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Boundary Waters Quetico Forum Fishing Forum Walleye lures |
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01/03/2009 05:34PM (Thread Older Than 3 Years)
I would appreciate some advice for suggested walleye lures for late May / early June. Last year we caught a lot of northerns and some smallmouth but was not very successful with walleye. Any suggestions on best lures and approximate depths in late May?
Thanks
Thanks
01/03/2009 05:43PM
i like jigs and minnows or leeches in may. depths vary but they will not be very deep, and they will be in current areas also. for the most part you have to be right on the bottom for walleyes. if youre not hitting the bottom atleast once in awhile youre out of the walleye zone.
01/03/2009 07:20PM
mtnbikerth,
Do what kanoes and izzy recommend and you'll catch many walleye.
Don't go for the artificial lure hype.
Keep everything simple.
Do what kanoes and izzy recommend and you'll catch many walleye.
Don't go for the artificial lure hype.
Keep everything simple.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Great-Outdoors-Bait-Tackle/1606420532911075?skip_nax_wizard=true
01/03/2009 07:50PM
I'll endorse the natural approach as well. On my trip last May I caught 50-60 fish and ALL but one was on a rainbow chub (purchased from TGO)on a jighead. I prefer either 1/8 oz or 1/16 oz. The Roadrunner with the small spinner on it worked quite well also.
"While Jesus can make you wonderfully happy, he has no intention of making you normal." Erwin McManus
01/04/2009 07:30AM
Put them in a nalgene while moving and when in camp transfer them to a leach locker. I tried that for the first time last year and the locker really keeps them fresh and wiggly.
You're going to HELL and you're going to drag me with ya!! -Gunsmoke
01/04/2009 09:00AM
I usually figure on 4 pounds of leeches for 2 people for 10 days. Sometimes more , sometimes less depending on how the fishing goes. We use leeches for both walleyes and smallies. I made a big leech locker out of a 5 gallon plastic bucket ( with a metal handle ) and snap on lid. I drilled hundreds of small holes in the bucket and lid. He have the leeches airbagged and transport them in the bucket on the way in. When we reach camp we take them out, put a rock in the bucket and empty the leeches into the bucket , snap on the lid , tie the handle to something secure on shore and submerge the bucket in the lake near shore. Once submerged , I place a large rock on top to kip the bucket in place. Fresh water is always flowing thru the bucket and the leeches stay fresh. If you have a campsite with overhanging tree branches this is a perfect place as the bucket will be out of direct sunlight. We fill a leech locker for daily fishing needs. We don't loose many leeches this way. If you have them airbagged and keep them on ice in a cooler they will keep just fine overnight before you go in. Good Luck on your trip. Izzy
01/04/2009 09:07AM
Figure at least one dozen per person/day when getting bait.
This isn't a heavy figure, but for normal 3-4 hour a day fishing.
About 12-16 dozen leeches in a pound, depending on the size, and what the shop calls a jumbo, large, or medium, etc.
The medium leech is just fine 14-16 dozen in a pound.
Do not count travel days when figuring your bait.
This may sound a bit complicated, so E mail or call me if you have any questions about total pounds or how to use them.
This isn't a heavy figure, but for normal 3-4 hour a day fishing.
About 12-16 dozen leeches in a pound, depending on the size, and what the shop calls a jumbo, large, or medium, etc.
The medium leech is just fine 14-16 dozen in a pound.
Do not count travel days when figuring your bait.
This may sound a bit complicated, so E mail or call me if you have any questions about total pounds or how to use them.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Great-Outdoors-Bait-Tackle/1606420532911075?skip_nax_wizard=true
01/04/2009 09:13AM
PS-About one pound of leeches per leech locker in the summer.
The tall Bait King will allow you to put two pounds in it.
Colder water (about 60 degrees or less) will increase the amount per locker.
Do not try to keep large amounts in a leech tote which is a mesh bag.
The tall Bait King will allow you to put two pounds in it.
