So what is going to be different this year on your trip or trips to the Quetico and BWCA?

Fishing new and different lakes?
Fishing during a new or different season?
Fishing new or different patterns?
Fishing a different species more than normal?
Fishing new lures?
Fishing new presentations?

Any specific fishing goals? Type? Numbers? Size? Grand Slam?

So what might you be doing new or different this year when you go into the wilderness as far as fishing is concerned?

Or maybe you are just going with your typical, go with the flow and do about the same as years past?

Planning on hitting Poohbah again, and then head down to Conmee. If the Maline is at a dangerous level, which it was the last time I tried to go to Poohbah, I will enter at Black Robe . I will fish McAree for a couple days, and then just play it by ear. If the fishing is as good as it was last year, that’s probably were I’ll stay the entire trip.

QueticoMike: "So what is going to be different this year on your trip or trips to the Quetico and BWCA?

Fishing new and different lakes?
Fishing during a new or different season?
Fishing new or different patterns?
Fishing a different species more than normal?
Fishing new lures?
Fishing new presentations?

Any specific fishing goals? Type? Numbers? Size? Grand Slam?

So what might you be doing new or different this year when you go into the wilderness as far as fishing is concerned?

Or maybe you are just going with your typical, go with the flow and do about the same as years past?


"

Would it not be great to predict the trip from this far out? last year we were on Thomas last full week in May air temp went from the 60's to mid 80's, water temps went from 50's at the beginning of the trip to the 70's a few days later. Lake trout went to the very bottom of the lake and even the smallmouth developed lockjaw. End of May and we had to swim everyday just to cool off. We are planning again on going in the week before Memorial Day do we need to bring deep trollers or tip ups time will tell.

QueticoMike: "So what is going to be different this year on your trip or trips to the Quetico and BWCA?

Fishing new and different lakes?
Fishing during a new or different season?
Fishing new or different patterns?
Fishing a different species more than normal?
Fishing new lures?
Fishing new presentations?

Any specific fishing goals? Type? Numbers? Size? Grand Slam?

So what might you be doing new or different this year when you go into the wilderness as far as fishing is concerned?

Or maybe you are just going with your typical, go with the flow and do about the same as years past?


"

Armed with a bunch of soft plastics commonly talked about by some dude who goes by the name of "Quetico Mike" I think I should be able to catch just about anything my little heart desires. :)

But seriously I bought a bunch of plastics, from ZToos to RaZor ShadZ to green pumpkin tubes to Senkos to Swing Impact Fats. I have a ton of different colors and presentations for these baits so I'm really hoping at least one of them works out for me in at the beginning of June. It will be my first time trying soft plastics besides the good ol white twister tail on a vertical jighead so I'm going to be mixing it up a lot.

It will also be my first time really attempting to hit a topwater bite, with only a few casts of a Skitter Pop last year and no hits. I also stocked up on a few deep cranks, some Husky Jerks, some Jointed Minnows, a big red squarebill, and a bunch of Red Eye Shads and a couple other lipless cranks. Lipless I'm used to, lipped I've only ever trolled, but I'll be trying all sorts of different presentations this year now that I have more knowledge about the lures and how to work them. It will also be the first time I ever try trolling a lipless, thanks to that article in the winter BWJ. Would love to nail a monster laker in LLC. If it's not obvious, I bought a ton of tackle and dangit I'm gonna use it!

This year's weeklong trip is all about fishing. Friends and I are probably gonna get a tow across LLC, stay on Iron for 3 nights (day fishing Sunday Bay), stay on LLC for 4 nights, and then catch the tow back. We did a bunch of travel last year and I loved it, but this year we're min-maxing the trip and focusing solely on fishing (with a little exploration of course). I want to hit Crooked though, and want to stay in Sunday Bay so we can do a day trip to Saturday Bay; I'm thinking maybe 2 nights in Sunday Bay, then 2 nights on Iron, then 3 nights on LLC. We'll see.

Going for all species but pike, knowing I will probably end up with a bunch of them anyway.

