If you could only give ONE fishing tip to someone going to fish the Boundary Waters or Quetico, what would it be?

I think my ONE tip would be to concentrate on moving water to find fish. Fish any moving water no matter how small or large, slow or fast. The top of falls, river or creek leaving a lake. The moving water between the two lakes if it is deep enough to hold fish. The water flowing into a lake. In the spring look for warmer water flowing out of a shallow, smaller lake
into a deeper, colder, large lake. Fish tend to stack up in these areas.

Get out of bed and go, can't catch them from the hammock/tent
(unless you set up your hammock in the right spot!)

I like QM's answer..
So I have to have one of my own, I quess it would be go light and stay near the bottom.

Mine would be to keep trying new things. I'll fish a lake one year and catch hundreds of fish using a certain lure in certain spots. The next year, success requires a different lure in different spots. So, if you're not catching fish, keep changing your lure, depth, location, retrieval speed, etc. until you do.

If you want to catch fish during the summer, especially walleyes, fish well into the evening and even past sunset. I am always surprised at how early people pull up their canoes and turn them over.

Find the right structure at the right depth. A rock pile, submerged reef, sunken point, or a bottleneck in the lake. Target your species and find the structure for them, as long as the depth is good for it, you should catch fish.

All excellent advice! I would add that other than springtime, many people fish right over the top of many of the fish. Slow down and get deep. You have to take some risk of getting snagged, the fish are often down in the snags. You have to develop a feel for the bottom.

QueticoMike: "I think my ONE tip would be to concentrate on moving water to find fish. Fish any moving water no matter how small or large, slow or fast. The top of falls, river or creek leaving a lake. The moving water between the two lakes if it is deep enough to hold fish. The water flowing into a lake.

In the spring look for warmer water flowing out of a shallow, smaller lake into a deeper, colder, large lake. Fish tend to stack up in these areas."

Excellent advice! I would add eliminate water and look for similar areas where success is found.

Goes right along with some of the points made above, but learn to be a good jig angler.

By that, I mean to learn how to fish a jig, learn how to de-snag a jig (and it will happen often), and when a jig gets broken off or bit off, learn how to quickly re-tie and get back at it. Walleyes love structure and a jig will get you there and put fish in the boat.

This is one that took me far too long to learn...if you fish a spot for 15 minutes and you’re not getting any action, then move. The fish either aren’t there or aren’t active, so move to somewhere else. I’ve been guilty on numerous occasions of sitting on a spot that has been productive for me in the past and giving it way too much time to produce. Leave and try other areas and maybe come back later. I don’t fool around at one spot for more then 10-15 minutes anymore if I’m getting no taps.

Tony

Fish need cover, oxygen, and food. Pay attention.

Dumb-Sh**, Speedy-A** Canoe...a corny little phrase that reminds me to check my retrieve variables in order of importance:
Depth, Speed, Size, Action, and Color.

My mom taught me -- spit on the worm.

Advice from the great guide Joe Banis "BTIW". Bait Time In Water

Don't do the same thing over and over if it isn't catching fish.

If you're throwing topwaters up in the shallows, and you aren't catching fish, don't keep doing it for five hours.

And if you're trolling #7 Shad Raps a cast or two away from the shore, and you haven't caught a fish in five hours, change lures or try something else.

And if you're sitting off a point, dangling a leech near bottom, and if you haven't had a bite in five hours, try a different point.

Etc. etc. etc.

Have a game plan when you fish, and stick to it. Figure what species you want. Then figure out where they are most likely to be. Then figure out what type of food they will be feeding on the time of year your fishing.

Keep your bait, lure whatever near the bottom.

007, Carmike, and I are on Team Mix-it-Up!

Fish the points or shoreline the wind is or has been blowing into (particularly for walleye).

Bannock: "My mom taught me -- spit on the worm."

Hey Uncle Ken, did your Mom really spit on worms? :-) haha
Did you ever try peanut butter and miracle whip burritos? ( that's an old question...LOL )

trailcheif: "Have a game plan when you fish, and stick to it. Figure what species you want. Then figure out where they are most likely to be. Then figure out what type of food they will be feeding on the time of year your fishing. "

Pretty much what I learned on the In Fisherman many years ago....... F+L+P = Success

Learn How To Catch More And Bigger Fish! F (Fish) + L (Location) + P (Presentation) = Success

12-18 inch 20 lb fluorocarbon attached to my 8lb Trilene xl via a small swivel while fishing walleye saves my lure usually when the Nort hits.

BearRaid: "Fish the points or shoreline the wind is or has been blowing into (particularly for walleye)."

Great tip! It also applies to muskies, bass, and lake trout. The more the wind is howling, the better the fishing.

missmolly: "

BearRaid: "Fish the points or shoreline the wind is or has been blowing into (particularly for walleye)."