Colder water (about 60 degrees or less) will increase the amount per locker.
Do not try to keep large amounts in a leech tote which is a mesh bag.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Great-Outdoors-Bait-Tackle/1606420532911075?skip_nax_wizard=true
01/04/2009 09:40AM
I buy a pound for a 5 day trip and only once have I run out and that was the morning we were leaving and we were trying to catch fish to take home. But we use a lot of artificial baits and we do a other things besides fish. If you are going to just fish and the fish are biting it might not be enough.
You're going to HELL and you're going to drag me with ya!! -Gunsmoke
01/04/2009 12:37PM
The system we've settled into is using the Baitkings for keeping the bulk of the leeches at camp and bringing smaller numbers in Leechtamers (mesh bag) in the boats while fishing. Keeping the leeches in the water and out of direct sun light is the key. This will keep your leeches in tip-top shape for as long as needed, even in the heat of summer.
"Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing it is not fish they are after"
~ Henry David Thoreau
01/05/2009 08:55AM
They will do the trick as long as you keep the presentation simple, plain hook/leech or 1/8th oz jig/leech.
As light a sinker (BB shot) or no sinker, if possible, with the plain hook.
As light a sinker (BB shot) or no sinker, if possible, with the plain hook.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Great-Outdoors-Bait-Tackle/1606420532911075?skip_nax_wizard=true
01/05/2009 06:16PM
Any suggestions on best lures?.....That was the question, right?
In Quetico leaches are not allowed so lure selection is important. On our Mid June trip last year in Quetico we had good luck with:
1.Countdown Rapalas- Rainbow Trout pattern. Let sink and reel in
2.Original Rapala stickbait- Black & White. Troll as deep as they go.
3. Twister tail jigs
In Quetico leaches are not allowed so lure selection is important. On our Mid June trip last year in Quetico we had good luck with:
1.Countdown Rapalas- Rainbow Trout pattern. Let sink and reel in
2.Original Rapala stickbait- Black & White. Troll as deep as they go.
3. Twister tail jigs
fishguts
01/05/2009 07:10PM
Size of the countdown and stickbait????????????
Arrrrgggggggggggggggggggghhhhh:(
Jig or Plain Hook with leech or minnow, doesn't get any better or any simpler than that!!!!!!
Catch tons more walleye than using that artificial junk!!!!
Damn, I need a drink!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Is this some kind of a tag team effort to put me in an asylum????
Arrrrgggggggggggggggggggghhhhh:(
Jig or Plain Hook with leech or minnow, doesn't get any better or any simpler than that!!!!!!
Catch tons more walleye than using that artificial junk!!!!
Damn, I need a drink!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Is this some kind of a tag team effort to put me in an asylum????
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Great-Outdoors-Bait-Tackle/1606420532911075?skip_nax_wizard=true
01/06/2009 12:12AM
gulp 3/4 inch leeches/ minnows on a light jig. black for leeches, white and smelt for minnows
I believe tgo carries them. I would not buy the ones in the tubs for the trip, just the ones in the bags. the tubs have a bad habit of breaking.
When walleye fishing I almost always use live bait unless I am trolling, in which case I use a # 7 or 9 shad rap in yellow, or orange.
I believe tgo carries them. I would not buy the ones in the tubs for the trip, just the ones in the bags. the tubs have a bad habit of breaking.
When walleye fishing I almost always use live bait unless I am trolling, in which case I use a # 7 or 9 shad rap in yellow, or orange.
www.chadwicksfishing.com chadwicks fishing guide service, Kenai River guided fishing.
01/06/2009 12:03PM
We troll Shad Raps in white/chartreuse SR*8's thru muck bottom bays in 5 to 15 ft. water. When we find fish, we drop 3in. black or white grubs(1/8th to 1/4th oz.jigheads) on them. At that time of year there are few baitfish, but in muck bottom bays the insects are emerging from the mud. We catch them as shallow as 4ft. all day when cloudy, deeper when brighter. Filet the first fish and see what they are eating. Besides, no bait or barbs in Quetico. I hope the BWCA goes that way too!
