Okay the title says it all.

I know we have asked this, or similar questions, a number of times over the years, but here it is again. This is just a fun exercise, and along the lines of the one fly contest. Caveats are that it is literally one lure only (no multiple versions of same lure, or even different sizes, colors or weight. You show up with one lure tied on and that’s it).

You can use any legal rod, line or leader of your choice for a 24 hour period of fishing (Saturday 10:00am to Sunday 10:00am) so you get various feeding windows like dusk and dawn. One prize of a million dollars on the line (pun intended). Greatest total weight of all fish caught wins. If you lose your lure via snag or cut off by pike, etc., you are out, so add that factor to your lure choice (but whatever you caught up to that point still counts towards your total).

I mention the ‘rules’ because I often fish with a lure and presentation (say surface fishing with a black jitterbug) even though I know a different lure, etc. would likely catch more fish, but I just want to fish a jitterbug.

In this contest, choose the lure you feel would catch the most, not just your favorite. All contestants will be on the same BW or Q lake.

I think I know my pick. It’s between two lures, but I will wait to say. Yes, I am dreaming of the day we can all get back out there.

Moonman

The biting off and being done is what gets me. I'd have a jig and certain plastic if I could grab another identical one if I lost one to a snag or northern.

If I get one lure that's tied on and no others.....probably a spinnerbait. Can work it slow and deep, shallow, weedless, etc. And you shouldn't lose it to snags or to toothy fish.

Lipless crankbait

1/2 oz. jig, 4 inch white twister tail

Mepps spinner, If you have to pick just one, this is the one,,,,

walllee: "1/2 oz. jig, 4 inch white twister tail"

Is 1/2 ounce your normal go to size or only for this scenario?

walllee: "1/2 oz. jig, 4 inch white twister tail"

+1, you beat me to it. I'd put my money on walllee for the win.

Ole496: "

walllee: "1/2 oz. jig, 4 inch white twister tail"

+1, you beat me to it. I'd put my money on walllee for the win. "

I'd go 3/8oz and chartreuse

preacherdave: "Lipless crankbait "

+1 I'm going with a chrome/black 1/2 oz Rattl'n Rap and can go vertical or cover water by casting. Since we only get one lure, I'm using a steel/titanium leader. ;)

You guys with your jigs... say goodbye as Mr. pike has already eliminated you. ;)

preacherdave: "

walllee: "1/2 oz. jig, 4 inch white twister tail"

Is 1/2 ounce your normal go to size or only for this scenario?"

With a 4 inch tail, I’ll usually use 3/8, but for this scenario, it would be 1/2 oz.

One lure to catch them all...and in the darkness bind them!

3/8 oz. pink or chartreuse jig with 4 inch white Kalin Lunker Grub

Like Walllee says ... a little heavier 1/2 oz. jig may be a better choice for lakers.

All good options. Mepps not my favorite to fish, but maybe most versatile.

shock: "

preacherdave: "Lipless crankbait "

+1 I'm going with a chrome/black 1/2 oz Rattl'n Rap and can go vertical or cover water by casting. Since we only get one lure, I'm using a steel/titanium leader. ;)

You guys with your jigs... say goodbye as Mr. pike has already eliminated you. ;)"

That's hilarious!

walllee: "1/2 oz. jig, 4 inch white twister tail"

Great call on this combo. Other than the twister tail will wear out after catching fish for a couple hours. I take the rules as "no rubber replacement".

I'd go with the Mepps spinner, about #4 size.

F13 Rapala. Long enough to put lure between the teeth and the delicate line. Can be fished surface and subsurface. Will catch the grand slam.

You jig fishers better catch a lot of fish in your first fifteen minutes because that'll be your total time.

A few lines written about the F13 by J.R.R. Tolkein:

One lure to rule them all, One lure to find them, One lure to catch them all, and in the darkness hook them.

missmolly: "F13 Rapala. Long enough to put lure between the teeth and the delicate line. Can be fished surface and subsurface. Will catch the grand slam.

