It’s one of my favorite ways to catch a fish. Really hard to beat the feeling of setting the hook after you feel a tick on your line.

I’m looking for ways to up my game when fishing in the BWCA with this technique. How have you found success? What kind of equipment do you use? Water depth? Casting or vertical? Preferred jig weights and trailers? Live bait/plastics? Anchored, drifting or trolling?

Thanks in advance for your input!

Vertical in or near current with leech or plastic. Size to match what I'm after but usually 1/4 to 1/2 oz jig.

Bring a basketball net to make an anchor by putting rocks in the net. Use a 50" foot rope as an anchor rope. Anchor upwind of a good spot.

Vertical jig below the canoe. The long rope will move the canoe around over the good spot.

Pick up anchor and move slightly when the bite slows...

Theoretically, you can also use a drift net to slowly drift over good spots.

I say theoretically because I haven't had the right conditions to get this to work for me yet. I have bought and brought a drift net. But the wind was too strong for the drift net to slow me enough.

Jigging is tough in a canoe mainly due to boat control, but if you drop anchor on the right side of the canoe such that once you get pushed/blown to your resting position (downwind of the anchor), you're over where you want to jig, then you're set. I usually do it drifting since my friends and I haven't used an anchor. The spots we want to jig are often upwards of 40ft deep (with fish suspended at 20-30ft for example) and though we can definitely get a 50ft cord for anchoring, it's not something we've pursued. My canoe jigging successes have been while slowly drifting, dragging a jig on bottom with occasional hops and twitches, using heavier jigs when drift speed is high. No success at >1mph drifts though.

As for line, braid is great for jigging as it has basically no stretch so you can get responsive hooksets without needing to really yank on the rod. Braid will also grant you superior sensitivity for when a fish barely picks up your bait, for telling the difference between rocks, logs, and fish. Braid is also more behaved on spinning reels due to a lack of memory which can cause guide wraps. Braid can still wrap around guides when wind blows it around, but I don't have many issues with it on spinning reels. If you are going to use braid with a fluoro/mono leader (which I recommend), you might as well use some high-vis line like Super8SlickV2 that lets you watch your line a lot easier. With a 6-10ft leader, I don't think line visibility is something to be concerned about, and the bright line makes watching for slack (when you hop the bait and it doesn't sink all the way on the fall) so much easier. This is also advantageous when using some topwater baits, the Zulu rig, and worms/leeches (regardless of a bobber) where they might pick it up from the side and start running with it (obviously not jigging but helpful when using a single rod/reel for multiple types of presentations).

Note that my thoughts are all surrounding "vertical" jigging (or trying to get as close to vertical as possible). I don't cast jigs for bass in the BWCA (or haven't as of right now) as there are a lot of places to snag and I have an abbreviated tackle selection that makes me less inclined to play with fire when it comes to snag potential. But, fish are on the cover, so if your canoe casting game is on point and you're good at avoiding snags (by using the right head shape or keeping it right off bottom or whatever) then I think jigs in the BWCA could produce some giants. I end up using mostly moving baits and topwater.

A drift sock tied to either the bow or stern will slow you right down. If you tie to the side somewhere the boat catches too much wind.
So, as vertical as possible (usually), as light a jig as you can get away with, light line (4 or 6), live bait, and a higher-end rod. Oh, and make sure you are on fish.

lundojam: "A drift sock tied to either the bow or stern will slow you right down. If you tie to the side somewhere the boat catches too much wind.
So, as vertical as possible (usually), as light a jig as you can get away with, light line (4 or 6), live bait, and a higher-end rod. Oh, and make sure you are on fish."

I go back and forth in my mind on the 'light jig and light line' school of thought. Right now I've landed on prioritizing more the 'as heavy a jig as it takes to be relatively vertical and in touch with the bottom'. Sort of the same thing as you are saying, but putting priority on the vertical, and not worrying so much that a heavier jig is a deterrent. I'll fish up to 1/2 oz if needed. Also, I'm always fishing with 8 lb line (mono or Fireline). Jig is tipped with half a crawler, or a leech.

