure to bring?

I plan to bring the terminal gear I use for LMB and will supplement that with area specific items I get from the shops in Ely.

This is debatable but, we use crazy creek chairs in the canoe. Having some back support for all day fishing is waaayyyy more comfortable than a bench seat. I debated leaving them behind on this years trip to save weight and my 24 year old son thought I was crazy. "you can leave yours out but I'm taking mine" So I guess their in, he'll just grunt a little more on the portages (i.e. he carry's the canoe and we don't take them out once we start) We have built in straps to hold them closed on portages so their not in the way. The outfitter should provide these for you. ( you can easily make straps to hold them closed with +/- 1" nylon straps and buckles or just use bungees) This is a way faster and easier way to portage with crazy creek chairs rather than having them either fall open and block your vision or take them in and out at each portage. Good Luck

If you are 6'6" definitely get a pool noodle or a piece of split foam pipe insulation; especially if you are in the bow.

quote BnD: "This is debatable but, we use crazy creek chairs in the canoe. Having some back support for all day fishing is waaayyyy more comfortable than a bench seat. I debated leaving them behind on this years trip to save weight and my 24 year old son thought I was crazy. "you can leave yours out but I'm taking mine" So I guess their in, he'll just grunt a little more on the portages (i.e. he carry's the canoe and we don't take them out once we start) We have built in straps to hold them closed on portages so their not in the way. The outfitter should provide these for you. ( you can easily make straps to hold them closed with +/- 1" nylon straps and buckles or just use bungees) This is a way faster and easier way to portage with crazy creek chairs rather than having them either fall open and block your vision or take them in and out at each portage. Good Luck"

Yup can't do a trip without a Crazy Creek canoe seat. I suppose if I committed to better posture and lots more sit ups i would have less need of a back rest. Now i'm to the point where I need a backrest even in camp.

I would recommend getting at least some of your fishing gear ahead of time. You don't need a ton of lures. I would recommend getting a Plano Stowaway box and start filling it. You can fit a great number of lures into just one box

There are so many lures that can catch the species your targeting and fortunately many that catch all three.

One lure I would not go without is a Cotton Cordell Wally Diver. My favorite color is Chartreuse Gold. I have caught so many Smallmouth and Walleye with that one lure. I would suggest taking two in case you lose one.

Diversify in both Lures and Color. I went two years ago and Pink was our hottest color. Didn't matter what the lure was. If it was pink they hit it.

So some natural colors and some bright colors. Some Black also.

Smallmouth you can catch just about anywhere. Walleye I tend to look for current areas. In Quetico/BWCA waters flow a great deal. Many lakes have areas where the lake necks down and then opens back up into another area of the lake. There will be current in the neck down area and most likely schooling walleye will be present.

Start loading that box. Save a little room for a few last minute purchases when you get to Ely. You don't want to spend a ton of time filling it up when you get there.

I will offer another piece of great advice. Treat all your clothes and a hat with Permethrin. You will have no problem with the Mosquitoes. Search it on Amazon and read some of the reviews. It will make your evening so much more enjoyable. If you happen to camp in a bad mosquito spot and anyone in your group didn't use Permethrin they will be miserable and you will just hear the buzzing sound. Sure a lot of bug spray will work but you won't have to carry it put that stuff all over. Just bring a little for you hands, ears and neck.

Have Fun.

Need to plan for water filtration and water bottles if you haven't already.

These guys all know what they're talking about but I've got to recommend getting queticomike's grand slam article. Specifically, the Zulu rig is a must have! Get ready to cull.

Yes the Zulu rig is a killer on big smallies. Do everything as is suggested........from the lure itself to the hooks and rigging. Do not deviate. The Zulu can last and last unlike any other plastic type bait. The swivel is indispensable for the lures correct orientation and do not omit it. One pack of pearl Zulus, several swivels and hooks and it may be your go-to option if smallies are on the chew. QM (Quetico Mike) is the man if you wish to enquire about any specifics concerning the rig. A friendly sort and will help you out if you but ask.

I never used a Zulu before. Definitely will this year.

I just watched a Youtube vid by Shaw Grigsby on How to fish the Strike King Zulu.

Interesting is I didn't know it floats. This makes it very versatile. Can fish it anywhere in the water column from top water to floating just off bottom.

I like the Carolina Rig idea in a current area. I rig mine a little different to avoid losing whole rig to snag. I bring a few rubber core sinkers (South Bend makes a Non Lead version). I create a tag line at the swivel. Put a rubber core sinker on the tag line. If it gets snagged to can try and work it loose. If it doesn't come loose just pull until rubber core slides off tag line and you have your whole rig minus the sinker still ready to go,

Remember that Chartreuse Wally Diver. I like the rattle in it.

K1

Shaw and I fish the lure differently. When I first started fishing the Zulu, I fished it like Shaw. I used it on top water. Two things became apparent to me. One was that sometimes the lure would just go below the surface and the hook up ratio was better at sub surface than on the top water. Fish strike and aggressively try to kill top water baits at times and knock the lure missing it entirely during a vicious strike. When the lure is sub surface the fish just simply inhales the lure, thus increasing the hook up ratio. The second most apparent thing is the line twist. If you fish this lure for an extended period of time ( and you will ), the lure creates a terrible twist in your line. So bad that you have to re-spool.

To overcome both of these issues I decided to use a quality ball bearing swivel, either a size 3 or 4 depending on how deep you want the lure to be presented. The swivel takes the lure just under the surface and increases your hook up ratio. The swivel also helps avoid those nasty line twists. Another thing a swivel does, is that it creates the illusion of the Zulu chasing after another small bait fish. The swivel also attracts other small minnows that will chase the swivel to give extra attraction to the feeding smallmouth ( or walleye\pike ).

I love to throw top water baits, but I also love to have better hook up ratios and not have horrible line twists. Zulu baits float, but if you use a ZMAN ShadZ or Strike King Z Too, they will slowly sink.

One other thing I do differently than most pros, I use a smaller hook. Most pros like to use a 3 or 4/0 EWG worm hook. The hook I use is a strong, thin wire, sharp 1/0 standard worm hook made by Gamakatsu. The bigger hooks used by the pros act like a keel. By using a 1/0 hook it stays flush to the lure, causing the lure to look more natural and act more natural than their bigger counter parts. I don't have any problems catching fish with this smaller hook presentation.

If you you would like to read my article on Zulu fishing, send me an email at - queticomike@yahoo.com - and request the Zulu article.