BWCA Laker fishing early June Boundary Waters Fishing Forum
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drrick
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02/14/2018 07:54AM   (Thread Older Than 3 Years)
Any suggestions on where one might find some Lake Trout the first week of June in The Boundary Waters. I have never caught one and would sure like to put one in the boat. Any help would be appreciated, thanks Rick
 
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02/14/2018 09:23AM  
Thomas lake would be my choice on the U.S. side, Poohbah in Quetico.
 
deancal20
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02/14/2018 10:29AM  
I am going the first week in June as well but putting in at Stanton bay. Any suggestions for Lake trout for that time of year (presentations and locations). Also I have a really dumb question: I bought some McKenzie maps for the area and I noticed a small + marking but nothing in the legend. Anyone know what that means. Thanks
 
02/14/2018 10:40AM  
Lots of good lakes for LT up the gunflint side.
 
mr.barley
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02/14/2018 11:47AM  
AmarilloJim: "Lots of good lakes for LT up the gunflint side."
Yessir
 
old_salt
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02/14/2018 04:41PM  
+ = reef = fish. Pickeral Lake has great laker fishing just after leaving Stanton bay.
 
retired55
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02/14/2018 10:07PM  
Hey deancal 20 , are you staying on Pickeral. If you want drop me a line I have a map for you that will help a lot. My favorite spot for lakers.
 
eOar
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02/15/2018 12:27PM  
drrick: "Any suggestions on where one might find some Lake Trout the first week of June in The Boundary Waters. I have never caught one and would sure like to put one in the boat. Any help would be appreciated, thanks Rick"


We went in at EP16 to Oyster Lake on June 11, 2015. We landed about a dozen trout and lost several (barbless trebles), including a huge fish that broke off. We trolled #9 and #11 Rapala Deep Tail Dancers (one guy paddling slowly - 1.5mph or so). We used 10# Sufix braid with a 10# mono leader. I had our rods set up with a bobber stop at 140', and used that as our indicator for how much line to let out. The majority of the fish we marked were 25-35' down. Size 9 Clown and Purpledescent were both good, but I lost the big fish on a size 11 Silver Flash.

 
dbpmw3
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02/15/2018 06:22PM  
retired55: " Hey deancal 20 , are you staying on Pickeral. If you want drop me a line I have a map for you that will help a lot. My favorite spot for lakers."



Hey retired55, we are going out of Stanton Bay on June 3rd. Would love to get some help. Not sure if we are going to hang around the narrows or shoot down near Rawn or the B-chain. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
 
retired55
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02/16/2018 08:39PM  
dbpmw3, Give me a call anytime, I will be around all weekend. My # 218 349 5279.
 
deancal20
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02/18/2018 01:26PM  
Thank you for the great detail information. I don't know what a tail dancer is but I am going to find out!
 
mr.barley
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02/18/2018 07:38PM  
deancal20: "Thank you for the great detail information. I don't know what a tail dancer is but I am going to find out!
"
It's a type of Rapala
 
twistertail
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02/20/2018 11:17AM  
Its been 15 years since I've been but we entered Moose lake and base camped on Knife the 1st week of June. We caught a few lakers in Knife trolling deep diving cranks. We also took a day trip to Kekekabic and caught all the lake trout we could have possibly wanted, I hate to even put a number on it but there were 4 of us in 2 canoes fishing for about 4 hours and there was rarely a time that someone did not have a fish on. In Kekekabic they were still shallow, I'd guess 10 feet or less. We just fished the shoreline and in between some islands and caught them on crankbaits, spoons, twistertails really did'nt seem to matter what we threw at them. In Knife we did not catch any in shallow water.
 
eOar
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02/20/2018 01:16PM  
deancal20: "Thank you for the great detail information. I don't know what a tail dancer is but I am going to find out!
"


Rapala Deep Tail Dancers in size 9 and 11

 
Mnpat
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02/22/2018 08:50AM  
I would bring a #9 tail dancer and a #9 deep tail dancer. Start off with the regular td9. Don’t fish below the fish. They will come up a long ways to eat.
 
