This will be my first time taking my boys to BWCA the first week of June 2018 at Wood Lake. I have some rooster tails, various top water baits, pan fish bait and some shallow /deep divers. What other specific baits should I bring. What size fishing line should I use and are there any leader suggestions?
We are fishing for any and all we can catch to keep the kids interest. Primarily focused on Walleye, Pike and bass.

Any feedback would be appreciated.

I have written an article on basic lures for the Boundary Waters. If you would like to read it, send me an email at - queticomike@yahoo.com - and request the Grand Slam Lure article.

I use 10 pound Trilene XL mono for line up there for the most part. If you are going to buy leaders, get titanium. They will cost more but last much longer than steel. They don't kink, they are stronger, and have a thinner diameter.

BTW - Welcome to the BWCA.com forum!

QueticoMike:

I use 10 pound Trilene XL mono for line up there for the most part. If you are going to buy leaders, get titanium. They will cost more but last much longer than steel. They don't kink, they are stronger, and have a thinner diameter. "

Good advice........10lb XL in clear mono is a good all around compromise line. Not to thick but yet plenty forgiving.

The titanium leaders will set you back some but are definitely worth it. I would not be so keen as to always fish wire however unless purposely targeting pike. You will still catch the majority of pike even without leaders but if you fish with leaders you will diminish your walleye and bass bites significantly.

The Berkley Frenzy shad type lures are quite inexpensive but an outstanding fish producer with a tight wiggle and good hooks.

I hear no mention of live bait? It is the great equalizer and puts more fish in the boat than anything else especially for the novice. Slip bobbers and leeches will whack the bass and walleye for you especially in June. That is your secret weapon which will insure plenty of action. Not so hard to bring in and care for.

That's a good point, since you are just going to Wood lake and no further, live bait with a slip bobber will bring some action when the lures aren't generating the action you are looking for. Get some leeches and a leech locker.

This is very helpful. We will probably make some day trips to Hula, Hoist and Indiana. Will the tackle be different in those locations?

Csilbaugh: "This is very helpful. We will probably make some day trips to Hula, Hoist and Indiana. Will the tackle be different in those locations?"

The basic general tackle and bait will work the same in all of those areas.

Leeches and slip bobbers, Rapala’s, top water lures, jigs tipped with a leech, spinners tipped with a leech.

Savage Voyageur: "Leeches and slip bobbers, Rapala’s, top water lures, jigs tipped with a leech, spinners tipped with a leech. "

Yes don't forget the smallmouth top water action which can be excellent that time of year and super fun as you get to see them crush it. Topwater can fool big fish as well even when other methods fail. I am a fan of Yellow Magic but at $15 a pop it can get expensive real quick especially since pike love them some top water too. Pop R's are a solid choice and not to expensive. Don't fish wire with topwater, just have plenty of Pop R's (easy for me to say). You could probably plan on losing one, possibly two per day with 3 guys fishing them morning and evening. But, its fishing, you might not lose any.

There is another very recent thread where the lakes you have mentioned were chimed in on. Dig around, some very good and insightful info there.

IMO Tube jigs are a must for Smallmouth. I've had the best luck on white but you can use anything that they can see. It's meant to be a crayfish imitation. For Walleyes use short shanked jigs with live bait or live bait on a hook under a slip float. Pike will hit anything but I'd use Jerkbaits, spoons, or bass spinners in the weeds. If I could only bring one bait it would be a soft swimbait. A swimbait jig with a 4" soft paddle tail is an ideal search bait that will catch anything and there's no wrong way to fish it. Get some hammerhead swimbaits or Lunker city salt shakers in a variety of colors. For a walleye rod I don't go over 8 lb mono or 12 lb braid unless you use a flourocarbon leader. For a Pike rod I'm using 50lb braid with a 60 lb flouro leader.

Oh grasshopper. Rabbit hole of all rabbit holes. Do as I say not as I do. Fish more buy less. Youll catch fish have more money and less to carry accross the portages. 1/4 oz. Jig and white kalin 4" grubs and/or live bait (BWCA), hooks, split shot weights and slip bobbers. Doesnt get simpler or cheaper and you will catch fish.

BnD: "Oh grasshopper. Rabbit hole of all rabbit holes. Do as I say not as I do. Fish more buy less. Youll catch fish have more money and less to carry accross the portages. 1/4 oz. Jig and white kalin 4" grubs and/or live bait (BWCA), hooks, split shot weights and slip bobbers. Doesnt get simpler or cheaper and you will catch fish."

Might want to consider going lighter with 1/8 oz jig to keep the kids from getting snagged often.

I stand by my recommendation 1/4oz. Jig and white 4” grub. Swim it, jig it, troll it... fish it deep, shallow, windy, calm, current, etc.....won’t do that with an 1/8 oz jig. Trying to give first hand experienced advice on fishing inexpensively with kids.

