I will be making another trip to the Granite river the second weekend in June. I have never used live bait before in the boundary waters and was thinking of giving it a go for walleye and Pike.

That time of year would minnows work better then worms for Walleye? I was thinking if I could locate some with lures I would switch to bait?

Then for pike, minnows work pretty good down here in Indiana early in the year and in winter. We use large suckers or I will use a dead chub on the bottom.

I'm taking another buddy for his first trip to the boundary waters, so I am homing for good weather and a lot of tugs.

Others will comment about live bait for pike, but I would certainly take leeches for walleye (and I think most others will confirm). Buy a cheap 1/2 gallon thermos at Wal-Mart, take a 1 - 2 pounds of leeches (depending on how much fishing you'll do), refresh the water a couple times a day, keep in shade as much as possible.

Fished under a slip bobber or TGO method when in an area with smallmouth or walleye, you will get bit.

Have a great trip.

I strongly recommend leeches and strongly recommend AGAINST minnows. I have killed several batches of minnows. I just can't seem to keep them alive. Similarly, I can't seem to find a way to kill leeches.

Just search for leeches using the search button above. You'll find lots of ways to get them into camp and to keep them alive.

I also really love fishing leeches. They stay on the hook well and work great catching fish.

I agree. Leeches are the ultimate BWCA bait.

Also, you probably don't need any bait for pike. They eat everything we throw at them. If you want to fish bait, pike eat dead frozen suckers with gusto.

Leeches are very easy to keep alive. Just keep them in the water. Minnows die easily, crawlers get too hot and die.

Savage Voyageur: "Leeches are very easy to keep alive. Just keep them in the water. Minnows die easily, crawlers get too hot and die. "

Are you sure about crawlers dying? Indeed hit a hot stretch of temps and they might bite the dust. But I had good luck with 100 in a styrofoam container on my Hunters Island trip. They lasted some 10 days in late july with no issues whatsoever. Naturally I kept them out of the sun but I think you can get by with crawlers better than many would think.

Yes minnows might be more work. I do love using them however. We used to drift minnows across mid lake reefs in the shield and do really well. We used bait runners and slip sinkers........worked like a charm. Of course we had a 20 gallon tank and a pump.

You might get away with taking "Toughies" into canoe country. They are the small black minnows. As the name implies they are hardy. Shiners are exceedingly hard to keep alive and would be best avoided. Personally I would love to just trap minnows on site but of course there will likely be a chorus of boos and endless restrictions on doing that. Why that would be a problem I know not but there is this law you see..........

I was thinking minnows for some pike to try and catch larger pike. I have only caught one good one in the boundary waters. Tons in the mid 30's or shorter. I know I could focus more on trying to target just pike and throw larger lures, but the short time I have up there each year, I would like to catch a ton of SM and hope for a big pike along the way.

Not to hijack, but along the same live bait thread; has anyone taken a crawdad trap into the BWCA to catch and use them for smallmouth?

Rather than take a crawfish trap I would hand catch them or use a net and do it that way. Personally, find lures work well and way easier. Wouldn't mind boiling up a few crawfish for dinner though. Seem to be thick by portages or where creeks run into lakes.

Ambushunter: "I was thinking minnows for some pike to try and catch larger pike. I have only caught one good one in the boundary waters. Tons in the mid 30's or shorter. I know I could focus more on trying to target just pike and throw larger lures, but the short time I have up there each year, I would like to catch a ton of SM and hope for a big pike along the way. "

Why not just fish for a big pike? They are not so hard to come by IMO. Skip the minnows and fish a Shadzilla. Of course you need specialized equipment to do so. Hit the search on this forum and read about fishing the Shadzillas. Big scary lure with mean hooks, be careful!

Crayfish are absolutely devastating if fished correctly. I like using them on light line with a single hook in the tail and free lining them (no weight). Toss them out and they will start kicking towards the bottom. They cannot go directly down but will make broad circles continually kicking in their spiral descent. If a smallie is around they won't make it to the bottom. Naturally this is good in fairly shallow water of up to 8ft but is killer in clear water situations. Your crawdad is only good for about 3 casts however and then they tucker out. Then its time for a fresh one. Once they quit kicking they are no longer effective.

I brought in a collapsible crawfish trap once and baited it with crawfishes favorite food...........a chunk of fish. In the morning the trap was totally destroyed and of course a snapper got interested. You would have to lug a wire mesh one in........sort of bulky.

But if you know of a smallish clear lake where you can see 5lb smallies swimming along you will absolutely pound them this way no ifs, ands, or buts.

You can also catch Dads with a hook and a chunk of fish. They grab on and you can steadily lift them out of the water. They usually don't let go. Or a nice wide little dip net and place it behind them at night and let them kick into it.

I sort of like the whole chunk of fish in a trap though. Come back in the morning and you have all you need.

As far as crawlers, I was referring to keeping them in the tiny round container they sell them in. They won’t last long in there. Get the big styrofoam cooler if you want to use crawlers. And keep it in the shade. But it’s so much easier just to bring Leeches.

Skip the crawlers. Go with leeches. More effective and last longer on the hook. I’ve caught multiple sallies on one leech - can’t do that with a crawler. A leech locker or the thermos method posted earlier will Work great. The power bait leeches work well too. So do twisters and grubs.

The crawdad trap and fishing method sounds fun, I’ll need to give that a try!

Crawler haters! ;-)

Get one of those sturdy little styrofoam boxes that 100 come in. I really like having a variety of baits........and if I were going in with bait I certainly would have crawlers AND leeches unless I knew there was going to be a serious heat wave.

I dunno, something about dropping a big nose hooked crawler on 6lb test and a little hook down on a deep reef........I know a big fat slob of a fish is going to see it and eat it. I could care less about numbers.

Leeches for walleye and smallies. They're tough as nails and fish love them. Lures for northerns.

Nightcrawlers are not native to the BWCA and can drastically alter forest ecology. So, even if they were a better BWCA bait than worms I wouldn't take them.

And that being said, anything that bites a worm should bite a leach. Leaches swim under a bobber too. You just can't beat them.

A fine mesh landing net can catch a few crawfish and minnows. Or, a collapsible trap (without bait) will catch minnows. I think I brought a minnow trap once, but it wasn't worth the trouble. Better to bring bait and spend time fishing.

Ambushunter: "I was thinking minnows for some pike to try and catch larger pike. I have only caught one good one in the boundary waters. Tons in the mid 30's or shorter. I know I could focus more on trying to target just pike and throw larger lures, but the short time I have up there each year, I would like to catch a ton of SM and hope for a big pike along the way. "

I am not sure live bait and type will make a big difference in targeting large pike. Large pike seem to relate more to location... you have to be where they are. The right lake and the right spot on the lake. They will hit almost anything in their zone (when the water is not cold) .

Save your leeches for walleyes as they are finicky eaters. Sometimes jigs with a leech are best, other times slip bobber rig with a leech, other times crank baits. It can be a challenge.

SMB... not much of a challenge or taste, but they can be fun when you hit 'em on the spawning beds!

Remember, you're on a border route. Others may weigh in, but I believe it's forbidden to use live bait on the Canadian side of the route.

One of the reasons I have a hard time not just trying to target pike is its hard to beat catching big SMB. I don't bed fish for them and have caught some monsters up there, biggest was a fat female full of eggs and 24-1/2" long. I usually can catch one around if not over the 6# mark every year.

But I may throw some larger pike lures this year, we will see lol.