Boundary Waters Quetico Forum :: Trip Planning Forum :: July or August?
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treehorn |
Skeeters could be a bit better in mid August, but no guarantee and not significantly. Days are longer in July. I think the threat of severe storms or just rain is probably a bit higher in July...generally things calm down by mid August, but again no guarantees on that. I would say generally speaking fishing will be better in July, but only by a small degree. Crowds...who knows. There are probably a few more permits pulled in mid August. If I were in your shoes, I'd probably pick August and sell it to the wife as if she and the baby were the sole factor in you making the decision to go later...pretend like it was a big sacrifice to go that late in the year, but you wanted that baby to be as old as possible before you left her alone with him/her. You'll be a hero. Congrats on the baby by the way! |
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mastertangler |
If you are committed then you must develop a plan and stick with it. First thing is to determine what kind of fish are in it and what fish you want to target. Walleye fishing is different than Lake Trout. I am not opposed to fishing these sorts of lakes as they tend to yield fish of trophy size......what they lack in quantity they make up for in quality. This is an ideal scenario for "Lunkers love nightcrawlers" strategy and if you haven't read this classic book of angling "literature" I highly recommend that you do. There is little doubt that if I could, I would go this route i.e. live bait, small hooks and light line. Pay attention to the care of your crawlers as your success (or lack thereof) may depend on keeping your bait alive even if it gets hot. A wet burlap bag is a wonderful "refrigerator" for live bait but the bag must be kept wet for the evaporative process to yield the desired results. The steeply dropping lakes are not so difficult to gently ease around as the depth usually stays fairly constant. Deep is a relative term however and if the lake has crystal clear water then walleye may be as deep as 35 and 40ft (possibly even deeper) during the day in August as opposed to the 28ft that I usually troll at on Basswood. If live bait is out then I suggest deep diving crank baits pulled very fast.......don't let them get a good look is my motto.......I play the "catch me if you can" game in late summer and that can often "challenge" bigger fish to strike even when they are fat and happy. The "chase" mechanism kicks in and they strike out of sheer meanness. Again if the water is clear (as opposed to tannin stained or dark) you will need to think deep.........you must fish where the fish are wether or not you feel comfortable or confident in doing so. Start at 15 ft and keep going deeper until you score. They are there somewhere and if your not getting bit shallow then they are deeper.......perhaps really deep! We have jigged up 8lb walleyes in August on lake Minnitaki (Sioux Lookout) at 45ft with yellow jigs and creek chub combos.......the hardest part is being convinced you can catch fish that deep. The bigger the walleye......the more likely it will seek the safety of deep water especially on clear lakes later in the summer. Lastly.......I would definitely get me some lighted slip bobbers for use from camp at night. Even a piece of gulp might get a fish but a leech / jig would be tops I would think. Fish tend to cruise the drop off when comes time to eat on these type of lakes. |
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mastertangler |
I typically used to trip around the 4th of july or the last weekend of June. Skeets were still pretty tough but fishing was fairly easy. Skeets are surpringly absent in August for the most part.........strong exceptions do occur. Then I had a few August trips and I found the fishing very difficult with my usual tactics. And in fact I promised myself I would not fish canoe country in August anymore. But reality has a way of encroaching and I find myself in canoe country typically in August every year and have come to embrace it. A few thoughts as per fishing.........I like the larger lakes with dark water. Think Basswood or Crooked. Shallow for me is 15 ft and most of my daytime hours are spent at 20 and 25ft with 25 getting the nod so to speak. "Eater walleye" can still be found shallow however but I am not inclined to spend much time pursuing those. If in the BWCA live bait would be king for walleye and is the great equalizer particularly later in the summer. Light line, small hooks drifting across mid lake reefs would be the ticket. But I fish the Quetico and trolling deep diving crank baits pays off very nicely for me usually with several quality fish per day (walleye, pike, lake trout > I have not solved the smallie equation for August). Depth finder and rod holder are helpful in the extreme sense of the word for this style of fishing. I troll fast and cover ground in these warmer months. You will catch them if you stay with precision trolling of deep diving crank baits and the typical deep water walleye is usually right at 5lbs (24/ 26")........good fish and pike are usually in the mid 30's. In the evening big pike (40 and over) may slide into that 12 to 15ft slot but I still find bigger walleye deep in the evening despite common perception that they are shallow at that time. That has not been my experience in August at least right at dusk........dawn in August may be the polar opposite (probably) but I am usually on the move so I can offer no valid opinion other than conjecture. FWIW I typically do not use a wire leader and lose very few northerns. A few heartbreaking experiences have happened however which may cause me to rethink that strategy. I fished with a guy who used Knot-2-kinky wire leader (very thin in the lighter lb tests) and he seemed to suffer no loss of success on our trip and largely outfished me on that trip pulling wire. So, go figure.......... |