deancal20
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02/22/2018 10:53AM  
Thanks!
 
eOar
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02/22/2018 10:57AM  
Mnpat: "I would bring a #9 tail dancer and a #9 deep tail dancer. Start off with the regular td9. Don’t fish below the fish. They will come up a long ways to eat. "


Very true! We saw fish splash on the surface at the same time we were marking them 25-30 ft down. Trout are very active!
 
mapsguy1955
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02/22/2018 12:06PM  
deancal20: "I am going the first week in June as well but putting in at Stanton bay. Any suggestions for Lake trout for that time of year (presentations and locations). Also I have a really dumb question: I bought some McKenzie maps for the area and I noticed a small + marking but nothing in the legend. Anyone know what that means. Thanks"


Where do you plan on going, out of Stanton?
 
deancal20
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02/22/2018 12:09PM  
In the past we have worked our way to Rawn lake but not sure this year.
 
mapsguy1955
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02/26/2018 10:41AM  
dbpmw3: "
retired55: " Hey deancal 20 , are you staying on Pickeral. If you want drop me a line I have a map for you that will help a lot. My favorite spot for lakers."




Hey retired55, we are going out of Stanton Bay on June 3rd. Would love to get some help. Not sure if we are going to hang around the narrows or shoot down near Rawn or the B-chain. Any suggestions would be appreciated."


I'm going down that way 2 weeks before (out of Stanton Bay on the 18th) and will post results when I get back a week before you go in!
 
deancal20
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04/16/2018 11:58AM  
Have you heard how thick the ice is? I am guessing a pretty late thaw but I have not been able to find any reports.
 
Tyler W
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04/16/2018 02:07PM  
If surface water temps are still 55F you will find them shallow. They tend to spread out in the lake once water temps get above 55F. Some will related to structure, some will be chasing bait in open water. A depth finder and a variety of diving crankbaits is a safe bet.

If you can camp next to deep water dead bait will still produce into June.
 
04/16/2018 04:03PM  
drrick: "Any suggestions on where one might find some Lake Trout the first week of"


I would suggest looking under the ice.


(Sorry, could not resist...)

Good luck and good fishing!
 
Adam32
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04/18/2018 09:31PM  
Heard by Ely they still had 33" of hard ice, that was a few days ago
 
deancal20
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04/20/2018 09:40AM  
Good one! I am hoping the ice is going out by the end of May. In Iowa this is the latest spring I can remember.
 
deancal20
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04/20/2018 09:42AM  
My reply went at the end instead of the comment about fishing under the ice. Regarding the ice thickness, I just talked to someone in the area around Quetico and they said the ice is getting slushy on top and temps in the mid 50s. It's coming! Anyone have any experience to prime time fishing after ice goes out. I have never been there this early and really don't know what to expect.
 
deancal20
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05/23/2018 12:32PM  
How was the fishing? Hope you caught a lot of lakers.
 
Tyler W
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05/25/2018 08:22AM  
It was Ok. The lake trout were very scattered. We caught them in water from 10 to 80 feet deep. Some suspended and some against shallow reefs.

If you are going in June bring a depth finder and snap weights. With a snap weight system I use 1oz of lead per 10 feet of depth per 1 mile per hour.
troll 10 feet deep x 2mph = 2oz
troll 20 feet deep x 1 mph = 2oz
troll 20 feet deep x 2mph = 4oz

2 mph and 20 feet deep is a very likely scenario, and fish suspended at 30 or 40 feet down is also possible. Pro tip: do not tell your canoe mates about the 2 pounds of sinkers in your bag until after you catch fish with them.
 
deancal20
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05/25/2018 09:42AM  
Wow I am surprise that the lakers were that deep already. I know they have been getting a lot of high temps lately which probably explains why. Still I would have thought you would have beat the heat. Did you do any good on walleye and pike?
 
old_salt
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05/25/2018 10:13AM  
In early June, it’s hard to beat exaggerated jigging with big swimbaits or spoons. Big lakers like big baits.
 
deancal20
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05/25/2018 10:58AM  
Thanks. We are going in June 2nd so I will let you know how it goes. Appreciate the tip of snap weights.
 
