Would EZ braid spiderwire, 20lbs. Moss green be good for fishing Knife, Ogish. I'm a rookie and the pole I'm borrowing has this set up. Thanks. Heading out mid September for the first time in the BWCA. I

Lose the Spider Wire and respool with 6-8lb mono.... put the Spider Wire back on when you get back..

quote yogi59weedr: "Lose the Spider Wire and respool with 6-8lb mono.... put the Spider Wire back on when you get back.."

+1

If you're a rookie fisherman I would leave it as is. 10 lb. test would be best IMO for you but braid is excellent, tough, and no stretch. Make sure to have something sharp to cut your knot ends.

What you have will work just fine. I'm a mono guy up there myself but plenty of people swear by braid. Also recommend learning the palomar knot if you don't already know it.

If you haven't fished with braid before you should consider using mono such as 8 to 10 pound Trielne XL. This will reduce issues with tying knots, or snags that can not break off and you have to cut the line or worse the rod snapping if you aren't careful.

I would re-spool with 8lb mono. Knife lake is a very clear lake and mono is darn near invisible. Mono is easier to tie knots with for a beginner too.

Going to switch out to mono,we hope to camp 2 days on Knife, if I follow the great advice that is on this sight. My chances go up, and really that's all i want from this trip. A chance to catch a Northern. I love eating most things out of the water, so fresh Northern is something that has been driving this new adventure. Thanks for all the replies.

Troll with a large Rapala original on shorelines and you will catch one. Good luck

If you are mainly targeting Northern's the 20# braid might not be a bad idea. Also it would be well suited for fishing top water for bass.

I would personally respool with 8# fluorocarbon just cause that's what iv been using a lot lately. The walleye might be more inclined to strike on light clear line on such a clear lake.

quote murphylakejim: "If you are mainly targeting Northern's the 20# braid might not be a bad idea. Also it would be well suited for fishing top water for bass.


I would personally respool with 8# fluorocarbon just cause that's what iv been using a lot lately. The walleye might be more inclined to strike on light clear line on such a clear lake. "

I agree with Jim. Pike cut mono. Pike are my nemesis. I will pay you to fish alongside me, hooking the pike before they cut my 6 lb. mono. The smaller they are, the quicker they'll cut it.

You've asked the question with a thousand answers. Mono is probably the easiest to handle line for a newb (term used with all respect), but braid has more upsides, especially with northern. I'd use what ya got. Braid is easy to cast and easy to spot fray. My biggest concern would be you getting over zealous and setting the hook like a mad man. Braid doesn't stretch, the action on your end directly translates to the action on the business end. Either way, keep asking questions and good luck!

Oh, and as said learn the Palomar...easy and strong.

Northern Pike

The question here isn’t what lure to use to catch northern pike, but rather what lure to use to catch giant ones. There are not too many lures or locations that pike in the Boundary Waters do not desire. No matter what lure, when it was used, where it was used or even what type of fish being targeted, I have caught pike. The only time location might matter the most is in the very early spring phase just after ice out when large pike can be located in the shallow waters of a warming bay or set up at a flowing mouth of an incoming creek. Unless you are fishing extremely deep for lake trout in the summer, for the most part pike can found wherever else you might be fishing, no matter the species. The small to medium sized pike are generally found in the back of bays in the thick weeds, lily pads and wild rice.

What lures to use for pike is a simple one for me. Do you want to catch huge pike? Then use a big lure. The Heddon Lucky 13 in the bull frog pattern fits the bill. The Lucky 13 is 3-3/4” long and shaped like a fat cigar with a concave nose. The most productive way to use this bait is by “chugging” it on the surface. Basically you pop the lure with a quick snap of the rod. It is very similar to other “popping” lures, but displays a larger presence.

My personal three best pike were caught with the Lucky 13 in Quetico. A 45” pike came out of the Basswood depths to suck up my Lucky 13 on a nice September day a few years ago. I made a cast as far out as possible into the lake while standing on an island point during a canoe seat break. As with most floating top water lures I let the lure settle for a brief time before it was to be moved. While staring at the lure bobbing in the slight rolls of the lake this Loch Ness monster type head slowly came straight up out of the water and fully engulfed the plastic bull frog with nearly a wrinkle on the surface. I truly couldn’t believe what I had just witnessed. I reeled up the slack and set the hook. I was glad to be on shore and not in a canoe when landing that fish!