Looking to improve my fishing skills all around, including finding good locations by sight, knowing where fish will be at those locations, knowing when to move, knowing how to work the lures I have, knowing which lures to use in which conditions, knowing which conditions just aren't worth going out in, knowing what a bite feels like with all of my lures, successfully fishing fish of various species... you name it. I'm mediocre at best with probably all of this so I'm really looking forward to fishing in a place as good for fishing as the B-dub. If I'm lucky we'll all get RABCs and Ontario fishing licenses and go to Argo or something on a day trip (in addition to fishing the other side of Crooked/Iron/LLC).

If I catch a lunker I'll be sure to share some photos. :) Provided I land the thing.

Trying to get all of our group of 4 a grand slam this trip. Did it last year with only a day trip to laker lake. We'll be in laker territory most of the trip this time

Fishing WCPP for the 1st time early this June. Like you, I'm a smb-first sort of guy. Fishing an area essentially void of them has me a bit freaked out, honestly! I have targeted northerns, and am okay with my prospects of catching them just fine. However, I've never targeted walleye or lake trout, and that's where my anxiety ramps up a bit. Fingers crossed and hoping for the best - we'll see soon enough!

Something new to me is the way I’m going to attack the Smallmouth Bass this year. I’m going to try the Neko rig with a spinner blade attached.

To rig this you first need a specific Neko hook that is attached to the Senko worm with a silicone o-ring. Install the o-ring about 3/4 the way up from the weight. Then thread the hook so it faces outward, not inward. The hook is a specialized hook designed just for this technique. It has a 5 deg bend for better hook ups in the shank and welded eye. Attach a piece of 10# Fluorocarbon line as a leader to the hook.

Next is the head weight. I’m going to use a 1/8oz weight. As you can see it is a push in weight with a rounded head. You just heat the weight a bit with a lighter and push it into the Senko with a pliers. As it cools the rubber worm reforms back around the weight. I’ve done this before and it helps with retention.

Last is the screw in tiny willow blade spinner on a swivel. Just screw it into the end of the Senko worm.

For presentation of this bait you cast it out and reel it back keeping the line tight. You raise it off the bottom and let it fall back to the bottom. It wiggles in a different way each time. In the videos I’ve seen the bass slam this lure. It looks very fun to try.

I plan on going to one of my favorite fishing spots on Insula. I am not into traveling as much and really like exploring Insula and a few of the surrounding lakes. It's a big lake and much of it I've never seen so I'll see a lot without portaging. Walleyes will be my primary target but I plan on spending more time on SMB. Bought a bunch of top water lures and plastic to fish as I explore the lake. I plan on a solo trip and I've reached the age where I enjoy traveling and fishing familiar waters. Late June early July gives the not too cold not to hot weather but good fishing.

Will be touring the SW corner of the Q for the first time in late May/early June. Hopefully everything will be shallow like last year and I can troll a supertuned crank while traveling. Last year taking off 1 or 2 of the front trebles definitely made landing fish a lot easier and safer!

In a couple of weeks catch a 10 lb. walleye hard water fishing at Lake Winnipeg. This fall catch a peacock bass and a piranha in the Amazon basin. Plus maybe a few other species.
Not sure if I'll make it to the bdub this year. If I make I will either take a small trip with my 5 year old grand daughter, or make it to Crooked Lake & replace lake trout with crappie for a grand slam. I've been in the Western bdub.

ParkerMag: " Fishing WCPP for the 1st time early this June. Like you, I'm a smb-first sort of guy. Fishing an area essentially void of them has me a bit freaked out, honestly! I have targeted northerns, and am okay with my prospects of catching them just fine. However, I've never targeted walleye or lake trout, and that's where my anxiety ramps up a bit. Fingers crossed and hoping for the best - we'll see soon enough!"

I can send you my Grand Slam Lures article if you are interested? - queticomike@yahoo.com

QueticoMike: "So what is going to be different this year on your trip or trips to the Quetico and BWCA?

Fishing new and different lakes?
Fishing during a new or different season?
Fishing new or different patterns?
Fishing a different species more than normal?
Fishing new lures?
Fishing new presentations?

Any specific fishing goals? Type? Numbers? Size? Grand Slam?

So what might you be doing new or different this year when you go into the wilderness as far as fishing is concerned?