Lotw
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05/25/2018 11:29AM  
Tyler W: "It was Ok. The lake trout were very scattered. We caught them in water from 10 to 80 feet deep. Some suspended and some against shallow reefs.


If you are going in June bring a depth finder and snap weights. With a snap weight system I use 1oz of lead per 10 feet of depth per 1 mile per hour.
troll 10 feet deep x 2mph = 2oz
troll 20 feet deep x 1 mph = 2oz
troll 20 feet deep x 2mph = 4oz


2 mph and 20 feet deep is a very likely scenario, and fish suspended at 30 or 40 feet down is also possible. Pro tip: do not tell your canoe mates about the 2 pounds of sinkers in your bag until after you catch fish with them.
"


LOl, I once portaged an anchor for a friend of a friend...... when we arrived at camp and he pulled it out of his pack I nearly choked him!
 
deancal20
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06/12/2018 10:21AM  
Well the tail dancers were the ticket. Good fishing on lakers, pike and smallies but short on walleyes. I didn't get the snap weights in time but really didn't need them. Trout would come up 30 - 40 feet to get to us. Cooked the trout with stove top stuffing, butter, and lemon juice then rapped in foil over the fire. Amazing! Thanks for all the tips. Would love to hear how everyone else is doing. We had a couple of days of heavy winds which made things interesting in a canoe. I will say that Camp Quetico with Barry Guiles are excellent people to work with.
 
06/18/2018 09:13AM  
All my LT (6/5/18-6/15/18) were caught 10-12 ft down over varying depths. Couldn't buy one deeper. All the bait was up top suspended.
 
06/18/2018 11:38AM  
AmarilloJim: "All my LT (6/5/18-6/15/18) were caught 10-12 ft down over varying depths. Couldn't buy one deeper. All the bait was up top suspended."


So on the larger lakes, they weren't that deep yet? Driving up tomorrow and in on Wed up the Gunflint.
 
deancal20
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06/18/2018 11:55AM  
We had LT that hit surface lures. The water temp was around 65 and they still were pretty shallow. Strange year.
 
06/18/2018 01:07PM  
A1t2o: "
AmarilloJim: "All my LT (6/5/18-6/15/18) were caught 10-12 ft down over varying depths. Couldn't buy one deeper. All the bait was up top suspended."



So on the larger lakes, they weren't that deep yet? Driving up tomorrow and in on Wed up the Gunflint."


Agnes in the Q 6/6 and 6/7. Saganagons 6/13. The Man chain 6/14 and 6/15. All the same. Surface temps in the PM where in the low to upper 60's. I didn't mark many deep but if you watched your graph closely you would see an occasional denser echo within the bait. I graphed miles of cisco 10 ft deep on many lakes.
 
06/18/2018 02:27PM  
I was using DDHJ 10's 70' back and switched to regular HJ 12's 100-120' back. Thought I might be spooking some with the canoe.
 
deancal20
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06/25/2018 12:03PM  
What kind of graph do you use for a canoe? I used a vexilar but it was a little cumbersome.
 
06/25/2018 01:10PM  
deancal20: "What kind of graph do you use for a canoe? I used a vexilar but it was a little cumbersome."

I use an X-4 but anything will work if you have enough battery
 
deancal20
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01/28/2022 10:41AM  
Hey Terry it has been a long time. I called you old number but it was now someone else. I would love to visit with you about a trip we are planning out of stanton bay. My email is deancal20@hotmail.com
 
deancal20
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04/05/2022 09:03AM  
Just wondering if retired 55 is still out there? Would love to visit with you about Pickeral lake sometime. deancal20@hotmail.com
 
SEPaddler
  
04/11/2022 04:11PM  
deancal20: "Just wondering if retired 55 is still out there? Would love to visit with you about Pickeral lake sometime. deancal20@hotmail.com"


Deancal20 - when are you headed back to Pickerel? My boys and I are headed out of Stanton Bay on Memorial Day for a week. Never caught a LT, but looking forward to spending some effort on that this trip.
 