This technique has worked great on stained lakes, 15-25 feet deep. But I will confess I've wondered how much better I might do if I opted for the more finesse oriented approach you describe (lighter jigs and lighter line). Just my experience, but I get humbled/outfished often enough that I freely admit I may be wrong.

There are so many ways to fish a jig. I like 6# or 8# mono - usually the 8# - and 1/4 ounce jigs. I'll use the occasional 1/8 ounce, but prefer to feel my jig a little more with the heavier jig. I rarely use a 3/8 ounce (only on real windy days) and never a 1/2 ounce. One of my buddies uses Fireline and 1/8 ounce jigs. I like the stretch of mono in helping to get snags out and I'm usually pretty successful. He likes the fact that Fireline doesn't stretch. To each his own.

We're in Quetico so we fish sans live bait, using almost exclusively 3" or 4" Twister Tails, Gulp or some similar product, and we generally cast and retrieve. Very seldom do we vertical jig. I guess it's more about covering ground to find fish. It's funny, however, that sometimes we can cast 50-75' away from the boat and the fish hits right off the bow.

Jackfish: "We're in Quetico so we fish sans live bait, using almost exclusively 3" or 4" Twister Tails, Gulp or some similar product, and we generally cast and retrieve. Very seldom do we vertical jig. I guess it's more about covering ground to find fish. It's funny, however, that sometimes we can cast 50-75' away from the boat and the fish hits right off the bow. "

Thanks for the reminder/notation that jigging is a different game in Quetico because of live bait prohibition. My suggestions re jigging are predicated on the assumption that I can tip my bait with crawlers or leeches (or minnows). Should I ever do a Quetico trip, I'm sure I'd have a real learning curve.

As light of line and jig as you can possibly get away with, with a leech or twister tail on it. I've never gone heavier than 6# test and have never snapped my line except what was clearly a pike. Prefer to drift over spots if possible which requires a slightly heavier jig, then if I find a consistent spot I'll anchor over it and get a smaller jig on. I try all sorts of jig colors if things aren't working but by far my best jig color in BWCA has been plain black.

Currents, drop offs, weed edges, rock reefs, etc. are all targets for drifting through. I constantly ensure jig is within 1ft of bottom. If the spot produced zero action I'll try it again with a different jig and if still no action then I move to the next spot. I'm no master walleye fisherman but I can't think of a time I was ever skunked.

I found that jigging for lake trout in deeper water is pretty frustrating any time there is even a light wind. Anything over 50 feet is pretty much out of the question for me. I think that the lightest jig you can use to get to the fish gives the best sensitivity, and also lets the fish keep it in their mouth the longest.
I may also be too attached to watching the fish take the bait on my fish finder....

ponddigger: "I found that jigging for lake trout in deeper water is pretty frustrating any time there is even a light wind. Anything over 50 feet is pretty much out of the question for me. ..."

Have you tried a drift net?

I've tried one but didn't have much success. I wonder if I just need to use it more to learn the hang of it.

I fish from an 8 foot kayak, so I feel that the wind would be pretty pushy with that light of a boat. I am looking into a drift net for the future, though. I fish a lake in WI pretty often that is about 6000 acres, and the wind gets going pretty good on that.

Thanks everyone. I’m heading up in late July this year, hoping to find some rock piles and go to town!

I have always been hesitant to try a drift sock because it’s just one more thing to manage in a canoe (anchor, leeches, depth finder, stringer) but it sounds like it might be the way to go.

If you want to catch more fish jigging, there are two things you need, more than anything else:

1) A proper rod
2) Proper line

1) Back in the mid-90s, I was fishing with a buddy in a super-remote lake in Quetico, about as far from an access point as you can get. We were anchored - he was fishing in the back of the canoe and I in the front. He was fishing with a Loomis GL3 or IMX, and I was fishing with a basic Shimano Aero. He was out-fishing me three or more to one! Needless to say, I was frustrated.

"Dude, your rod is crap."

"Nonsense," I insisted. "I paid 90 bucks for this rod at the Sportman's Show!"