You jig fishers better catch a lot of fish in your first fifteen minutes because that'll be your total time. "

^^^What Katie said. ^^^

I've been thinking about this on and off today and finally decided to post my thoughts, only to get here and see that Katie posted exactly what I was going to post. There you have it. The F13 Rapala. (I would have picked the jig if given the chance to replace it after a bite off or snag.)

The classic Original Floating Rapala, size 11, black and silver, 4 and 3/8 - inch lure. This lure will take the Grand Slam: walleye, pike, walleye and smallmouth. It can be retrieved in a steady fashion, trolled to all kinds of depths by adding weight to the line, twitched on the surface or brought back in using a stop and go retrieve. I think I would add a titanium leader just to be on the safe side if it were my only lure.

The steady retrieve will catch all four different types of fish depending on the season. You have a better chance of catching a lake trout on a steady retrieve in the early spring. Walleyes can be caught around current or weed beds during the spring using a straight retrieve. Smallmouth and pike can be caught in all open water seasons using this method.

Trolling this lure can produce all four species during each of the open water seasons. Walleye and trout can be found shallow in the spring and deeper in the summer. By adding weight to your line you can reach the depths where these fish are typically feeding during the summer months.

Twitching this lure on the surface can bring smallmouth and pike crashing through the surface to attack this lure. The stop and go retrieve will bring a reaction type of hit from smallmouth and pike.

missmolly: "F13 Rapala. Long enough to put lure between the teeth and the delicate line. Can be fished surface and subsurface. Will catch the grand slam.

You jig fishers better catch a lot of fish in your first fifteen minutes because that'll be your total time.

A few lines written about the F13 by J.R.R. Tolkein:

One lure to rule them all, One lure to find them, One lure to catch them all, and in the darkness hook them."

I hate it when someone’s reasoning is better than mine! Think you might be right.

preacherdave: "I hate it when someone’s reasoning is better than mine! Think you might be right"

I just applied J.R.R. Tolkien's advice. ;-)

Jackfish: "

missmolly: "F13 Rapala. Long enough to put lure between the teeth and the delicate line. Can be fished surface and subsurface. Will catch the grand slam.

You jig fishers better catch a lot of fish in your first fifteen minutes because that'll be your total time. "

^^^What Katie said. ^^^

I've been thinking about this on and off today and finally decided to post my thoughts, only to get here and see that Katie posted exactly what I was going to post. There you have it. The F13 Rapala. (I would have picked the jig if given the chance to replace it after a bite off or snag.)"

The F13 Rapala also lets you cast a long ways, another fish-catching advantage.

I hope you and Deb are faring well and staying safe, Pete!

I note that the fish-catching machine, aka QueticoMike, nearly agreed with us too!

missmolly: "I hope you and Deb are faring well and staying safe, Pete!

I note that the fish-catching machine, aka QueticoMike, nearly agreed with us too!"

We're in good company, Katie. :) Yes, we're doing well here. Hope you both are, too.

Jackfish: "

missmolly: "I hope you and Deb are faring well and staying safe, Pete!


I note that the fish-catching machine, aka QueticoMike, nearly agreed with us too!"

We're in good company, Katie. :) Yes, we're doing well here. Hope you both are, too."

We enjoy the gardens and woods that wrap around our house. One of those gardens was planted by a mighty Midwestern man who came out of the mist, wrassled three burning bush trees into the Earth, and mysteriously disappeared.

"Who was that mighty man?" Mainers still ask.

"It sure petes me," I answer.

Well I see that people are enjoying this question and thought I should finally chime in with my take. Lo and behold, it’s exactly the same as quetico mike, F11 original floating rap, only in perch. But I think you could do as well in the natural Minnow pattern Mike likes too. I think the mepps spinner (I would also agree with #4 if on a regular trip), number 3 for this contest, and the white curly tail are also winners, but feel the rapala would outfish them. Still it would be close! Too bad this is just a thought experiment, as a real contest on a good, large BWQ lake would be awesome indeed! Use a drone to shoot video, and have a funny but knowledgeable commentator announcing results etc. the other unknown factor would be angler skill and knowledge of course (rookie angler A with a floating rapala or knowledgeable angler B with a spinnerbait), but that’s a whole other question!

