Hey guys, this will be my first trip to the boundary waters. I'm a seasoned fisherman but am from Arizona, mainly largemouth and trout. I am beyond excited and have been stocking up on tackle, as I am not done yet. We are entering at saganaga and to be honest I am not too sure what route we will take but it is a fishing focused trip. We will be their the first two weeks of august, below is a picture of what I have for lure options so far, if anyone has any suggestions I'd gladly appreciate it so I can grab them at bass pro before I leave or grab them from my bass arsenal. We will be fishing for walleye, pike, and smallies. I have no particular order but would love to catch some big pike and some quality walleye. we will be going in light so I know not all of this will fit in my tackle box. I know they say it can be rough in august but being from Arizona I know what rough is. If there is any late summer lure jig plastic that you guys never leave the house without id appreciate the advise.

That should be plenty, Add some jigs, hooks. Sinkers, bobbers and black,white, yellow curly tails maybe in 3 inch and you have plenty of artificial to throw.
Time and location and conditions will pick you favorites.

Are you taking a depth-finder? If so, I'd take 3-4 bladebaits along to fish mid-lake reefs for walleye. They've been my top walleye lure for the past 5-6 years.

I don't see any Strike King Zulus or ZMAN ShadZ :)

If you want to read my articles Grand Slam Lures or Zulu Magic send me an email - queticomike@yahoo.com - and request them.

Be sure to take some slip bobbers, split shot, and hooks with a Leech on it. This will catch you many fish.

Get some orange and green jig heads for jigging a leech or crawler. Also, don't forget something to help you remove hooks. Those fish up there have teeth.

More husky jerks

Hate to break it to you but your in trouble. Your selection is fine.........for late may, June and early July. First 2 weeks of August has been my time frame for quite a few years now. My experience has been that fish are deep and they are fat and can be picky.

If your intention is to cast the banks your apt to end up being rather disappointed.

But all is not doom and gloom........you have some options. Live bait presented via lindy rigs (slip sinkers) and jigs such as a black fuzz-e-grub tipped with a leech will level the playing field. You must find the offshore reefs and drop your offerings on fairly light line (8lb trilene XL being MAX and 6lb is much better). The little book "lunkers love night crawlers" will set you straight. The info is easily adaptable to leeches as well.

I like trolling large deep diving crank baits. My current favorite is the Mega Bass deep six. A real bang-em lure for walleye (and I suspect bass will eat them just fine) when trolled on 8lb line. Test your knots and pray that mr pike doesn't take it away from you as they run over $20. I also like the large size rapala tail dancer in rainbow trout (purple is second) but any bannana shaped deep diving crank will work. I target the 20 to 30 ft depths for nice sized walleye and good pike in the mid 30's.

Go ahead and pound the bank........when you get bored fish deeper. The fish are there and will eat if you do things right.

Thanks for your input everybody! Greatly appreciated. I should have shown a picture of everything else I'm grabbing from my other tackle boxes. I will also include, slip bobbers, split shots, bullet weights of various sizes, jig heads of various sizes and colors, variety of offset hooks, hooks of various sizes for worms and leeches, bladed spinners chartreuse, white and black, a few more crankbaits mainly deep divers. I will shoot you and email queticomike! As for line I will be running 15lb power pro and 10lb power pro. Both being smaller dia. Than 6lb mono, and will get my lures a little deeper. I'll be running 10lb and 6lb fluoro leader along with knot2kinky or titanium leader for targeting like only. I will also bring a backup spool of 6lb mono. From everything I have been reading and what people have replied I reckon it will be tougher in august because they are deeper. Here in Arizona it's tough 115 degrees but once you find what works you are pulling em in. But My only plans to throw shallow is first and last light. Targeting where wind has blown bait or where shad or minnows are boiling. We will have leeches and night crawlers until the expire on us. Trolling, jigging, or dropshot the rest of the day until we find a rythm. I'm sure I'll make a few more trips to bass pro as I live a few miles away. I will also try to get some lake maps to show points, reefs, depth etc. I'm looking forward to this trip more than a kid on Christmas, and the work days are getting longer each day!

So where do you plan on camping on Saganaga and plan on going from there. BWCA or Quetico or outside the parks on American side or Canadian side.

The reason I am asking is live bait is not allowed in Quetico as it is in the BWCA. Not a game changer. I haven't brought live bait in over 20 years and have no problem catching any species at all. There may be a few other fishing regulations in whatever area you choose to visit so be aware.

I would recommend going to https://www.bing.com/maps and looking at Saganaga in aerial view and mark your maps accurately with the many mid lake humps and extended points to target. You can also use other satelite views to research.

Water is always flowing in the Q/BWCA. Note on your maps neck down areas where current will flow and dump into the next lake basin. Falls are great but there does not have to be falls to have current.

I always go in August. I love deep diving and medium diving crankbaits. My go to is a Cotton Cordell Wally Diver in any Chartreuse color. They dive yet float when you stop. They have a rattle. They are easy to see in stained water. They catch fish.

I am trying out a Strike King 10XD this year. It will dive down to 25'. I will be dragging it around the deeper water around those mid lake humps I told you to mark on your maps.

I have had several large catch days of smaller fish while fishing shallow. I have encountered many large fish while fishing open water near structure. I would rather target a few large fish than many small ones. So if you want something big I would suggest start in open water near structure and work your way in to the structure as the sun fades and do the opposite at sunrise.

I would also take different colors. Last time I was up 3 years ago Pink was a dominant color.

When I slow it down I go Jig and plastics. Big Smallies imo hang in deep open water during the day and come in to feed during low light just as Walleyes do. Find that structure and jig it. Research Zman Ned rig. It is new to me and can't wait to try it. I am also taking their finesse worn and Crawfish.

I see your from AZ and on a non fish topic I would suggest seriously you treat your clothes with Permethrin. Research it.

Have fun and be sure to share your success.

K

It looks like you are all set. ( More husky jerks is always good advice, though.) In August, the fish will be looking for cooler water, so deeper is a good idea. Weeds hold fish, too. Current is always worth a try. Main lake structure is the dealie-o though; find it and fish it. Finally, before breakfast and after supper are the best times. Good luck.

Sent you the articles, let me know if you have any questions. Good luck on your trip!

I have deep down husky jerks on my rod quite a bit in August, any diver that can get 15+' down will do the trick.

Thanks again everybody, this weekend I will snag a few more deep divers in various shapes, sizes, and brands. Along with a lot of the other stuff you guys have suggested. And we will stay on the US side, to clarify the live bait and barbs. I'll post up a picture here shortly if my complete tackle box. And I will also post a follow up of how everything went and what worked and what didn't!

Good luck on your trip! Post some fish pictures when you get back.