Let the group know how your fishing was when you returned from a trip.

Date of trip

What species did you catch?

Depth?

Lures/Bait?

For Seagull lake and Sag.
When does the lake trout fishing open?
On the fishing opener or at ice-out?
Thanks...
Assuming of course the ice goes out before the opener

Debbie Double D's and I have made long fishing trips into Quetico over each of the last three summers mostly during the month of July, and have experienced some truly amazing fishing. With the southern border closed to covid, the park was pretty much deserted, and we were able to catch fish everywhere. Only towards the end of our 36-day trip last year did we meet a few people coming in from the north.

We are both in our 60s, and we make "gentlemanly" trips with plenty of luxury items, and we don't mind making three trips across the portages because they are usually short and easy. We don't travel many miles per day on travel days, because we like to fish along the way. We will typically choose a 4* campsite in a lake that is usually one or two portages off of main street, and stay there for 3 or 4 nights to really enjoy the place, and be able to fish our favourite hotspots without ever feeling rushed.

You guys who have been entering Quetico from the south really need to make the drive round to the north, and try coming in that way. There are fewer people, and the fishing is better. All in all, DDD and I probably catch 60% of our fish trolling, 35% of our fish jigging, and 5% if that casting. We troll everywhere, always, especially on travel days. J13 if shallower, TD11 if deeper - see below. We don't troll spoons on travel days because we tend to paddle a bit faster, and don't want to twist our lines.

Fundamental to our summertime fishing experience is our portable depth finder - Lucky brand for about $150 off of Amazon - which we can recharge off our little solar panel, also off Amazon. We bring along a Garmin InReach to report our catches back to my 98-year-old dad, with whom I used to fish in Quetico back in the 90s. He still owns the "family record" for the largest brook trout aka "speck" which is 4 and a quarter pounds, however I aim to beat that record next week when my buddy Ian and I return to our super secret lake in Algoma that is FULL of 3+ pounders. I use the Backcountry Navigator app on my Samsung Android phone to save all our hotspots, campsites, and tracks for future references. I might share a few via private message .... maybe. But you'd better have some good ones to give back.

Here's what's been working for us in July over the last three summers.

Lake trout:

For the most part, they are down deep, but not necessarily as deep as you might think. In a big lake like Agnes - a fabulous lake trout fishery - the fish can be scattered over virtually any depth. We locate them on the fish finder, let out the right amount of line on our line-counter reels, and put the lure right in front of them. We use a gigantic heavy rod and braided line, along with a pretty big and secure rod holder, plus a gigantic heavy 8-ounce weight and a three-way swivel rig. Put a lightweight flutter spoon on the business end, and you're immediately in business. Try every colour under the rainbow. Sometimes on Agnes, I couldn't even get my lure back down before Debbie nailed another lake trout! Surprisingly, we've never nailed a big one there. They seem to average three to six pounds. There must be some giants, though.

On medium-size lakes, the Rapala Tail Dancer TD-11 was the ticket to lakers. With a long lead, this lure will make it down to the thermocline where the lakers hang out. That's only about 23 feet in a medium size lake. Keep trying different colours to see what works. Use your depth finder, look for the fish and structure in twenty to thirty feet of water, and you'll get lakers. There are some small-deep lakes in Quetico that have amazing lake trout fisheries - there was a good article last summer in the provincial park newsletter.

Moss green Power Pro braided fishing line in 30-pound test - buy it off Amazon in bigger spools. Paired with a 30-pound fluorocarbon leader. Learn how to tie the Alberto knot and PRACTISE it. Bring your reading glasses.

My biggest laker two years ago was 11 lb 11 oz and came up from about 25 feet when we were jigging for walleyes! So there you go. That brute put up a darn good fight. I have used heavy jigs to get down to the lakers, and have caught a few, but the three-way rig is probably two or three times as effective, even though it's a pain in the ass. So I'm not bringing many heavy jigs this year.