Great tip! It also applies to muskies, bass, and lake trout. The more the wind is howling, the better the fishing. "

The only problem is that it doesn't exactly seem safe when trying to fish from a canoe while the wind is howling. It is also difficult to get out and fish from shore because of how hard it is to cast into the wind. Sometimes you can throw a heavy spoon from shore into the wind, but a normal lure does not travel far. I get a little spooked being anchored up in a canoe with white caps blowing in on me. The fish will be there, just don't know if it is worth it depending on the situation and how hard the wind is blowing. Better to be safe than sorry.

A tube or jig under a slip float about 3 feet deep in the chop can be a good way to fish if you don't have other options.

As a solo base camp fisherman, I always put a lot of thought into my camp location. Things I consider are having a location that won't get pounded by those big wind days usually out of the west or northwest. Shore fishing potential when it really blows.

I like big lakes that fish small. Trophy potential on these lakes is best. By fishing small, I mean plenty of islands and reefs within two miles of my camp for fishing potential and wind protection.

Current areas, as stated by Mike, especially early season trips with small bodies of shallow water flowing into my big lake. I don't need a 5-star camp as I'm usually out fishing. Location, location, location.

Go fishing with someone who has already fished the BWCA/Quetico.

Pretty much what I learned on the In Fisherman many years ago....... F+L+P = Success


Learn How To Catch More And Bigger Fish! F (Fish) + L (Location) + P (Presentation) = Success "

No way Mike, completely an original idea I came up with! ; )

Some mentioned the wind factor. My tip is... one of my all time favorite lures and so easy to work and versatile - the jig spinner with a twister tail ,

When the wind picks up, like it often does in the BW (go figure), I bring in 3/4 oz long shank jigs and add the jig spinner. Then I'll go from a 3" tail to a 5" tail (white or yellow usually) and it will cut the wind like a bullet and give you some serious hang time to cover more water. ;) Great casting from camp, too. If you get hung up, tie on another one. ;)

QueticoMike: "

Bannock: "My mom taught me -- spit on the worm."

Hey Uncle Ken, did your Mom really spit on worms? :-) haha
Did you ever try peanut butter and miracle whip burritos? (that's an old question... LOL) "

My mom did spit on the worm, but she did say that it worked best if you chewed tabacco.

Also, peanut butter and miracle whip tastes better if you chew tabacco.

With only two BWCA trips under my belt, I certainly don't have the experience that many of you do when it comes to BWCA fishing, but I have been fishing my whole life so I might be able to offer ONE tip.

I've talked to several friends who were planning trips and the one thing I told them was to remember you're in Minnesota, NOT central Ohio. Its pretty easy to find a good spot on my local lakes and streams. There is not much structure so if there is a tree down in the water or a rock pile, that's where you'll catch fish. The lakes I've been on in the BWCA have so many spots that looked great by central Ohio standards, but were nothing special by BWCA standards.

We spent way too much time on a spot not catching fish because it looked like it should hold fish, then we studied the map and shoreline more and it dawned on us that there were so many spots on the lake that had great structure that we didnt have to focus so much on just this one spot. Once we moved a few times we finally found THE spot on Insula and caught so many walleye we stopped keeping track.

So, if you're from a different part of the country, remember what looks like a good spot back home might not be the best spot on a BWCA lake.

QM, I definitely agree about not anchoring in whitecaps. I was thinking of a good walleye chop. We have also done really well beaching the canoe and using slip bobbers and a leech when the right chop is coming in to a point or rocky shoreline.

Patience

fredbear: "Get out of bed and go, can't catch them from the hammock/tent
(unless you set up your hammock in the right spot!)"

Put your hammock in the right spot and bells on your rod!

I’m no expert, but after hours of combing BWCA.com I keep reading about fishing shorelines that have wind blowing into them. 'Cuz, that’s where the plankton and little bugs go and the food chain follows.

Last year we entered the day the ice melted off Seagull, and the fish were all chasing the wind. Lakers and walleyes were not to be found on the leeward shore, and easily caught on the windward shore in several examples. Even beneath Alpine/Jasper falls and Ottertrack/Knife falls on the leeward shore we did not find fish (except one. I acknowledge that the water coming down the falls was dumping out of the windward side of the lake).

In any case, I am raising this again in support of the idea that water temps (and possibly oxygenation) are also related to where the wind is blowing, which is likely important when the water is deathly cold. Bringing a thermometer this time. We shall see. More of a hypothesis than a tip, I guess.

Bannock: "

QueticoMike: "

Bannock: "My mom taught me -- spit on the worm."

Hey Uncle Ken, did your Mom really spit on worms? :-) haha
Did you ever try peanut butter and miracle whip burritos? (that's an old question... LOL) "

My mom did spit on the worm, but she did say that it worked best if you chewed tabacco.