Moonman

I should also add that I was indeed thinking of Lord of the Rings when I wrote the thread title!

Moonman.

Moonman: "I should also add that I was indeed thinking of Lord of the Rings when I wrote the thread title!


Moonman."

Oh, good. I was starting to worry that I was the only nerd in this thread!

One thing I didn't see mentioned is the time of year?

That might make a difference. But regardless I think a hot smallmouth bite would lead to the most weight of fish in the BWCA. Like the one day I caught 25 smallmouth over 3 lbs in 25 casts. Thats like 75 lbs in under an hour.

Rapala shad rap (shad pattern size 9) hands down would be the lure of choice for me. Cast or troll.

Also I've never used a steel leader so I'm not sure how much difference that makes in number of bites but from musky fishing I've used 60-80 lb flouro leader and would prefer that to steel, feeling pretty confident it wouldn't get bit off.

F13 Silver Rapala with a titanium leader. It will put food on the plate every time.

missmolly: "

Moonman: "I should also add that I was indeed thinking of Lord of the Rings when I wrote the thread title!

Moonman."

Oh, good. I was starting to worry that I was the only nerd in this thread! "

I've just been watching too much of Netflix lately :)

Husky Jerk. Cast, troll, varied retrieve.

HighnDry: "

missmolly: "

Moonman: "I should also add that I was indeed thinking of Lord of the Rings when I wrote the thread title!

Moonman."

Oh, good. I was starting to worry that I was the only nerd in this thread! "

I've just been watching too much of Netflix lately :)"

Then I stand alone as the only nerd in this thread!

No, I wouldn't think so. I've read that trilogy and the Silmarillion several times and was thinking of the rhyme when I posted. With respect to a lure, hobbits preferred a worm and a hook as their go-to lure. Is that the TGO method? I guess if they added a split-shot sinker about 18" up the line then it might qualify.

If I went with my instinct, I'd fish a 11-cm or 13-cm Husky Jerk in brown/orange since I seem to fish that a lot as a search lure.

The most versatile option that I've read about lately seems to be a version of an orange/yellow jig with a tube bait or minnow. Some version of this seems able to attract walleye and bass, pike will strike at anything and if you added weight to it, you could get it down to the depths needed for lake trout. I could be wrong though.

missmolly: "

Moonman: "I should also add that I was indeed thinking of Lord of the Rings when I wrote the thread title!

Moonman."

Oh, good. I was starting to worry that I was the only nerd in this thread! "

Not the only one! Few years ago my wife and I went to New Zealand and toured the sight of the Hobbit village. It was a working sheep ranch, pretty cool!

preacherdave: "

missmolly: "

Moonman: "I should also add that I was indeed thinking of Lord of the Rings when I wrote the thread title!

Moonman."

Oh, good. I was starting to worry that I was the only nerd in this thread! "

Not the only one! Few years ago my wife and I went to New Zealand and toured the sight of the Hobbit village. It was a working sheep ranch, pretty cool!
"

Whew! Nerds love company. I've read that the hobbit village is NZ's number one tourist attraction.

It’s funny, my friends and I do a friendly fall musky tourny every fall, we started out with a homemade trophy with a little statue of Golem holding a fish, mounted on a little wooden pedestal. We use a different trophy now, not sure where that original trophy went to though.

Moonman.

Moonman: "It’s funny, my friends and I do a friendly fall musky tourny every fall, we started out with a homemade trophy with a little statue of Golem holding a fish, mounted on a little wooden pedestal. We use a different trophy now, not sure where that original trophy went to though.

Moonman "

Ha! Cool trophy. Pity it's misplaced. I'd fish hard to win that trophy!