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A1t2o |
Is it worth it to drop a jig or something really deep? I've always wondered about that but never got around to trying. Maybe a 3 way swivel with a weight and a spoon to get it down to 30 foot or so while trolling? I'm used to hitting up rock piles and jigging with leeches to look for walleye, but I foresee some issues with that on this lake, and the fact that it isn't June. Any advice would be appreciated. |
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MHS67 |
quote 1bogfrog: "If high temps are a concern, I'd try to shoot for the second half of August if that is available to you. I usually do two trips in August for this very reason. I enjoy having warm days, and nights with a bit of chill in the air. It makes the sleeping easier and the fire at night more enjoyable. And who wants to get up on an 80 degree morning for a hot cup of coffee? As long as you aren't there over Labor Day weekend, the crowds really shouldn't be that much different in August on the east side than they are in July. The water is going to be relatively warm in either month as it cools fairly slowly. The only impact I've noted that it has on my fishing is that I need to go deeper for lakers if that's what I'm after. This is pretty much what I would have typed, except I don't fish for Lakers. Walleye for me. Thanks 1bogfrog for saving all the time it would have taken me to type this!! |
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A1t2o |
Going in on Brule and probably to Vernon. Is there any difference in fishing between the two dates? Will the water temp be significantly different? Is there any difference in the amount of traffic we will see? My guess is that I will not be seeing a huge difference between the two, but I do want to check around first to just make sure there isn't a choice that is clearly better than the other due to some factor that I have not foreseen. My buddy and I do have a hard time sleeping when it is too hot, so that is also a factor, but I can't see much of a difference between the two. I'm from Mankato though so that might skew my perspective a little. |
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canoerone |
canoerone |
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A1t2o |
As for when, I'm looking at the second weekend in August. So the 12th and 13th. My buddies main concern is temp. We usually go in June so bugs are no surprise. Yeah, it would be nice to have less bugs, but not at the cost of there being a lot more people out there, like the boy scouts and back to school college guys. Not even sure if that is a real concern, which is why I'm asking. |
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QueticoMike |
quote canoerone: "Well A1 it would help a little to know how late in Aug. you could go. The reason is the fact that the later you can go in Aug., the less mosquitoes you will have bothering you. I would think this would be an important consideration for the new mom and her little one. As you get later in Aug. night time temps. will start getting a little cooler but water temps usually cool down at a slower rate. Just wanted to throw out a couple of other things to think about. Have fun. +1 .....I think the fishing will be the same and the amount of people you will see will probably be the same. |
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Michwall2 |
The 12-13 of Aug. will be just before the kids go back to school. That is one of the busiest times everywhere. I have been there during that time. You can find quieter spots. (See some of the earlier posts for suggestions on how to do this.) I think there would be substantially fewer people in July. The east side is not necessarily like being in Ely where there is little difference between July and Aug. Brule is kind of out in the middle of the wilderness. (Only Sawbill Outfitters is nearby.) From what I have seen watching reservations in this area over the years, there will be people, but the reservations are not totally maxed out like they are in August. If fewer people is a factor and bugs are not, then I would trip in July. Brule has 2 types of permits so be careful which you reserve. There is a "Brule only" permit (42) and a "Brule & beyond"(41) permit. I can't speak to the water temp and fishing issues you raise. |
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A1t2o |
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Michwall2 |
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1bogfrog |
Wishing you a great trip whenever you go, and good luck on that conversation with your wife! |
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Grandma L |
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