01/06/2009 10:21PM
marsonite,
When I get to Pearly Gates, and if St. Peter asks how many, I can truthfully answer quite a few.
If the artificial lure guys get asked the same question, and give the same answer, they'll be shot down to Hell so fast for lying, their ears will pop!! :)
When I get to Pearly Gates, and if St. Peter asks how many, I can truthfully answer quite a few.
If the artificial lure guys get asked the same question, and give the same answer, they'll be shot down to Hell so fast for lying, their ears will pop!! :)
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Great-Outdoors-Bait-Tackle/1606420532911075?skip_nax_wizard=true
01/06/2009 10:27PM
PS to fishguts,
Any guy that owns a bait shop always has the majority of $ tied up into lures, and most try to push them.
If anyone asks me what's working the best, I sell them the gear and bait which will get them the most bang for their buck.
This is normally a few jigs, plain hooks, and some crawlers, leeches, or minnows.
If they heed the sermon, they will catch many more fish than they would with cranks!
Oooooh, even typing the word "cranks" gives me the willies. Brrrrrrrrrrrr :)
Any guy that owns a bait shop always has the majority of $ tied up into lures, and most try to push them.
If anyone asks me what's working the best, I sell them the gear and bait which will get them the most bang for their buck.
This is normally a few jigs, plain hooks, and some crawlers, leeches, or minnows.
If they heed the sermon, they will catch many more fish than they would with cranks!
Oooooh, even typing the word "cranks" gives me the willies. Brrrrrrrrrrrr :)
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Great-Outdoors-Bait-Tackle/1606420532911075?skip_nax_wizard=true
01/06/2009 10:34PM
PPS to fishguts,
No live bait in Quetico, what do I suggest.
Stay out of the Quetico Park:)
However, if you insist on going there, plain hooks or jigs tipped with Slimers, 3 inch Berkley Gulp Smelt, or 3 inch Berkley Power Smelt.
They're OK, but nowhere as good as live bait.
No live bait in Quetico, what do I suggest.
Stay out of the Quetico Park:)
However, if you insist on going there, plain hooks or jigs tipped with Slimers, 3 inch Berkley Gulp Smelt, or 3 inch Berkley Power Smelt.
They're OK, but nowhere as good as live bait.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Great-Outdoors-Bait-Tackle/1606420532911075?skip_nax_wizard=true
01/07/2009 01:42PM
TGO is of course, correct. Live bait will catch more fish in the great majority of cases. However, there is more to the answer than just that because it ignores individual personalities and motivations. Here are some analogies.
When I was a kid, I began hunting squirrels (western grey squirrels) with a .410 shotgun. If I could find the squirrels I could bag them. As I got older, however, I switched to a .22 rifle. My odds of bagging the squirrels went down but I enjoyed it more. When I was last hunting squirrels, I was using a .22 revolver. The odds went down even more but I preferred getting no squirrels to the sure thing of a shotgun. For me, it was all about the challenge.
I have known fly fishermen who, if they could not make presentations with their self-tied dry flies, would hardly fish at all. For them, it was all about style.
When I am fishing away from home and camping, sometimes I will take a mix of live bait and artificial baits. After I get dinner on the stringer, I will usually switch from live bait to the artificials. Or, conversely, I will start with the spinners and plugs and if I have no luck, switch to crawlers or other live bait out of desperation as dinnertime approaches. In this case, it is probably a mix of challenge, style, and a need to catch dinner.
We are all different and when most of us ask the question, "what is the best bait"?, we are not including all the little details of our motivations, and we shouldn't have to.
Here is, to me, the most important quotation involving fishing:
"Many men go fishing all their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after."