Agree on the Rapala as first choice, but would opt for the jointed Rapala as these can be retrieved or trolled at slower rates, if needed, and still get good action; if trolling, can also add a sinker 36" in front of the lure to get to desired depths.

Floating original rapala for me. F11. I prefer chartreuse. When 2 of us are using raps, my BWCA experience, chartreuse out catches black and silver. But I don't fish for lakers, so maybe black and silver would be better for that.

I’ve had great success using a rattlin rap to catch all species. My largest pike and walleye were caught using it.

HJ 10 Silver
Will catch all sizes and species.
Can cast or troll.
Any depth can be achieved with added weights.
The suspending action will kick the originals butt! LOL

Texas rigged 5in. kalins Arkansas shad. I mainly fish this unweighted and twitch it along slow in shallow water, but a weight can be added in front so it can work like a swim jig. I would use a 50lbs. flouro leader and braided main line.

Surprised no votes yet for Zulu's

Great thread! Gotta go with the Rapala Husky Jerk 10 in Fire Tiger. You can troll it or cast it. All Quetico species love it and can't leave it alone. Lakers, walleye, pike, smallies, and largies. My son literally won't use anything else unless he absolutely has to. Sometimes I wonder why I bring so many dang different lures because we always wind up using them. Of course jigs and topwater (Pop R especially) have their time and place, but the FTHJ10 gets it done every trip. The pic is my son with a Pickerel Lake walleye from August 2020, of course caught on his beloved FTHJ10.

Love the Hobbit references too. I will admit to having sung Sméagol's "to catch a fish, so juicy sweet" song while fishing in the Q.

Derrski: "Surprised no votes yet for Zulu's"

That was my second pick actually. Only I use Z-man hula sticks. Deadly, especially on neutral fish. The only reason I picked the original rapala was due to it being more versatile, can work it fast and slow, surface only or crank it down etc. also the rapala is a better laker lure...but someone said up thread you could limit out on smallies real quick and a Zulu type lure would clean up there.

Moonman

Moonman: "but someone said up thread you could limit out on smallies real quick and a Zulu type lure would clean up there.

Moonman "

Until it fell apart after 50-100 fish

AmarilloJim: "

Moonman: "but someone said up thread you could limit out on smallies real quick and a Zulu type lure would clean up there.

Moonman "

Until it fell apart after 50-100 fish"

100 smallmouth, pike and trout or............ almost 1 pike :)

So, to summarize we have:

Husky Jerk (brown/orange, silver, HJ10 firetiger) +4
F13 Rapala (Silver) +2
Original Floating Rapala, size 11 (black and silver, perch) +2
Mepps spinner (#4) +2
1/2 oz. jig, 4 inch white twister tail + 2
spinnerbait
Lipless crankbait
3/8oz and chartreuse twister tail
chrome/black 1/2 oz Rattl'n Rap
3/8 oz. pink or chartreuse jig with 4 inch white Kalin Lunker Grub
Rapala shad rap (shad pattern size 9)
Jointed Rapala
F11 chartreuse
rattlin rap
Texas rigged 5in. kalins Arkansas shad

You could probably move/combine the F11 chartreuse with the other size F11 Original Floating Rapalas.

Red Vibrax with a gold spinner. I can cast it, troll it, fish it deep.

QueticoMike: "You could probably move/combine the F11 chartreuse with the other size F11 Original Floating Rapalas."

I also think you could easily argue the f13 rapala are essentially the same as the f11’s...that’s what I did in my mind anyway.

Moonman.

Moonman: "

QueticoMike: "You could probably move/combine the F11 chartreuse with the other size F11 Original Floating Rapalas."

I also think you could easily argue the f13 rapala are essentially the same as the f11’s...that’s what I did in my mind anyway.

Moonman."

True. They are basically the same. The OFR is probably the most versatile lure for grand slam fishing.