deancal20
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04/12/2022 09:06AM  
My two grandsons and son-in-law are going June 12th out of Stanton bay. We may be going a little late for shallow lakers but we had to plan around their school. You are going at a good time! It looks like this year ice out maybe late so that is even better. A good place to try for lakers is on the northeast end of emerald island. On PP there is a campsite marked on the eastside of Emerald island. The camp is actually a little bit north in the cove but if you go northeast from the cove you will find a 15ft hump about 100 yards from the shore. That is a good spot to troll with a Dr. Spoon or purple tail dancer. It they are there you have a good chance to catch some. We stayed at that campsite four years ago and the landing is a little rocky but not bad. It is a good protected place if there are strong winds out of the west which happened while we camped. We didn't even know how strong the winds were until later. If you are able to troll with a loaded canoe, I would throw out a Johnson silver spoon while you are headed out into Pickeral. You never know where they might be as you cross the big lake. (FYI it is a good idea to get on to Pickeral early to avoid the winds). Would love to hear your report when you get back! Good luck!
 
SEPaddler
  
04/12/2022 06:08PM  
deancal20: "My two grandsons and son-in-law are going June 12th out of Stanton bay. We may be going a little late for shallow lakers but we had to plan around their school. You are going at a good time! It looks like this year ice out maybe late so that is even better. A good place to try for lakers is on the northeast end of emerald island. On PP there is a campsite marked on the eastside of Emerald island. The camp is actually a little bit north in the cove but if you go northeast from the cove you will find a 15ft hump about 100 yards from the shore. That is a good spot to troll with a Dr. Spoon or purple tail dancer. It they are there you have a good chance to catch some. We stayed at that campsite four years ago and the landing is a little rocky but not bad. It is a good protected place if there are strong winds out of the west which happened while we camped. We didn't even know how strong the winds were until later. If you are able to troll with a loaded canoe, I would throw out a Johnson silver spoon while you are headed out into Pickeral. You never know where they might be as you cross the big lake. (FYI it is a good idea to get on to Pickeral early to avoid the winds). Would love to hear your report when you get back! Good luck!"


Can't thank you enough for the information - very kind. I will make sure to post a report by the 10th to reciprocate.
Thanks again!
 
deancal20
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06/28/2022 09:45AM  
SE paddler - Just curious how you did on Lakers? We were wind bound for a couple of days and never made it to Emerald Island.
 
SEPaddler
  
06/29/2022 08:38AM  
Deano - very glad you followed up on this. On May the 16th, my two boys (along with three of their friends) wrecked my side by side. A few broken legs, ribs, arms, pelvis and a traumatic brain injury later, I cancelled our Quetico trip this year. However, we have been very, very blessed and appear to be on the path for a full recovery.
When I realized we were going to have to cancel, I tried to find this thread to let you know I would not be following up with a trip report. Old age is catching me as I could not remember the thread name, your name, or even the forum category in which I posted.
While I am incredibly thankful the boys are doing as well as they are, I really missed having a big trip this year. We are headed up to West Virginia this weekend and a bit of next week, and I will definitely be on the Greenbrier and possibly the New in search of some smallies!
Still very appreciative of your willingness to share that information! How was the water level while you were there? Hope you had a great trip other than being windbound!
Chuck
 
deancal20
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06/29/2022 10:17AM  
Chuck,
Wow! So sorry for the accident and certainly glad to here a full recovery is in sight. Sounds serious. No worries about getting back, you had your hands full for sure. The water level was fine for pickeral. There is a cove I like to fish and it needs higher water to make it good for walleye. We had crazy weather with sustained high winds day and night for two days. Usually a wind comes through with a front and things return back to normal. But this wind just didn't want to give up. Other than that it was as great trip. Never got the chance to troll for lakers, but maybe next year. I am 68 so you never know :) Hope your boys and their friends do ok and stay in touch. You never know maybe we will see each other on a trip sometime.
By the way the outfitter we used is excellent. Quality in every way. I don't think I am allowed to use their name here, but my email is deancal20@hotmail.com
Take care and hopefully next year will work out for all of you.
Dean
 
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