Henry David Thoreau
When I was a kid, I began hunting squirrels (western grey squirrels) with a .410 shotgun. If I could find the squirrels I could bag them. As I got older, however, I switched to a .22 rifle. My odds of bagging the squirrels went down but I enjoyed it more. When I was last hunting squirrels, I was using a .22 revolver. The odds went down even more but I preferred getting no squirrels to the sure thing of a shotgun. For me, it was all about the challenge.
I have known fly fishermen who, if they could not make presentations with their self-tied dry flies, would hardly fish at all. For them, it was all about style.
When I am fishing away from home and camping, sometimes I will take a mix of live bait and artificial baits. After I get dinner on the stringer, I will usually switch from live bait to the artificials. Or, conversely, I will start with the spinners and plugs and if I have no luck, switch to crawlers or other live bait out of desperation as dinnertime approaches. In this case, it is probably a mix of challenge, style, and a need to catch dinner.
We are all different and when most of us ask the question, "what is the best bait"?, we are not including all the little details of our motivations, and we shouldn't have to.
Here is, to me, the most important quotation involving fishing:
"Many men go fishing all their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after."
Henry David Thoreau
The business of life is the acquisition of memories. In the end that's all there is. ___Mr Carson (Downton Abby)
01/07/2009 02:08PM
Look carefully at the photo and you'll see that TGO is actually surrounded by "cranks." Don't know how he manages to maintain his sanity given all the live bait preachin' he does. You know, though, Jim Baker and Jimmy Swaggart's strongest preaching against sexual immorality was while they engaged in their own extra-marital affairs. Is there something we need to know, TGO? :^)
"While Jesus can make you wonderfully happy, he has no intention of making you normal." Erwin McManus
01/07/2009 02:39PM
"Stay out of the Quetico Park:)" I like it!
This is a philosophy that will insure the fishing in Quetico stays great..........if no one goes (except me) the fishing pressure stays low and those dumb Quetico fish will continue to bite at anything.....even crank baits.
Stay out of Quetico!!!
:)
This is a philosophy that will insure the fishing in Quetico stays great..........if no one goes (except me) the fishing pressure stays low and those dumb Quetico fish will continue to bite at anything.....even crank baits.
Stay out of Quetico!!!
:)
fishguts
01/07/2009 07:05PM
thlipsis29,
How do I keep my sanity surrounded by all those crank baits??
Bro, I'm right across the lot from a liquor store:)
You ask:"Jim Baker and Jimmy Swaggart's strongest preaching against sexual immorality was while they engaged in their own extra-marital affairs. Is there something we need to know, TGO? :^)"
ABSOLUTELY NOT!! I'd confess to a relationship with a sheep than admit using crank baits!! :)
How do I keep my sanity surrounded by all those crank baits??
Bro, I'm right across the lot from a liquor store:)
You ask:"Jim Baker and Jimmy Swaggart's strongest preaching against sexual immorality was while they engaged in their own extra-marital affairs. Is there something we need to know, TGO? :^)"
ABSOLUTELY NOT!! I'd confess to a relationship with a sheep than admit using crank baits!! :)
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Great-Outdoors-Bait-Tackle/1606420532911075?skip_nax_wizard=true
04/26/2012 12:06PM
I love these threads! There is one similar about every 2 weeks. They all say about the same thing, but I read every word. Everyone's individual personality always shows through. I love the debate between live bait and artificial. Thanks guys. Me personally have no preferences. Where I live has no live bait stores close so I tend to use artificial more or crawlers out of the backyard.
04/26/2012 01:29PM
Only once have I had a lure beat out live bait for walleye fishing (in the BW anyway).
The lure was pretty much any copper/crawfish colored rapala (especially a shad-rap). Easily outproduced the leeches I brought in. This was on a tannin stained lake. I had to eat humble pie cause I was told I would only have to bring in a bunch of those lures and I insisted on bringing leeches.
The lure was pretty much any copper/crawfish colored rapala (especially a shad-rap). Easily outproduced the leeches I brought in. This was on a tannin stained lake. I had to eat humble pie cause I was told I would only have to bring in a bunch of those lures and I insisted on bringing leeches.
