2 basic questions here:

1. Are barbed hooks allowed in the Boundary Waters
2. What type of line do people prefer to use in the BWCA; Braided or Mono?

Darin

Darin,
1. Yes
2. Yes
You’ll get a lot opinions on #2

1) yes
2) braid with a fluorocarbon on my Pike rod.
Triline mono #8 XL for Walleye and Smallmouth Bass.

If targeting large pike is part of your plan then bring one with a solid braided line. For walleyes and smallies (and panfish if they are there) 6-8 lb mono is a better choice. Can't argue with Trilene. If you decide to go after some big pike you can add a wire or titanium leader to the mono and still have a good chance of boating a big fish with 8 lb test.

If you are already lashing a rod into your canoe, might as well bring two (or 3):)

I don't target big pike so like to bring one mono setup for slip bobbers and one for vertical jigging, which can be converted to casting/trolling rapalas, mepps, etc. easily enough.

1. Yep
2. I experimented with braided line and it just wasn’t for me. It seems like there is a bit of a learning curve involved, if you don’t have experience with it I highly recommend mono. 6 lb for jigs/bobbers, 8 lb if you want to troll (also works perfectly fine for bobber fishing)

Hammertime: "1. Yep
2. I experimented with braided line and it just wasn’t for me. It seems like there is a bit of a learning curve involved, if you don’t have experience with it I highly recommend mono. 6 lb for jigs/bobbers, 8 lb if you want to troll (also works perfectly fine for bobber fishing)"

Same for me.

15lb 8 strand braid on all of my rods. Have used Power Pro Super Slick V2 in the past but it’s expensive, trying Suffix 832 this year as it’s a bit cheaper and has a good reputation. I’ll add a length of 10lb fluorocarbon as a leader for jigging or more stealth approaches. Something similar to this will likely be the other popular answer besides mono.

I pinch my barbs when fishing with a slip bobber, but not on any other lures.

Trilene XL 6 lb. mono on everything, it hasn't failed me yet.

6 lb Cajun Red Line on every reel.

I prefer braid in almost all scenarios: jigging/casting/trolling/slip bobber for pike/bass/walleye/lake trout. Braid Lasts a lot longer, is more sensitive (better for detecting bites) much stiffer (static, not dynamic = much less stretch for better hooksets, smaller line diameter (cuts through water better, not buoyant) and very durable (less break-offs from snags/fish teeth cutting the line). I never run braid straight to the hook/quick change/swivel/lure. I always run a flourocarbon leader (least visible line in the water), connecting the two lines with a double-uni knot.

Braid is more expensive, but if you buy the quality stuff, you won't have to change your line every season. I am going on 5 years on braid on my jigging rod (20lbs powerpro) and other than the color fading, doesn't show any signs of weakness.

Braid to leader on all spinning reels...I, personally, will never go back. I use a tick lighter power rod or slower action with braid. i.e. If you like a medium fast action I would drop down to a medium light/fast or stick medium and go mod fast on action.

With a baitcasting set-up I stick with co-poly. Really just because of how nasty a backlash is wtih braid. I will almost always slap something on a cast if fishing from the canoe all day and create a mess.

I'm 15lb(~0.007) to 8lb(~0.10) leader on smallmouth/walleye rods...fluoro or co-poly...and like a medium light rod. Baitcaster I like a 10-12lb line in that ~0.014 range.

Add another vote for braid to leader. Due to sensitivity and almost no stretch of braid, plus the hi-vis colors you can get to make it easier to see changes in your line slack, I use braid on almost all of my rods. It also lets you switch between different leader material and strengths. Most of my rods (usually med light spinning and med heavy casting) have a fast/mod-fast action which I love, and this works well with braid as the user iCallitMaize mentioned.

I did change this up a little bit last year by putting 12lb Trilene Sensation mono on a baitcaster as I intended to use it mostly for topwater, and I LOVED it. Sensation is such a great mono (and I say that as a mono "hater"). I have also used 15lb Seaguar Tatsu fluoro (best of the best - got it on sale!) on baitcasters that will mostly be for trolling or subsurface baits. I will definitely do my straight-12lb baitcasting setup again this year (in the BWCA anyway).

On spinning reels, I like 16lb Sunline Xplasma Asegai, but 15lb PowerPro would be fine too. I like the 8-strand as it is more supple and quieter through guides. I will tie this to an 8lb fluoro or 12lb mono leader, depending on whether I'm throwing mostly subsurface (fluoro) or mostly topwater (mono). Fluoro sinks, so it is not good for topwater, but it works if you keep your casts short and your rod tip up to prevent the line from sinking. For brands, I like Sunline Sniper, Sunline Assassin, and Seaguar Blue for fluoro, and Trilene Sensation for mono.

On baitcasters, I usually will not go below 30lb, and prefer 40lb. I often tend towards 8-strand braid here as well, though 4-strand can be better if you are fishing in/around weeds, as 4-strand will cut through vegetation better. I've used Super8SlickV2, Sufix 832, J-Braid x8, and MaxCuatro. I do like MaxCuatro for the smaller line diameter at a given breaking strength, and it's easier to pick out backlashes/overruns than with the thin supple stuff, but for quietness through guides, I tend to prefer the 8-strand. Sadly I don't know that I've found a favorite yet.

As for connection knots, I've made a half-hearted attempt to learn the improved Alberto knot, and tried but refused to get used to the FG knot, but I always fall back to the Double Uni because of how easy it is. It does make a large knot which can get hung up on baitcaster line guides (hello backlash!) and micro rod guides when using larger line diameters, but I could almost tie it with my eyes closed, in the wind.

There it is, more info than you asked for... :)