Boundary Waters Quetico Forum :: Fishing Forum :: Fishing expectations?
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MidwestMan |
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Hammertime |
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ZaSquatch |
So...I just got back from five days on Pipestone bay on Basswood, and I want to check in on what my fishing expectations should have been. I've gone up three years in a row and not been really impressed with my fishing success. The last two years we didn't fish a ton, but we caught a few here and there to eat. This year we really wanted to concentrate on fishing and spend a lot of time really focusing to find fish. We had three guys in two canoes both with depth finders doing all we could to find fish.... and we feel like the results were pretty lackluster. Don't get me wrong. We caught some nice size fish, but not great numbers (one each 16", 17", 18", 19" smallie and one 30"+ northern and one 40"+ northern - all great fish). The "problem" is that that's pretty much all we caught all week. We caught several hammer handle snot rockets. Our best day probably had six smallies between the three of us and another day we may have had six small walleyes between the three of us. Was I way off base thinking we could be finding a couple fish per hour each? Maybe even each catch a limit at least one day? Do we need to learn to fish better? We were looking for ridges and drop offs between 10 and 16 feet to fish. Casting shorelines with topwaters. Fishing leeches on slip bobber, jig leeches, ned rigs (never caught one fish with that), whopper poppers (also no fish), wake bait (no fish), I ran a zulu a few different times and caught one or two. Trolling we had a bit of success with northern but no walleye. I think our best lure was a skitter-pop. Any advice is welcome. |
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goblu79 |
I have very limited (and not good) experience in the BWCA, so I'm talking Quetico in the above paragraph. My sole experience in the BW, was on Angleworm and I had a horrible week fishing there. |
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WesternHills |
missmolly: " This is spot on. |
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Finnboy |
If you want to catch walleye don’t fish with bass baits. |
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bobbernumber3 |
Finnboy: "If you want to catch walleye don’t fish with bass baits. " +1. They are two different animals. |
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QueticoMike |
missmolly: "ZaSquatch: "I know we weren't always out at prime times, mostly late morning/mid day." I normally just fish from sunrise to sunset, I don’t want to take any chances on missing anything. I can eat and sleep when I get back home :) |
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jwettelrin89 |
Often times fish are a little shallower during low light periods, so don't be afraid to adjust your depth as the day progresses. Often times I will start off in the morning targeting 15-25, and then as it gets closer to mid day I will slip out to 20-33 ft. Don't be afraid to venture outside of those depth ranges if you aren't finding success. Sometimes you will find them in the weeds in 5-8 ft of water, or other locations you don't expect to find them. |
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missmolly |
QueticoMike: "missmolly: "ZaSquatch: "I know we weren't always out at prime times, mostly late morning/mid day." You're wise, Mike. Drain the mug while you still can, for the day is coming when you won't be able to fish from sunrise to sunset. |
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bobbernumber3 |
I assume you want more walleyes? Move to an early June trip. |
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MarshallPrime |
the 2nd is, lures used. I always have the issue of bringing too much bait. Some laugh when they see it. Here's the thing, some trips just require certain lures. This year my normal go-tos of Waky Worms, mepps, Tube jigs and white jigs just wasnt really working. I guess spinners were average/good. This year, on my 1 trip, was almost all white swimbaits, on the smaller side. I almost NEVER use these or catch much when I do tie them on just to see what happens. It was my MVP whereas in the past few trips my MVPs have been: 2023- swimbait (out of the blue) 2022- white jigs and spinners 2021- spinners 2020- Waky Worms 2019- Tube Jigs (out of the blue but fish were deeper) 2018- Waky Worms 2017- Waky Worms I also NEVER go later than early July. Just my 2 cents |
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lundojam |
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ZaSquatch |
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YaMarVa |
Hammertime: "Big lakes like that can be tough, so many places for them to hide. What time of day were you fishing? The last 2-3 hours of daylight always seems to save us when we can’t find them during the day. " The old saying, something along the lines of, “80% of the fish live in 20% of the water.” 20% is a much smaller area on Basswood compared to nearby Indiana Lake. I’ve had good success fishing Basswood, but it took a few trips to figure out. Still had bad fishing trips there even after I thought I had the lake figured out. |
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missmolly |
ZaSquatch: "I know we weren't always out at prime times, mostly late morning/mid day." ^There's^ the rub, as others noted. Fishing is often amazing in the gray hours. I have caught so many fish on the first cast at 4:00 a.m. Rise at 3:50 a.m., fish until 11:00, and then sleep, explore, and swim. Begin again at 7:00 p.m. |
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RunningFox |
Simply put, I think the fishing is way more attractive in the Quetico. If you rule out the Quetico, then I would recommend Basswood near US Point. |
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RunningFox |
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egknuti |
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Captn Tony |
Don't ask me about fishing in June however both times I went in June I didn't catch diddly! |
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Speckled |
Time of year, time of day, possible technique issues all likely lead to the lack of success. Fishing isn't easy - no matter the lake, no matter the species. Over the years i've found certain times with certain techniques that work for certain species and if i'm looking to catch a meal, i'll replicate one of those techniques. July and August is not a great time of year for fishing at least for me. There may be others that have it dialed in, but I do better for walleye in the spring, trout in the spring and fall and northerns of any size in the spring. The trout and larger northerns are all generally deeper this time of year. This time of year I'll often explore some of the smaller rivers and just be content finding out whatever fish are holding up in some hole. The fish are smaller, but you catch a really mixed bag. It's fun. I think try a trip another time of year, try a river, try a new technique |
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MidwestMan |
RunningFox: "I fished the Basswood/Pipestone area in 2021 during June. I didn’t find the fishing to be very good either. I don’t use live bait. No interest in live bait or bobbers. I know the live bait versus no live bait is a commonly discussed subject… And certainly no disrespect to RunningFox… I’m sure RF is a successful, experienced fisherman… I would advise to bring live bait to 100% of BWCA trippers who are looking to catch fish… Bringing live bait does require a small amount of extra money, planning and care… I’ve never once regretted bringing live bait, though. It’s always been an excellent Plan B (for me) in times of slow fishing. No need for a bobber (although the slip bobber method can be fun). |
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papalambeau |
QueticoMike: "missmolly: "ZaSquatch: "I know we weren't always out at prime times, mostly late morning/mid day." Same for our crew, which is made up of 2 sons, myself and 5 grandsons ranging in age 8-18. They've learned through the years that if you want to catch fish you need to be up at sunrise fishing and definitely fishing until sunset. They love catching fish! |