Or maybe you are just going with your typical, go with the flow and do about the same as years past?


"

It's time for me to up my game with Walleyes in the BWCA this year. Its not in the budget to get any electronics, so It'll be all mapping and some gps/lakemaster app on the phone to find a fishy spot. I picked up some slow death rigs to try out as well as the more classic trolling baits.

I also got a few fun topwater baits I'm excited to throw, including a JackAll Pompadour and Megabass iLoud. Looking forward to making a racket throwing those.

My folks bought a cabin on the Upper Eau Claire chain this last fall and I intend on bringing my family out for some fishing trips this year. It's GIN clear water so that will be a new challenge as well. I think that Zulu rig Mike uses will shine on this body of water. (which I'm finally geared up for and excited to use in the BWCA this June). Going to be a fun year. I love solving the puzzle on the water!

I’m also going to use nightcrawlers this year for Walleye. We will be fishing lakes about 100 miles north of the Quetico. We normally take Minnows, but last year we had a hard time finding them. So our backup plan is crawlers too.

I tied a bunch of two hook spinner harnesses. I used #10 Fluorocarbon line about 36” long. Two hooks #4-#6 then beads and a spinner blade. Doing this I learned two new knots, a loop knot that attached to my keel weight and a Snell knot for the hooks. I found that a tiny dab of Super Glue on the Snell knots keep them tight.

The weight I use for the spinner rigs is a 1/4 Oz keel weight. They are getting harder to find lately. I don’t think many people use them anymore. In my opinion this is too bad because they really work well. When they hit a rock they just glide over the rock instead of getting stuck like most weights. The snap is an easy way to change out a spinner. The beads act as a swivel so the spinner does not get tangled.

I’m also going to give the crawlers a blast of the worm blower. This should keep them just off the bottom where the Walleye are.

This year I am a little too excited - doing an 11 day Agnes-LLC-Iron-Crooked-LBF-Horse-Mudro trip with my brother and our two 14 y/o sons, with the girls all meeting us for a few days at the end to bring it up to 16 days total. Fishing will be a main focus. I consider myself a pretty decent fisherman, but have never fished for Lake Trout - and I'd love to get a Grand Slam.

Should we portage into Oyster from Agnes, or try our luck on LLC? Anywhere else for lakers? Any laker advice for a mid-June trip?

Also, I don't think I am going to bring live bait this year. I've had too much luck with artificials for walleye to justify carrying a big bag of slimers. Trimming down that tackle box this year for a long haul will be a challenge. And I played around with chatterbaits last summer in northern MN and had a blast - I used to fish spinnerbaits a TON for bass and I found chatterbaits to be super effective with all the same techniques and presentations.

ScottTimm, you might want to look at McAree while your in the area . Excellent Laker lake, with a good population of Walleye, Northerns, and Bass .

walllee: "ScottTimm, you might want to look at McAree while your in the area . Excellent Laker lake, with a good population of Walleye, Northerns, and Bass ."

If you didn't want to mess with the added expense or hassle of going into Canada I would hit Oyster for LT. You may catch 1 or 2 in LLC but odds would be better in Oyster.

Alaska silvers.

Very excited to get to a few new lakes this year with our trip to Knife, SAK and Eddy. I've never fished a body of water that had Lake Trout, so will now be able to take a crack at catching the elusive Grand Slam.

On my first trip, we are going to hit a familiar area (Kawnipi) in Quetico. Didn't make it there last year due to being cautious about a dislocated shoulder earlier in the year. Didn't want to stress it and have something happen deep into the woods. Hopefully it holds up this year, we typically push to the top of Agnes on the first day.
Going to try a couple of different lures most likely. I have some underspin jigs that I will use with the ZMAN ShadZ to see if this is productive. Might also use a paddletail swimbait on the underspin. I also bought a 120 Berkley Choppo in a frog pattern. It's basically Berkley's version of the whopper plopper. This is a big lure so it should attract some big fish. Whopper plopper does not have a frog pattern, so I bought the Choppo which is cheaper in price. Looks to be a winner, I will find out.

flynn: "

QueticoMike: "So what is going to be different this year on your trip or trips to the Quetico and BWCA?


