Anyone do much fishing in Jackfish Bay? Looking for walleye in mid-june. Have had good look in past three years but a little more wisdom never hurt. Also I'm considering purchasing a fishfinder to help find those reefs, I know this isn't "purist" but I caught a 31 1/2 incher last year stumbling on a reef while trolling in our canoe and have since found some more accurate maps. I want to find these reefs/ underwater islands and wouldn't mind some help marking fish either. Need portability/ good resolution.
Thanks

every local person in ely knows where those walleye reefs are....jackfish is pretty much fished out...but if you want to try for those leftover loners...just get a depthfinder and see if you can find some reefs deeper out...im just letting you know you are gonna have to fish all day to get enuff for a great supper

Wallycrazy... this past year I used a hummingbird portable box which allowed me to use the depth finder I use on my regular fishing boat. If you have a boat that already has a depthfinder on it you might check at Cabela's or Bass Pro to see if they have a portable box unit to make it work... cost was about $50.00. Another that I have used is the Pirannah from Hummingbird, ran off of AA batteries, either 12 or 16 of them. It was much lighter than the Hummingbird box unit which used two 6-volt batteries. Both were good and did what I needed them to... show depth and show fish... Good luck... A thing to remember too in heavily fished waters is to go slow, and look for different spots other than the obvious. In many lakes where people have said there was a lot of fishing pressure, I have just down sized my lures, or used live bait and fish slow and be patient and look for areas away from everyone else... Again Good Luck and have fun...

Good Paddling, Great Fishing and God Bless All...
Bruce

Bruce,

Do you really think that areas of the BWCA are fished out? I guess it's possible for the entry lakes on the most popular lakes do see alot of fisherman, but I would think that it would be hard to have an impact on the fish population. Does the DNR stock any of the BWCA lakes? I have seen the surveys, but they are quite old.

I have been considering buying the vexilar Boudary waters depth finder ($350.00). We usually bring an old heavy hummingbird. It's hard to trust as far as seeing the fish. I probably don't know how to read it correctly (tips appreciated). The vexilar weighs 2 pounds and runs for 1-2 weeks off 8 AA batteries. Any suggestions?

Fisherman Willy

p.s. Bruce, what happened to your email?

Hey Willy,

For the purpose of reducing spam, I have hidden emails unless you are logged in. This eliminates the ability of a spam from scrapping this site for emails address and then spamming you. Not that most people don't get a million spam messages anyway.

If you log in, you can see his email.

Adam

I have a Vexilar (Black and white, LC-10 I think). I have only used it on one trip; it is a recent purchase. It is usefull for finding the depth, drop offs, and structure. It does indicate fish, but I think it is more likely catching structure, weeds, rocks. I think it is probably good for find holes where fish should be versus fish themselves. But then again, I really haven't used it much.

I have a question to all about Jackfish being fished out.
More precisely the other side of Basswood. Do any of you feel this is accurate for back bay and Hoist etc...? Or even the Moose chain for that matter.

Wow, that's a nice fish, but a lucky catch I'm afraid. I've spent a lot of time on both Basswood and Jackfish and never had much luck on either of them... They're both average at best IMO, and nothing compared to some of the other spots in the BWCA.

C. Meaaahhp,

I couldn't agree more, I was only asking about this location because 4 years ago I developed a musculo-skeletal disorder which makes it hard for me to make many portages. I must have been lucky finding that 1 lunker. Usually we do catch 2 or 3 14-15 inchers a day though! Pretty sweet HUH. Some days we even catch a smally or two!! Maybe we will do even better this year since we are leaving a couple "evil-doers" out of our fishing party.

Man, I'm sorry to hear about your physical ailment there walleye hunter... And you're right, any fishing is definately better than no fishing! Sounds like you do OK out there on Jackfish, but if you ever get the chance to do a fly-in, you'd have a great chance to get in on some real fishing without having to hike the portages. I guess I'm lucky to still have my full health so that I can travel beyond Jackfish to some more prime waters.

But yeah, I'd agree with basswoodbandit that those waters are pretty fished out compared to some of the more remote locations I've been in. With a good fishfinder to target those really deep reefs, if you spend all day fishing out there you should put 4-5 on the stringer... I sure wouldn't count on catching another 31" fish out there though - that's a fish of a lifetime on Jackfish. Again though, like I said, catching a few for dinner is better than no fishing at all!

Best of luck in the BWCA and beyond, and God Bless!

Well what about other parts of Basswood like the whole western region of it. Is that fished out as well? What about places like payley bay and merrianm bay?

I have fished Jackfish for many years. I have never used a topo but have found many humps and rock piles that I have never seen a boat fishing. That said, I do not go looking for walleye. I fish the shallows for smallies and pike. Some reefs have boats on them all day. Every other boat I see goes to one particular reef. I do not know much about walleye, but I do catch a few every year. I do know I see more boats on jackfish than anywhere else I have been.

We have been fishing Jackfish Bay and Basswood exclusively for 7 years. Originally we were told by the outfitters that the walleye fishing wasn't very good hear. Each year you learn a little more about a body of water and if you can continue to find good structure like deep underwater humps you will find fish. Some of the best fishing is after the wind settles down and you start trolling along a shoreline the waves were pounding all day. We picked up 3 walleyes over 29" two years ago doing this and two last year.

Anyone that says Basswood is fished out is saying for personal reasons, like they want to keep the great fishery that it is to themselves by scaring away others. I've been to Basswood on 3 of my last 4 trips and we catch more fish each time we are there. I would think it impossible to "fish out" a lake like that. There is zero fishing pressure on Basswood compared to other popular lakes in Minnesota.