BWCA Tips for Fishing Insula? Boundary Waters Fishing Forum
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sylvesterii
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01/31/2018 04:41PM   (Thread Older Than 3 Years)
Heading to Insula for the first time this summer. Any tips for fishing it?
 
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old_salt
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02/01/2018 05:02PM  
Given the lack of details in your request, the best I can do is to say that fish relate to structure and current as they concentrate the food that fish eat. Find those areas and you will find fish.
 
Lenny
  
02/01/2018 06:51PM  
Don't be afraid to fish in shallower water than you would think or that others might suggest. I have fished Insula in late July and early August and have had good luck. Lots of people don't believe me when I tell them my group has caught walleye in 12-14 feet of water during all hours of the day on Insula. Obviously, early morning and evening are the best times to fish, but this depth on a cloudy or windy day still produces many fish. We always drift fish with 1/8 or 1/4 oz jigs tipped with a leech. Insula has a few mid lake reefs, that when located, will give up fish most times of the day. They are not easy to find but enough do show up on your contour maps. A locator is helpful but if you are willing to sacrifice a few jigs to the rocks, you can bounce along the bottom until you seem to get snagged on one of the reefs. One of the guys we went with last year really studied the maps and we found a couple good mid lake reefs that you would not have guessed were reefs based on the map contours. Lots of ice right now on Insula, so grab a map and start your search. If you find a few of these reefs, your efforts will be rewarded with some nice walleyes.
 
Savage Voyageur
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02/01/2018 09:57PM  
Fish between the many small islands. Also you will want to check out the narrows at the north side of the lake. Bring Leeches and slip bobbers.
 
02/04/2018 10:05AM  
I use a 1/4 or 1/8 jig with a leech. Daybreak and sunset the best. Most of the islands and points offer good fishing. I start shallow and slowly go deeper. First of July we caught most of them 12 to 25 feet. You will want a depth finder. There are underwater points on the islands and you can start shallow and just follow them down. Insula is a great fishing lake.
 
sylvesterii
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02/05/2018 10:47AM  
Great. Thanks everyone!
 
Frankie09
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02/09/2018 09:09AM  
We went there last year. A few of the guys had success with vertical jigging. I had success when I used a slipped bobber with leech at the end (Pink or Green Gamakatsu Octopus Hooks). If you on an island with choppy waves it deadly. Throw it into the wind and let it drift back, make sure you don't have any slack.
 
cburton103
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02/11/2018 04:00PM  
Depends on if it’s early or late summer, of course. Fish the bottom of the falls from insula into Hudson where the water starts to slack. There are usually some smallmouth and walleye there. We had good luck there a few years back vertical jigging leeches a foot or two off the bottom. You’ll likely lose a few jigs here to the rubble, but you should catch enough fish to make it worth your while.

As others have stated, points leading to deeper water and saddles in between islands tend to produce as well. Good luck! I went to insula my first two trips ever to the bwca. Lots of fond memories!
 
02/12/2018 08:16PM  
Always productive: Below the falls near the portage to Kawishiwi R on the way to Fishdance L. Amazing walleyes.

Agree with the structure advocates. At sundown, jig the western edges of the islands.

In the calm mornings we had great luck in the shallows fly fishing for smallmouth. Use any yellow or white popper you can find, and toss right into the lily pads.

First trip to Insula: 1996, Last trip 2016. Always enjoy it. The north end of Insula was unaffected by the Pagami fire, so it appears pristine. Getting there from Lake One will be difficult on your eyes due to the extensive scarring.
 
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