Fishing new and different lakes?
Fishing during a new or different season?
Fishing new or different patterns?
Fishing a different species more than normal?
Fishing new lures?
Fishing new presentations?


Any specific fishing goals? Type? Numbers? Size? Grand Slam?


So what might you be doing new or different this year when you go into the wilderness as far as fishing is concerned?


Or maybe you are just going with your typical, go with the flow and do about the same as years past?



"

Armed with a bunch of soft plastics commonly talked about by some dude who goes by the name of "Quetico Mike" I think I should be able to catch just about anything my little heart desires. :)


But seriously I bought a bunch of plastics, from ZToos to RaZor ShadZ to green pumpkin tubes to Senkos to Swing Impact Fats. I have a ton of different colors and presentations for these baits so I'm really hoping at least one of them works out for me in at the beginning of June. It will be my first time trying soft plastics besides the good ol white twister tail on a vertical jighead so I'm going to be mixing it up a lot."

Good luck with the soft plastics this year, if fished properly, you should do well!

QueticoMike: "On my first trip, we are going to hit a familiar area (Kawnipi) in Quetico. Didn't make it there last year due to being cautious about a dislocated shoulder earlier in the year. Didn't want to stress it and have something happen deep into the woods. Hopefully it holds up this year, we typically push to the top of Agnes on the first day.
Going to try a couple of different lures most likely. I have some underspin jigs that I will use with the ZMAN ShadZ to see if this is productive. Might also use a paddletail swimbait on the underspin. I also bought a 120 Berkley Choppo in a frog pattern. It's basically Berkley's version of the whopper plopper. This is a big lure so it should attract some big fish. Whopper plopper does not have a frog pattern, so I bought the Choppo which is cheaper in price. Looks to be a winner, I will find out."

Walleyes seem to love the paddletail swimbait on the underspin jigs. I use the road runner brand jigs... pearl color or firetiger for the swimbait

Cc26: "

QueticoMike: "On my first trip, we are going to hit a familiar area (Kawnipi) in Quetico. Didn't make it there last year due to being cautious about a dislocated shoulder earlier in the year. Didn't want to stress it and have something happen deep into the woods. Hopefully it holds up this year, we typically push to the top of Agnes on the first day.
Going to try a couple of different lures most likely. I have some underspin jigs that I will use with the ZMAN ShadZ to see if this is productive. Might also use a paddletail swimbait on the underspin. I also bought a 120 Berkley Choppo in a frog pattern. It's basically Berkley's version of the whopper plopper. This is a big lure so it should attract some big fish. Whopper plopper does not have a frog pattern, so I bought the Choppo which is cheaper in price. Looks to be a winner, I will find out."

Walleyes seem to love the paddletail swimbait on the underspin jigs. I use the road runner brand jigs... pearl color or firetiger for the swimbait"

I have a walleye spot that it doesn't matter what you throw, they are going to hit it. It's about 25 yards from camp and if I find the right spot on the first cast I can catch 4 walleyes for lunch in less than 10 minutes. I wish I had video to show this happen, maybe I will do it this year. One time we just got to the spot and I hooked one before my jig hit the bottom of the lake, I bring it in and swing to my bow man and he pulls out the stringer. By the time he had that one strung, I had another one on. This happened over again two more times until I had 4 walleye on the stringer and before my bow man could even make a cast. He asked if he could at least make a cast before we head back to camp to fillet them. I think I ended up catching like 17 from that spot before we quit and went back to camp maybe 45 minutes later. I was dropping a Gulp Leech jig straight down below the canoe, bring it up about 8 inches off the bottom, jig it a couple of times and fish on. At the end I had nothing left of the jig, except maybe a half inch head of the plastic leech, about the size of my thumb nail, and they were still hitting it. This area is about 15 feet deep, mud bottom, emerging spring weeds, in late May. Knock on wood this spot continues to be the walleye hole. No big ones, but perfect 16 to 20 inch eaters. If worse comes to worse we will hit the points. We only fish for 4 walleye lunches during the trip, the rest of the time we target smallmouth mostly.