I'll choose a Shad Rap, silver/black, size 9. Better choice than the Original Floater because 1) easier casting and 2) greater versatility in depth...Let less line out, can be trolled in shallow water, but can also get much deeper than the Originals if that's desired. The lipless is a close second, but I think I'd be trolling after dark, and it's not as easy to troll.

Interesting thread...Kind of fun to think about, especially since any scenario like this will almost always need a plethora of details to help narrow down the choice.

Plus, what's the best strategy? Pile up the bass and pike during the daylight hours? Or go for a lure that might catch fewer of them but gives better chances overnight? Does the lake have any big pike or lake trout?

Ah, the kinds of things to think about in a lockdown. :)

carmike: "I'll choose a Shad Rap, silver/black, size 9. Better choice than the Original Floater because 1) easier casting and 2) greater versatility in depth...Let less line out, can be trolled in shallow water, but can also get much deeper than the Originals if that's desired. The lipless is a close second, but I think I'd be trolling after dark, and it's not as easy to troll.


Interesting thread...Kind of fun to think about, especially since any scenario like this will almost always need a plethora of details to help narrow down the choice.


Plus, what's the best strategy? Pile up the bass and pike during the daylight hours? Or go for a lure that might catch fewer of them but gives better chances overnight? Does the lake have any big pike or lake trout?


Ah, the kinds of things to think about in a lockdown. :) "

Strategy?

Yep, pile up on bass. However, clustered walleye in current can give you serious poundage too. Pike feed in the middle of the day, so I'd target them then.

My schedule:

4:00 a.m. - Walleye in current

6:00 a.m. - bass

10:00 a.m. - pike

6:00 p.m. - bass

10:00 p.m. - walleye

Strategy?

I suppose it depends on what time of year we're talking. :)

And do I know this lake already, or are we putting everyone on unfamiliar water?

Ya know, I *could* be working....

Me personally; I'd go with a 12 oz White Claw, Mango color but can live with Black Cherry, Lime or Watermelon colors as well. Fish literally jump into your boat.

Great thread...I will have keep handy the top 10 list that's been compiled from way better fishing minds than mine.

Lets see if this layout works better:

Rapala
4 .... Husky Jerk (brown/orange, silver, HJ10 firetiger)
2 .... F13 Rapala (Silver)
3 .... F11 Original Floating Rapala (black and silver, perch, chartreuse)
3 .... Lipless crankbait,chrome/black 1/2 oz Rattl'n Rap
1 .... Rapala shad rap (shad pattern size 9)
1 .... Jointed Rapala

Jigs
2 .... 1/2oz White twister tail
2 .... 3/8oz chartreuse or pink twister tail add 4 inch white Kalin Lunker Grub
1 .... Texas rigged 5in. kalins Arkansas shad

Spinners
2 .... Mepps spinner (#4)
1 .... spinnerbait
1 .... Red Vibrax with a gold spinner

^^^ well done sammy
looks like the Rattln rap is a front runner ;)

SammyN: "Lets see if this layout works better:

Rapala
4 .... Husky Jerk (brown/orange, silver, HJ10 firetiger)
2 .... F13 Rapala (Silver)
3 .... F11 Original Floating Rapala (black and silver, perch, chartreuse)
3 .... Lipless crankbait,chrome/black 1/2 oz Rattl'n Rap
1 .... Rapala shad rap (shad pattern size 9)
1 .... Jointed Rapala

Jigs
2 .... 1/2oz White twister tail
2 .... 3/8oz chartreuse or pink twister tail add 4 inch white Kalin Lunker Grub
1 .... Texas rigged 5in. kalins Arkansas shad

Spinners
2 .... Mepps spinner (#4)
1 .... spinnerbait
1 .... Red Vibrax with a gold spinner





"

Okay, I'm changing my F13 vote to an F11. In fact, I hate the F13s and just burned them all in a bonfire because they can't catch fish. I almost, accidentally threw my only F11 on the fire, but four fish hooked onto it as I attempted to toss it into the conflagration.