Hey Fellas , I’m going to be fly fishing Basswood in Quetico the first week of July. I’m looking for fly recommendations ? Should I bring sink tip lines ? I will be using 7 weight rods . Any tips would be appreciated ! Thanks

I've had the best luck with a white #8 popping bug . Throw out and let it sit …. then a small strip …. let it sit etc. etc. 99% of my strikes were when the popper is sitting still. Caught a smallie one year two ounces shy of 5 lbs on a white popping bug.

I don't think I have ever fished a sinking line in the BWCA.

If you can tie up some articulated leeches out of black and dark gray marabou they usually fish well in some grass or weeds. You can always add weight to line but its not fun to cast.

There was a really good article in the Winter Edition of The Boundary Waters Journal on Fly Fishing the Canoe Country Grand Slam. There is a lot of good information in the article, including what flies to use for each species. There is also a Fly Fishing Forum on this web site that has a lot of good info.

Use these: “Bad Ass Frog Dahlberg Diver #2” from Great Lakes Fly Shop in Duluth.
Greatlakesflyfish.com


Very pricey for a fly, but they work GREAT!!!! Top water smallmouth action that’s just awesome!

This is my fly box from last year. I would use deer hair divers on a floating line and Clousers or another baitfish imitation like a whistler on a clear intermediate line. If they are on the shoreline life is good with the fly rod. If not it is tougher but keep working the Clousers and you should get some. Definitely try the divers on the shoreline early and late in the day. Sometimes the last hour of the day will get you a few top water blowups that will make a good end to the day. I made a couple of fly fishing videos that show what the top water action is like. I have posted them before but here is the link. It is a lot of fun when it works.

Canoe Fish Quetico

Wilderness Smallmouth

I'm not a smallmouth fan, but really cool videos.

Johnh: "This is my fly box from last year. I would use deer hair divers on a floating line and Clousers or another baitfish imitation like a whistler on a clear intermediate line. If they are on the shoreline life is good with the fly rod. If not it is tougher but keep working the Clousers and you should get some. Definitely try the divers on the shoreline early and late in the day. Sometimes the last hour of the day will get you a few top water blowups that will make a good end to the day. I made a couple of fly fishing videos that show what the top water action is like. I have posted them before but here is the link. It is a lot of fun when it works.


Canoe Fish Quetico


Wilderness Smallmouth



"

John, you are a heckuva photographer. You could do it professionally. When I wrote for fishing mags, an editor told me to submit anything but "lip and grip" photos. That editor would love your underwater shots and your pike in the water/parallel rod shots.

I have fly fished for SM in Basswood for past 10 years or so. Sink tip usually just gets me hung up too much. I like crawdad type flies with some weight to them. My favorite is the near enough crawdad (Dave Whitlock). Any type of popping bug is fun for those no wind days. I have my best luck fly fishing just pulling up to any island and fishing from the bank. Basswood is awesome and should do well. Good luck

ArkansasMike: "I have fly fished for SM in Basswood for past 10 years or so. Sink tip usually just gets me hung up too much. I like crawdad type flies with some weight to them. My favorite is the near enough crawdad (Dave Whitlock). Any type of popping bug is fun for those no wind days. I have my best luck fly fishing just pulling up to any island and fishing from the bank. Basswood is awesome and should do well. Good luck "

A few years back, I fished with an outdoor writer and fly fisher. We camped on an island on a lake that I knew very well. It had a submerged rock about eight yards off its point that bass liked. You could catch four bass off that rock every hour, so in mid-day, he'd walk out to the point, catch four bass, wait an hour for the rock to reload, and then catch another four. The rock's consistency made us laugh.

I have always used floating line. Mostly poppers, but some Clousers. Usually fishing the shallows with a fly rod, so I don’t want to be deep and snagged. I took the advise from someone else and ”overlined” (9-wt line on 8-wt rod). Helps load the rod better, but that might be more attributed to my mediocre casting or mediocre rod. Definitely helps when casting from seated in a canoe, which severely penalizes a drooping back cast.

Plan for pike. Either extra flies, bite tippet, or steel/titanium leaders. I have a few steel leaders designed for fly casting, which I will use subsurface. Messes up the poppers though. I’ve thought about pre-tying flies with bite wire, but I’ve never actually gotten around to it.

MM -

I have taken plenty of grip and grin in my day but I kind of got done with that. I also found the only people that wanted to see me gripping and grinning was my family so I take one occasionally and send it to them. Fishing buddies like them so I do take them of others but the beauty of the fish is really what I am after. I emailed BWJ once about using photos but they never responded. I think I probably needed to follow their submittal requirements.

Johnh: "MM -


I have taken plenty of grip and grin in my day but I kind of got done with that. I also found the only people that wanted to see me gripping and grinning was my family so I take one occasionally and send it to them. Fishing buddies like them so I do take them of others but the beauty of the fish is really what I am after. I emailed BWJ once about using photos but they never responded. I think I probably needed to follow their submittal requirements."

I urge you to try the BWJ again...and other magazines. Your photos are good enough to be paid.

This made me smile: "...the beauty of the fish is really what I am after."

If you’re fishing Smallies you can find action on top most times of the open water season, but if they’re staying down just bring a second reel with sinking line. I personally prefer topwater action with a 9 foot 8 weight rod that I use for smallies and pike.