BWCA Slow fishing in the spring? Boundary Waters Fishing Forum
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Fizics
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12/07/2017 02:51PM   (Thread Older Than 3 Years)
Hey guys and gals,

So this spring we went up to the gunflint for a little weekend trip, I want to say the 2nd to last weekend of May. The fishing was super slow, we got skunked actually. Is there a time of the year in the spring where the water is in between ice-out and that "right" temperature, that the fishing sucks and a trip to the BW wouldn't be worth it? from a fishing standpoint of course, I don't mind not fishing, but getting skunked is a little bummer.
 
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12/07/2017 03:52PM  
The first week of June is pretty hard to beat !!!!
 
Laketrout58
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12/07/2017 04:29PM  
It is frustrating sometimes to get little or no action for some species. We have experienced it. More often than not we find that if we keep at it or change tactics or sought after species. This last may we had trouble getting the walleyes to bite. We switched to lakers and splake and caught plenty. We continued to try for walleyes in the evening but got zero! We did the same thing as the previous year but the results were different. I can't explain it. In the spring we base camp near lakes where three or four species are known to inhabit. Usually we have a couple of fish meals and really enjoy releasing the others or taking a few home if there is ice left in the cooler. So,to summarize,we basecamp,know our lakes well,and keep trying until we are sucessful or sick of trying and hike to Johnson falls! Safe travels and good luck! Marc
 
Laketrout58
distinguished member (388)distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
  
12/07/2017 04:29PM  
It is frustrating sometimes to get little or no action for some species. We have experienced it. More often than not we find that if we keep at it or change tactics or sought after species. This last may we had trouble getting the walleyes to bite. We switched to lakers and splake and caught plenty. We continued to try for walleyes in the evening but got zero! We did the same thing as the previous year but the results were different. I can't explain it. In the spring we base camp near lakes where three or four species are known to inhabit. Usually we have a couple of fish meals and really enjoy releasing the others or taking a few home if there is ice left in the cooler. So,to summarize,we basecamp,know our lakes well,and keep trying until we are sucessful or sick of trying and hike to Johnson falls! Safe travels and good luck! Marc
 
QueticoMike
distinguished member(5280)distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberpower member
  
12/07/2017 05:07PM  
quote Fizics: "Hey guys and gals,

So this spring we went up to the gunflint for a little weekend trip, I want to say the 2nd to last weekend of May. The fishing was super slow, we got skunked actually. Is there a time of the year in the spring where the water is in between ice-out and that "right" temperature, that the fishing sucks and a trip to the BW wouldn't be worth it? from a fishing standpoint of course, I don't mind not fishing, but getting skunked is a little bummer. "


Yes, typically the last week of May and first week of June is a good time. It is hard to predict a bad time between ice out and "that" right temperature where fishing is not good. I have never been skunked before, but I have encountered slow fishing. It all depends on the weather, water temps and where their main forage bait is located during the time you are there. It also depends on what you are fishing for on that certain lake. So what were you fishing for? If it was smallmouth, maybe it was too cold and you needed to find warmer water or determine where they were located in deeper waters. Maybe you don't know what lures work best for what fish, what presentation to use or where the fish might be located during the period of time you were in the park. If you would like to read my article "Grand Slam Lures" ( for BW and Quetico fish )..... send me an email at - queticomike@yahoo.com - and request the article. If you like smallmouth fishing, I also have many articles that might help you catch some bronzebacks. Good luck on your next trip!

 
Savage Voyageur
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12/07/2017 07:23PM  
I’ve never been skunked the whole trip, but it can happen some days. Think about changing your trip time to the first or second week in June. This is the time we go and do great. We can limit out by noon most days for Walleye. Another thing is to use Leeches and slip bobbers, spinners and Leeches, or jigs and Leeches. If you are using Leeches in May, it may be too cold of water and they just ball up, not a natural presentation. Is there a good population of Walleye in the lake? What depth were you at? Using artificial lures? We need more info on what Lake and method you were using to better help.
 
12/07/2017 07:49PM  
I went went the same time and place as you and had the same experience until the last night. We found small body of water between rapids and full of 18in walleyes. I was a little down until then. From my experience some time things are hot, some times slow, frequently just lucky.

Depend on your species you I have a couple of spots on the Gunflint side that I’d be willing to share if you want.
 
Basspro69
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12/07/2017 09:03PM  
quote walllee: "The first week of June is pretty hard to beat !!!!"
+1
 
Fizics
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12/08/2017 11:39AM  
quote CanoeViking: "I went went the same time and place as you and had the same experience until the last night. We found small body of water between rapids and full of 18in walleyes. I was a little down until then. From my experience some time things are hot, some times slow, frequently just lucky.