"It's junk. Here, try mine." We switched rods. Can you guess what happened? It was unbelievable. Now I was outfishing the master. As soon as I got home, I went out and brought a proper 6-foot Loomis jigging rod. Life changed forever.

2) Use 10-lb moss green PowerPro spectra fishing line when jigging for walleyes. You'll need to put backing on your reel first. Save a lot of heartache, and take it to a fishing store and have them spool it for you.

Use a 12-lb fluorocarbon leader - about 2 to 4 feet long as you prefer - and learn how to tie an Alberto knot to tie the leader to the PowerPro. OR do like me, and save these photos to your cell phone so when you're out in the canoe trying to figure out how the heck to tie that insanely complex knot, you can follow these pictures.

With a proper rod and line, you can feel it when a fish *breathes* on your jig....

What everyone else says is good. Fish the windy shore, look for mid-lake structure and humps. All the big walleyes we caught last July in Quetico, except for the 10-pounder in my profile photo, were caught trolling J11 and J13 jointed Rapalas with no sinkers along the windy shorelines, and the windier the better! Even in mid-July and mid-day, the walleyes where whacking these body baits! Best colours are fire tiger and northern pike, and you bet your ass I just bought a bunch of new J13's in all the other colours!

Oh yeah, we were talking about jigging, sheesh. I shall add one gratuitious 10-lb walleye photo as proof of success. Holy frig - that's, like, one BFW, eh?

For vertical or slow drift jigging, visualize your line as a piece of mechanical pencil lead that extends from the tip of your rod to the bottom. The goal is to make marks on the bottom of the lake without breaking the lead.

Once you find a spot put out two anchors. One in front and one in the back. Then the canoe won’t spin around in the wind causing you to get out of the zone or one guy in in deep water. We normally just use a minnow, leech or crawler on a spinner. Then pull it back to the canoe.

Savage Voyageur: "Once you find a spot put out two anchors. One in front and one in the back. Then the canoe won’t spin around in the wind causing you to get out of the zone or one guy in in deep water. We normally just use a minnow, leech or crawler on a spinner. Then pull it back to the canoe. "

Or... If you haven't found the exact spot, use a single anchor with a fairly long rope. You will stay in the same general area but you will move around and cover more water... Once you find "the spot", drop the second anchor.

Get yourself some of these to add some extra flash, noise and vibration to your jig while jigging. They drive the walleyes crazy, especially right after the season opens in the spring and the walleyes are a little sluggish!! A simple lift and drop retrieve, or slow retrieve just off bottom has been deadly for me. They have a short-shank hook, so they aren't great for soft plastics. If you are able to bring in live bait, however, they are dynamite. They don't work as well vertical jigging, but I have still caught plenty of fish.

Original Road Runner Jig head

They do make a maribou hair jig version, too, which is super effective for panfish.

I like the pro series and 2.0 roadrunners, personally. They have a longer shank, a barb for plastics and I prefer the gold willow blade. They also make big nasty dressed up salmon/steelhead ones.

casualbriday: "For vertical or slow drift jigging, visualize your line as a piece of mechanical pencil lead that extends from the tip of your rod to the bottom. The goal is to make marks on the bottom of the lake without breaking the lead. "

Holy geez.... that is, like, a perfect analogy! I will remember that one...

Thanks! After my buddy told me about it and I started using it, my numbers went from really low to pretty low.

Also, if you lower the tip and don't feel contact where you think you should, give it a crank and set.

On the blade jig topic, I picked up some 3/8oz ball head ones with a blade from fleet farm (this was prior to a trip where we'd likely be jigging for walleye in 35'+ and they only had road runners up to 1/8oz). They have a long shank, a wire keeper, and the blades are nickel on the back and the same color as the head (the ones I picked up were glow) on the front.

casualbriday: "Also, if you lower the tip and don't feel contact where you think you should, give it a crank and set."

Oh geez ... like, that's a beauty idea! Cuz, like, there might be a fish on, eh?

Walleye love to take a real gentle taste test sometimes.