Though I have my fishing license, I wasn't planning on taking any gear to my trip the first week of September. I used to fish way back but it's been a while. I have good pole and reels, etc. though they have not been used in a while.

My general packing comes first, but I should have time to get my reels out and maintain them. I'd pick one to take with me and a two-piece rod.

My current plan is to show up at the outfitters and say "Throw on this counter a minimal and reasonable setup" and then I'll pay for it. I'll expect a spool of line, leaders, lures for where I'm going, and a small container for it. I'll take a few small tackle boxes but if one won't work I'll take what they give me.

I'll bank fish, most likely. MAYBE some from the canoe but mostly bank fish. I'll take my needle nose pliers, clippers, etc.

Does asking the outfitter to set me up sound reasonable? I know they provide this service because I asked them about it a few months ago.

Yeah why not? That sounds like a decent plan. Know what fish you are going after though. I'd personally rather grab just a few things on my own and make it work but that would probably be fun for someone to do for you. Something different at least in their work day and they most likely have a good idea of what to use.

I'd normally recommend leaches under a bobber for bank fishing. If you just want artificials, and you don't fish much, I'd say take some Husky Jerk 10's. You will lose more tackle fishing from shore.

If you're planning to mostly fish from the campsite then go to the store and buy yourself a 2-3 slip bobbers, a small pack of slip bobber knots/beads, a small pack of split shot weights, and a pack of #6 hooks. If your reel doesn't have new line on it then buy a spool of 6 or 8 lb mono. Then when you get up north pick up some live leeches. The outfitter may have them but best to check before hand.

That should be all you need to fish from shore effectively. Lures can be fun but often times aren't the most effective from shore and have a bigger learning curve about when, where, and how to use them. You can also buy everything I listed above for the same price as 2 decent lures and you'll have plenty of extras in case you get bitten off or lose a hook to a snag.

I would stick to slip bobber fishing, maybe some top water lures or shallow water lures. The problem is you are casting the lure out in deeper water and it sinks and then gets stuck when you get to the shallow water where you will be. Slip bobbers are adjustable to keep the bait right off the bottom where the Walleye are. You will need a slip bobber, bobber stop, split shot weight, hook and a leech or night crawler.

If I'm going minimal, I'm not hauling bait around. I would get some Senkos. Then a few things that cast well, like a countdown Rapala or two, and maybe a few spoons.

I would go the leech route. If you don't want to haul leeches around, I would buy the following:
1/8 & 1/4 oz. jigs heads and some 3" curly tail grubs
(2) Spoons
1 Suspending Rapala, 1 floating Rapala

That is all you need if you want to go light.

I will add one thing to my previous post. Minimal gear can be accomplished with live or artificial bait. Which one is best for you will partly depend on your knowledge and ability in how to fish with the gear you decide to bring. I suggest live bait and slip bobbers because they are easy and highly effective. During the slower periods slip bobbers can often be the best approach even if you have a tackle box full of the best lures.

If you know how to effectively fish artificial baits and are adept at jigging then I'd change my suggestion to be 1/4oz jig heads (white and chartreuse) and some Mr Twister (white, black, yellow) and some sort of plastic swim bait (Mr Twister Sassy Shad for example). You can catch anything that swims on these and they can be fished effectively from shore or canoe while keeping the bait in the strike zone. The hard part is you'll get a lot of snags and lose a lot of jigs, the more inexperienced you are the more you'll likely lose. Fishing these takes some finesse and takes practice. Vertical jigging from a canoe is a lot easier and less finesse is needed but you'll need to be right on top of the fish for it to work.

Take your experience level into account and make your selection based on that. Having a small selection of baits is nice but if you don't know how to fish them and they don't end up working for you then they become dead weight and aren't worth bringing. Bring what you know will work for you even if its a little heavier or bulkier, it will be worth carrying if it catches you fish.

If you are worried about weight of live bait, you can get a lot of night crawlers in a small container. As far Leeches, you can put a half of a pound of them in an old plastic bottle. I would definitely take live bait if you want a guarantee of catching fish. I have never been skunked when fishing live bait.