Also, peanut butter and miracle whip tastes better if you chew tabacco.
"

Too Funny!
My Grandma chewed Tobacco and spit on her bait when she was fishing. Said it worked for her and I have never met a better fisherman. She hated the taste though so I guess it really was for the fishing advantage.

SG..

If you want to catch smallmouth bass, look for rocky points and fish there.

My number one advice be quiet especially if you want big fish in clear water , you really need to be mindful of banging around in the canoe and other sounds you are projecting it really makes a difference.

Find a small shallow bay that opens to a larger bay with deeper water. The bait fish will gather in the shallows and the walleye will go in and out to feed there.

Sorry Mike, tip #3. Fish on the shady side of the lake or island. That means, in the morning, fish the east side of a lake or island and in the afternoon or evening fish the west sides. I use my Lorance fish finder with downscan imaging to verify this theory.

Example... in the morning I will be fishing an underwater island hump. On the east side, there is zero fish showing up on the graph. I move over to the west side and they are stacked up like cordwood. When I’m running the boat, I say, in the zone, marking fish, fish on. You don’t need fancy fish finders like I described. Basically you need to learn where fish like to feed and live.

Its called fishing not catching for a reason. Sometimes there just not biting!

Savage Voyageur: "Find a small shallow bay that opens to a larger bay with deeper water. The bait fish will gather in the shallows and the walleye will go in and out to feed there. "

Bottleneck bays are a fish magnet in the spring!

Savage Voyageur: "Sorry Mike, tip #3. Fish on the shady side of the lake or island. That means, in the morning, fish the east side of a lake or island and in the afternoon or evening fish the west sides. I use my Lorance fish finder with downscan imaging to verify this theory.

Example... in the morning I will be fishing an underwater island hump. On the east side, there is zero fish showing up on the graph. I move over to the west side and they are stacked up like cordwood. When I’m running the boat, I say, in the zone, marking fish, fish on. You don’t need fancy fish finders like I described. Basically you need to learn where fish like to feed and live. "

I had no idea, so thanks for this tip-top tip.

missmolly: "

Savage Voyageur: "Sorry Mike, tip #3. Fish on the shady side of the lake or island. That means, in the morning, fish the east side of a lake or island and in the afternoon or evening fish the west sides. I use my Lorance fish finder with downscan imaging to verify this theory.

Example... in the morning I will be fishing an underwater island hump. On the east side, there is zero fish showing up on the graph. I move over to the west side and they are stacked up like cordwood. When I’m running the boat, I say, in the zone, marking fish, fish on. You don’t need fancy fish finders like I described. Basically you need to learn where fish like to feed and live. "

I had no idea, so thanks for this tip-top tip. "

Excellent point/tip SV. Most people don't think of that especially being in the BW/Q, because the fishing can be so good. I was with my friend who caught a #7 LM on the east side as the west side was getting light up from the morning sunrise, a hill-a rise-tall banks can add time to this equation ;)

Do ducktail on to that, downed trees in the water , think of the sun/shadows , which side you going to cast too ;)

One more tip. If you find a fast steep rocky drop off next to the shore you will find Smallmouth Bass there. Sometimes you can park the bow of the canoe on shore and the stern in 18 feet of water. Seems like every lake up there has these drop offs next to shore. I have found that you will catch more fish if you throw a lure horizontally to the shore or sunken island and retrieve back to the canoe at the same depth the fish are. That way you can present the lure to many fish at the same time.

I first thought that I needed to sneak up and cast to the shallows from deep water.If you park out in deeper water and cast at the shore you only present the lure to a few fish before it’s out of the target zone. Fish will not chase a lure to deeper water. They are safely in a depth they like. It’s scary out in the deep end of the pool. Haha.

I have seen 5-6 bass chasing the lure back to the canoe sometimes, when I cast horizontal to the shore. They get each other into a feeding frenzy. I think they think what are those other fish chasing, must be tasty, I better chase it too. Key is to keep the lure in the fish target zone as long as possible.

The north side of Clearwater lake is a great example of what I’m talking about. I had two 100+ fish days there.

Attention to detail.

1. Bait in the water
Seriously I fish with a lot of people that complain they never catch fish, but the problem is that they aren't fishing 75% of the time. Very few times have I caught fish when I wasn't fishing for them.

2. Don't beat a dead horse
In other words, if it ain't working, do something different, and if something is working for someone else, swallow your pride and don't be afraid to copy them. You may even have to beg to use their baits if you don't have the one that is catching fish.

My one tip would be, if you find a drop off you’ll find fish. I’ve noticed this to be true for many places. We had 75+ fish days fishing drop offs where depth went from 3-5ft and dropped to 8ft or deeper.

Be as quiet as possible