This lure has also delivered many smallmouth in the 4 to 5 pound range. Other popping type lures such as a Pop-R or Skitter Pop are similar, but smaller. When smallmouth hit these smaller lures, they don’t attack with the same aggressiveness they use on a Lucky 13. One fishing partner exclaimed, “smallmouth want to kill the Lucky 13 when they attack the lure!” Pop-R or Skitter Pop hits aren’t half as volatile.

The most popular lure for pike is the Dardevle Spoon. The 3 ½ and 4 ½ inch, red and white spoons work best. This lure can be trolled along shorelines or casted around bays. This lure is productive during all open water phases and has a unique wiggle and wobble that is hard for a pike to resist.

An effective method for fishing this spoon is called “slapping”. By casting this lure with a high arc and when it is about 2 or 3 feet above the surface jerk the line back towards you. If done correctly the lure will make a loud slapping noise on the surface. This commotion will sometimes trigger pike into a feeding mood. If the water is stained, try changing the lure color out to a yellow “five-of-diamonds”. The brighter colors will help the pike locate the lure after the slap on the surface.

The Mepps Aglia #5 size blade with a hair dressing works best for targeting pike in thick weed beds adjacent to deep water in the summer time. A varying slow to medium retrieve along the edge of weed beds should bring the pike calling for a taste of this lure. Increase your retrieval speed while casting over the top of weed beds to avoid bringing back in the “cabbage” with your lure. When you do feel weeds, try to jerk them off your lure with a quick snap of the rod. Sometimes this procedure will also trigger strikes by trailing northerns. If a pike follows the lure to the canoe without striking, leave the lure in the water and do a “figure 8” pattern with the lure, this will often times provoke a lurking pike. If this doesn’t work, try changing up the retrieve to erratic, starting and stopping the lure.

If you are concerned about pike biting off your lures, invest in a quality titanium leader in the 6 to 9 inch range. These leaders last forever, they don't kink like steel, they are stronger than steel and have a smaller diameter than a steel leader. They are well worth the extra cost.

Good luck on your trip!

I'd leave it on and use a fluorocarbon leader this gives you alot of versatility. You can fish deeper water this way since it doesn't stretch you'll feel the bite better and get better hook sets. Use an Alberto knot to join the lines together.

So funny,I was about to ask a very similar question. I had actually decided yesterday that I was taking power pro off all my poles and going to mono for this trip. I do love the feel of the power pro and I know I hook more fish with it, but I feel l lose more fish with it. I have one pole that works well with the braid because it has a faster action. But I am not buying a bunch of new poles for this trip. I also don't want to have to deal with tying florocarbon leaders the whole trip.

Great information as usual QMike, I love your input. He wants to catch eaters not monsters. There should be no problem for him fulfilling this. Sometimes it's hard keeping this size from hitting the lure.

quote Savage Voyageur: "Great information as usual QMike, I love your input. He wants to catch eaters not monsters. There should be no problem for him fulfilling this. Sometimes it's hard keeping this size from hitting the lure. "

If I were just looking for smaller, eater sized pike, I would fish in the back of a weedy cove. Probably would just use a Mepps spinner with a bucktail connected to a titanium leader.

We are spending 2 nights on Knife or very close, so I'm taking notes and will let everyone know which worked the best for this rookie

quote TwistedCisco: "I'd leave it on and use a fluorocarbon leader this gives you alot of versatility. You can fish deeper water this way since it doesn't stretch you'll feel the bite better and get better hook sets. Use an Alberto knot to join the lines together."

+1

I don't know the "Alberto" but I use the Uni knot and works fine. Just moisten knot before tightening.

I use Tectan, Very good line, very thin diameter. Try it, you will like it.
Fish usa carry's it.

One advantage mono gives you is that I believe it's 22% stretch before it may snap. Braided is 2 to 7%. You can use this to your advantage in "snapping" out snags. Once you realize your hung up-- tighten your line pretty tight , point your rod directly at where your snag is and then open your bail. about 50% of the time I get jigs back from that,, if not-- just go the opposite way you casted from your snag about 20-40 yards while letting out some line and then pull her free-- this has about a 90% success rate-- later part of this works with braid also.

quote TwistedCisco: "I'd leave it on and use a fluorocarbon leader this gives you alot of versatility. You can fish deeper water this way since it doesn't stretch you'll feel the bite better and get better hook sets. Use an Alberto knot to join the lines together."

Exactly what I was going to say. I use 10lb fireline with 8lb Flouro leader, generally about 8 feet long. I love sensitivity of fireleine. The alberto knot slides through the guides well so there is no affect on casting. If I'm fishing more tanic lakes, I don't mess with a leader. I would definitely use a leader for Knife though. Mono is NOT invisible in the water.