"I'm not superstitious. I'm a little stitious" - Michael Scott
04/26/2012 08:30PM
Agree with the live bait, especially leeches. It is better than any Gulp. But I like trolling and have found Rapala jointed #9 black and silver and goldfish shad raps to catch some walleyes. Was almost nonstop for about 45 minutes last year with the jointed #9 - 4 or 5 that were 17 - 20 or so inches.
Find a Listening Point and visit often. Develop a Land Ethic and strive to live it.
04/26/2012 09:07PM
RoundRiver-
Dig your name and quote.
As for plastics vs. live bait: In my opinion, if you keep that Gulp! or powerbait really hoppin', I mean rip-jigging, you are in better shape than if you try to fish it like you would live bait. I wouldn't live bait rig with an artifical; it's counterintuitive.
Dig your name and quote.
As for plastics vs. live bait: In my opinion, if you keep that Gulp! or powerbait really hoppin', I mean rip-jigging, you are in better shape than if you try to fish it like you would live bait. I wouldn't live bait rig with an artifical; it's counterintuitive.
"Life is not a beauty contest. It is a fishing contest." --me
04/27/2012 07:23AM
quote Basspro69: "Or you could take a couple rattlin raps and floaters and catch walleyes also "
Nice ! Looks like great eatin size. Can't wait to have a meal or two of those here in 6 weeks.
"My greatest fear is that when technology surpasses human interaction we have raised a generation of idiots" Albert Einstein
04/27/2012 08:10AM
quote lundojam: "
As for plastics vs. live bait: In my opinion, if you keep that Gulp! or powerbait really hoppin', I mean rip-jigging, you are in better shape than if you try to fish it like you would live bait. I wouldn't live bait rig with an artifical; it's counterintuitive.
"
Right on lundo! I will use a 3/8 oz jig in 10fow just so I can fish it with enough of a snap and still make good contact with the bottom. I have caught plenty of fish on opener snap jigging a gulp minnow with the water temp still in the upper 40's. It doesn't always work though.
This is a great old thread.
All Rapalas that wander are not lost.
04/28/2012 03:27PM
I caught walleye last year in the BW 1st week of June on leeches (mostly small lindy rigs and inline spinners).
I will however say that the biggest walleye of the trip came on a purple shad rap in the middle of the day. Its when the big dogs feed over open water and they want big fast bait!
Shiners would be clutch at that time of the year in the BW, too bad they are such a PITA to keep alive.
I will however say that the biggest walleye of the trip came on a purple shad rap in the middle of the day. Its when the big dogs feed over open water and they want big fast bait!
Shiners would be clutch at that time of the year in the BW, too bad they are such a PITA to keep alive.
04/28/2012 04:09PM
With the exception of Walleyes I will put artificials against live bait most times. But if you dont have to choose why would you. I always bring leeches with me when I go up north and they are my backup plan, or if I just want to sit around for awhile and watch a bobber. I prefer to cast artificials but when the going gets tough and the fish need something alive, a leech is just the ticket. Ive been trying to figure out T G Os deal with crankbaits then I remembered a story about a young boy about 35 years ago near Ely that snagged himself in the rear end with a Lazy Ike, I wonder if that was T G O ?
" I want to know Gods thoughts , The rest are details " Albert Einstein. WWJD
09/08/2020 12:11PM
We went up to the Bwca in early September for a week and crushed the walleyes on a 5 in white grub and Jig, Our friends used live bait the hole time and we caught the same amount of walleyes. As well as catching walleyes we caught 3 20 in smallmouth bass in a school it was lots of fun. Grubs are easy and take no care.
I think were your fishing is more important then your presentation fish windblown islands and points with steep drop offs and you will for sure shake up some walleyes. I good map with some deep lines will make finding walleyes easy.
I think were your fishing is more important then your presentation fish windblown islands and points with steep drop offs and you will for sure shake up some walleyes. I good map with some deep lines will make finding walleyes easy.
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