What fish are you after?

The route is in Quetico so no live bait or barbed hooks. I would use single hook spinner baits and shallow and medium diving crankbaits. A real good lure for shore fishing is a 4 inch countdown rapala. This is a neutral buoyant lure that sinks slowly so you rip it 3 feet then pause and repeat. I’ve caught nice smallmouth and even a 34 inch Muskie with this lure (not in Quetico).

Basspro69: "What fish are you after?"

I'll catch anything. I'm sure I will have to target certain fish. If I have to do that it's whatever I can catch while paddling (trolling), and walleye.

Thanks for the input, everybody.

Make sure they give you a steel leader. You can lose half a dozen lures in a day if pike are numerous.

missmolly: "Make sure they give you a steel leader. You can lose half a dozen lures in a day if pike are numerous."

Will do. Thanks.

WM -
I'm a little embarrassed to be posting here because I am not a fisher, but I love to fish. I had been thinking about hanging it up. I did a solo and didn't enjoy it very much. It made me feel super-lonesome for my sons who have recently flown the nest. Then I did a trip with a friend and didn't bring tackle and was super-lonesome for my tackle. Then I did another solo, brought tackle, fished constantly, and loved it. So, I'd advise doing what exactly what you're doing - bring at least a little stuff. I do crawlers and fish TGO style (may he rest in peace!!) if I need to count on a meal (which I don't do anymore because I do all the work of cleaning, guts, cooking and clean-up, lol!). I have a medium weight rod but I've just been bringing the ultralight, 6 lb mono and smaller lures, avoiding bigger pike if possible. I don't use leaders, but agree with the others about their use and reasoning behind it! Here's my little set-up for the time being. In June, I used some spoons for LT in Cherokee (caught none). I am putting some money aside this fall and winter to find and pay a guide who will spend a BWCA day-trip with me next May or June so I can become a real fisher. They will need to be patient. But at least I'm not a loud-talker!
I'm really excited for your trip. I hope you have a wonderful time - you know what? You will. There are no bad days in BWCA - Q, only bad situations. Avoid the bad situations and you will be golden!
~JP

And a curved hemostat and small needle-nose. Also a pair of nail trimmers and a knife in my life vest. And jolly ranchers.

jillpine: "WM -
I'm a little embarrassed to be posting here because I am not a fisher, but I love to fish. I had been thinking about hanging it up. I did a solo and didn't enjoy it very much. It made me feel super-lonesome for my sons who have recently flown the nest. Then I did a trip with a friend and didn't bring tackle and was super-lonesome for my tackle. Then I did another solo, brought tackle, fished constantly, and loved it. So, I'd advise doing what exactly what you're doing - bring at least a little stuff. I do crawlers and fish TGO style (may he rest in peace!!) if I need to count on a meal (which I don't do anymore because I do all the work of cleaning, guts, cooking and clean-up, lol!). I have a medium weight rod but I've just been bringing the ultralight, 6 lb mono and smaller lures, avoiding bigger pike if possible. I don't use leaders, but agree with the others about their use and reasoning behind it! Here's my little set-up for the time being. In June, I used some spoons for LT in Cherokee (caught none). I am putting some money aside this fall and winter to find and pay a guide who will spend a BWCA day-trip with me next May or June so I can become a real fisher. They will need to be patient. But at least I'm not a loud-talker!
I'm really excited for your trip. I hope you have a wonderful time - you know what? You will. There are no bad days in BWCA - Q, only bad situations. Avoid the bad situations and you will be golden!
~JP
"

JP what you are talking about is why I'm thinking about taking mine. It's kindof for this trip, but MOSTLY for when I do solo trips.

I'm afraid when I go with a group, we may be loud-talkers. We probably don't know we are but in the quiet of the wild, even our normal camping voices will sound loud. We will have to be conscious about it.

Good luck fishing. And about talking, oh boy. Just have a good time.