I'm not a jigging expert, I don't do it nearly often enough unless I have too. I get snagged too often no matter what I am using. That's why I fish with 1/8 oz, this novice gets snagged less when using a lighter weight jig. I am sure there are lots of people who can jig better than I ever could and can use any size weight. I guess I just hate getting snagged and having to tie on a new lure all of the time. Someone proficient in jigging probably doesn't get snagged half as much as I do. Like anything the more you do it the better you should be at it.

I wasn't saying there was anything wrong with the 1/4 oz. recommendation, it is probably what most people use who know what they are doing. They probably catch a lot more fish than I do jigging as well. I was just recommending a light jig for the inexperienced jig fisherman like myself who gets snagged a lot while jigging.

Rarely get snagged jigging, but am usually going straight down or close... I think that solo would be more of a problem in getting off the bottom! Casting jigs definitely is tougher!

QueticoMike: "I wasn't saying there was anything wrong with the 1/4 oz. recommendation, "

They make 3/16 oz. for a compromise.

mapsguy1955: "Rarely get snagged jigging, but am usually going straight down or close... I think that solo would be more of a problem in getting off the bottom! Casting jigs definitely is tougher!"

Yep, I don't have problems vertical jigging straight up and down. Casting, current and extremely rocky areas is where I have some issues. I am getting better over the past few years because I am fishing tubes more often than in the past.

i tend toward lighter jigs for the same reason. snags. just have never been open to share it. that felt good. thanks :-)

zski: "i tend toward lighter jigs for the same reason. snags. just have never been open to share it. that felt good. thanks :-)"

I am glad you were able to open up about using light jigs :) Hello, my name is Mike and I use light jigs too.....haha

manmountain8: "IMO Tube jigs are a must for Smallmouth. I've had the best luck on white but you can use anything that they can see. It's meant to be a crayfish imitation. For Walleyes use short shanked jigs with live bait or live bait on a hook under a slip float. Pike will hit anything but I'd use Jerkbaits, spoons, or bass spinners in the weeds. If I could only bring one bait it would be a soft swimbait. A swimbait jig with a 4" soft paddle tail is an ideal search bait that will catch anything and there's no wrong way to fish it. Get some hammerhead swimbaits or Lunker city salt shakers in a variety of colors. For a walleye rod I don't go over 8 lb mono or 12 lb braid unless you use a flourocarbon leader. For a Pike rod I'm using 50lb braid with a 60 lb flouro leader. "

Very good advice !

QueticoMike: "

zski: "i tend toward lighter jigs for the same reason. snags. just have never been open to share it. that felt good. thanks :-)"

I am glad you were able to open up about using light jigs :) Hello, my name is Mike and I use light jigs too.....haha"

Ha, that's funny.

I like BnD's advice but take note he suggests coupling the 1/4 oz jig head with a 4" plastic bait. A bit bigger bait will not fall so quickly and needs that weight jig head IMO. Especially if he is fishing a grub with a thick body and big tail like a mugambo grub.

If an angler fishes a smaller bait like a 3" grub then 1/8 would be better IMO.

mastertangler: "

QueticoMike: "

zski: "i tend toward lighter jigs for the same reason. snags. just have never been open to share it. that felt good. thanks :-)"

I am glad you were able to open up about using light jigs :) Hello, my name is Mike and I use light jigs too.....haha"

Ha, that's funny.


I like BnD's advice but take note he suggests coupling the 1/4 oz jig head with a 4" plastic bait. A bit bigger bait will not fall so quickly and needs that weight jig head IMO. Especially if he is fishing a grub with a thick body and big tail like a mugambo grub.


If an angler fishes a smaller bait like a 3" grub then 1/8 would be better IMO. "

That makes sense.

Lots of good advice here.
I use 15lb braid on my spinning rods because I like to get lures back.
A glow white 1/4oz jig, slip bobber and leach are a classic combo. I pair the jig weight to the bobber size so I don't need an extra sinker. Cuts down on tangles and casts further.

I only use leaders when I am fishing with dead bait. Pike usually do not get a large lure (spoon or crank bait) deep enough in their mouth to bite it off. With jigs... I take my chances.

Most lakes don't have the nice weed beds you find large sunfish in. If you find a nice cabbage bed in the BWCA, stop and fish it. Panfish are usually overlooked by BWCA anglers. And, thick weedbeds are so rare they attract all sorts of fish. Even rock loving smallmouth bass will be found around the only weedbed in the lake.

The #1 mistake that I see people make is repeating the same pattern and not catching fish. Often times they position their canoe one cast distance from shore and throw lures at the bank. Sometimes that works... but if not do something else. Try putting the canoe close to shore and casting out. Put the polarized sunglasses to work and look for different bottom structures. Make sure to fish structure you can't see. And, try different times of day. If fishing is slow, eat dinner early and go out right before dark.

Just keep changing it up. If you and two kids don't catching anything for an hour, change it up until you find the pattern that works.