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06/30/2020 07:59PM  
Hello,

First post here. Headed to the Boundary Waters for the first time mid-July. I have a 20 year old Sage 5wt 9 ft. rod and Ross reel set that I’d like to bring and fish with. Caught lots of trout fly fishing on rivers but have never tried on a lake or from a canoe. Reading through some of the posts there are a variety of fly types recommended across floating and sinking. If you were going to pack a super small kit, say 2 dozen flies, what would you recommend bringing? We are entering at East Bearskin and working our way up and over to Caribou. Looking to fish for lake trout and bass.

Thanks!
 
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cyclones30
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06/30/2020 09:21PM  
Fishing w/ a fly rod for lakers will be darn near impossible in mid-summer. They're typically out deep and trolling or jigging things down at those depths is your main chance.

However, the smallies will be ripe for the taking w/ a fly rod. Try top water stuff at dawn and dusk near shore. Streamers, crawdad looking stuff, and whatever else you want the rest of the day. Pike will eat those too....
 
flytyer
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07/01/2020 12:01PM  
Dahlberg Diver, Sneaky Pete, woolly buggers (black, brown, olive), deer hair poppers and a couple of mouse patterns for the evening. Cast into the sunken wood and under over-hanging branches.....hello Smallie. Make the fly noisy!

That said, i would be using an eight weight with a floating line. Use what you have and enjoy. Fish are not leader shy, therefore, short six foot, 0x, 1x, 2x, 3x.

Best for the fly fisherman to fish from the bow of the canoe and the stern paddler can position the canoe for the best cast.
 
WHendrix
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07/01/2020 06:18PM  
There is a Fly Fishing Forum here that you can join. It has a lot of good information and is very helpful for the person who is fly fishing the BW for the first time.
 
07/01/2020 06:46PM  
Thanks to all three of you for the tips and I’ll head over to the fly fishing forum too.
 
07/02/2020 10:20PM  
I agree that Lakers are out of fly rod range by July.

Smallie action could be bonkers. I recommend any kind of popper like the one shown here. A popper is best fished with a few quick strips of line followed by an abrupt stop. The popper should be making some bubbles on the surface. A kerplop, gurgle, gurgle, stop, repeat. I nailed them last year at this time. Throw that fly popper at every downed tree and every weed patch along the shore. If you can find a weedless popper then you could toss it directly into the weeds. Look out. Reeling in a Smallie on a fly rod is like nothing else. Life changing. Good luck.

 
07/03/2020 12:14PM  
Deer hair mice are a killer, especially early and late in the day. Throw them right against the shoreline. Great for largemouth if you can find a lake or area of a lake where they hang out.

 
07/16/2020 09:44AM  
So we ended up using the spin cast setups on Lake Caribou, didn’t have success with flies. There was a ton of surface bugs - spiders, flies, dragonflies, etc... and almost zero biting up top at all times of the day. Success was had with fake worms and leeches - a dozen bass, several walleye and one pike. Shore lunch made the fish delicious!
 
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