Depend on your species you I have a couple of spots on the Gunflint side that I’d be willing to share if you want. "


Intriguing, the smaller body of water must have been warmer. We're thinking of a trip next May, same weekend because of schedule convenience. Maybe we'll have to do something like the Malberg/Adams/Fishdance area? Small narrow body's of water. Frost river would be awesome, what other suggestions for water that's bound to be warmer than the rest of the bw in general?
 
12/08/2017 12:25PM  
I have never been completely skunked, but have run into some reallllly slow fishing on a few trips. The first couple weeks of June has always done pretty well for me. As others have said, if something isn't working, try a different technique, a different species, or a different lake.
I almost always have some sort of luck near running water regardless of season.

Another piece of advice is to listen to everything that QueticoMike, and Basspro69 have to say about fishing. Those guys know their stuff and I have gotten lots of great tips reading their posts.
 
12/08/2017 03:56PM  
I had one really tough trip in early June. We fish really hard for 3 days with very meager results. We just happened to time our time to coincide with a large bug hatch. The fish were actively feeding just not on anything we could offer them. The only time we had any luck was by totally changing tactics and throwing big spoons. Ended up with the big walleye of the trip on a 5 of diamonds spoon.

The other thing I could think of is that its possible you were fishing in the wrong spots. Water temp is big in the spring and if you aren't fishing in the right temp range things could be very slow. First thing I do is look for wind swept shorelines. I look to see which direction the wind has been out of and hit the shorelines where the wind has been blowing in warm surface water.
 
MackinawTrout
senior member (81)senior membersenior member
  
12/08/2017 05:16PM  
quote Fizics: "Hey guys and gals,

So this spring we went up to the gunflint for a little weekend trip, I want to say the 2nd to last weekend of May. The fishing was super slow, we got skunked actually. Is there a time of the year in the spring where the water is in between ice-out and that "right" temperature, that the fishing sucks and a trip to the BW wouldn't be worth it? from a fishing standpoint of course, I don't mind not fishing, but getting skunked is a little bummer. "

What Lake(s)?
What were you fishing for?
How many hours of fishing did you do?
We can solve your skunking problem in spades that time of year. That is prime time even if its been cold. If a cold front came through and you only got out for a couple hours each day then these things can happen. If you fished most or all day on a pretty good lake then no way you should get skunked.
 
MackinawTrout
senior member (81)senior membersenior member
  
12/08/2017 05:16PM  
quote Fizics: "Hey guys and gals,

So this spring we went up to the gunflint for a little weekend trip, I want to say the 2nd to last weekend of May. The fishing was super slow, we got skunked actually. Is there a time of the year in the spring where the water is in between ice-out and that "right" temperature, that the fishing sucks and a trip to the BW wouldn't be worth it? from a fishing standpoint of course, I don't mind not fishing, but getting skunked is a little bummer. "

What Lake(s)?
What were you fishing for?
How many hours of fishing did you do?
We can solve your skunking problem in spades that time of year. That is prime time even if its been cold. If a cold front came through and you only got out for a couple hours each day then these things can happen. If you fished most or all day on a pretty good lake then no way you should get skunked.
 
12/09/2017 06:34PM  
quote Fizics: "
quote CanoeViking: "I went went the same time and place as you and had the same experience until the last night. We found small body of water between rapids and full of 18in walleyes. I was a little down until then. From my experience some time things are hot, some times slow, frequently just lucky.



Depend on your species you I have a couple of spots on the Gunflint side that I’d be willing to share if you want. "



Intriguing, the smaller body of water must have been warmer. We're thinking of a trip next May, same weekend because of schedule convenience. Maybe we'll have to do something like the Malberg/Adams/Fishdance area? Small narrow body's of water. Frost river would be awesome, what other suggestions for water that's bound to be warmer than the rest of the bw in general?"


The places you mentioned would be more fun, I had to stay close to the entry point with a 7 month old. The place I found was the where Sea Gull flow in to the Sea Gull river. If you wait till the Sea Gull river is open there several spots along the river that are great with hungry walleyes.
 
carmike
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12/11/2017 12:33AM  
When fishing in the spring, I like to find areas that have different sizes/types of lakes -- big, clear ones as well as small ones. It's incredible how a difference of only a few degrees in lakes can make a difference in fish activity.

A few years ago, we missed the best action on the small lakes around Knife. Got to the big lake, and she was on fire -- huge smallies everywhere up shallow, eating anything you throw at them. Other years, the shallows on Knife are dead, but the little lakes nearby are topwater bonanzas.
 
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