This year we will be coming earlier in June, so the lakers may not be anywhere near so deep. I have made ice-out spring trout fishing trips virtually every year since the mid-80s - mostly in Algonquin Park and lately in Algoma - and the best time for spring lake trout begins seven to ten days after ice-out. At this time of year, you don't need a depth finder - you see all the structure you'll be fishing. Troll spoons and shallow-running body baits over the structure you see - shoals, points, boulders, neckdowns - and pay special attention to the wind.

Man, one time back in the day my dad and Ian and I were in Merchant Lake in Algonquin Park, and it was like a 30 mph wind. We trolled while we travelled, as we always do. We kept trying to get around this one island, and every time we pulled into the wind, one of us nailed another lake trout! We'd hook the fish, pull in, get blown back around the island, and try again. Damn, must have taken six tries before we finally made it without catching a fish.

June should be interesting this year - we will work our way down in depth and see where the lakers will be. Maybe the #9 Shad Raps in the 17-foot depth range will work?

Walleyes:

Back in the 90s with my dad, we didn't even know how to jig. We came into the park in June and focused on the bass in the shallows, with walleyes being incidental catches. I remember meeting a canoe once in Camel Lake, the guys had jigs on their rods. "How's the walleye fishing?" I asked. "Outstanding!" they replied. "We've caught walleye virtually everywhere we've tried!" I wanted to be like them. Now I am.

Not surprisingly, we catch a ton of walleyes trolling our Rapala TD11, which is our all-time favourite deep diver in Quetico. I have acquired some new ones to try this June, so we will see. But don't go to Quetico without a huge selection of these lures. Debbie's "Kawnipi Special" is our favourite, sort of a dull perch colour, what an amazing lure. If I could only bring one lure to Quetico in the summer, this would be it. Look for neckdowns and current areas in the 20- to 30-foot range, and troll through here. You'll get pike and bass too.

A big surprise for us in July has been how incredibly easy it is to catch walleyes - and I mean BIG walleyes - trolling our second-favourite lure which is the J13. If I could only bring two lures to Quetico in the summer, the second would be the good ol Rapala J13, especially the NP northern pike colour. What an amazing lure!

I'm not sure how deep it trolls? 8 feet? 10 feet? Here's how you catch the big-ass walleyes in July: troll this lure over WINDY shorelines - especially rocky points - in the middle of the afternoon, and you will nail big walleyes. I don't know how many 6-, 7- and 8-pounders we have caught using this pattern. It's too easy. Fight the wind, change colours, catch fish. You'll get pike and bass too.

Same 30#/30# line as per above for lake trout. We have this on our level-wind heavy duty trolling reels for going deep, and also on our medium-heavy spinning outfits for casting and trolling.

Of course, we catch a ton of walleyes jigging, and pretty much all the same way - 3/8-ounce jig head and 4- to 5-inch Berkley Power Grub. Bigger is better in Quetico with the twister tails, and 3/8-ounce is the right weight. 1/4 is too small, 1/2 is too big. Down anywhere from ten to twenty-five feet. I can't say I like the swim baits nearly as much as the twister tails, they just don't seem to work as well for me.

12# Power Pro with 12# fluoro leader for jigging on a Loomis GL3.

Northern Pike:

Or "northerns" as you Merricans call 'em. Mostly we call 'em pike. We haven't really targeted big pike on our summertime trips, but it's not hard - cast Doctor spoons into big cabbage beds in eight to fifteen feet of water. That's where the pike will hang out. Cabbage weeds are not that prevalent in Quetico, so when you find some, give it a try. If you go to the satellite images of lakes you want to fish, and zoom right in, you can often identify cabbage weed beds. Not to mention submerged shoals you might paddle right over without seeing. If you spend a few days looking at satellite images of your target lakes, you can mark the hotspots right on your Backcountry Navigator app, and paddle to within twenty feet of them in your canoe. Trust me, it works.

Most of the big pike we've caught in the summer - never that big - have been trolling J13s and TD11s - no surprise there. I guess Debbie's 15-pounder has been the biggest we've got over the last three years. We took a picture on her phone, which she had in a waterproof travel case. You know, the kind you press down on the plastic cover and type? Well - pay attention if you have this kind of case for your phone. In most phones, there is a default setting that if you try to access the phone like 25 times in a row without success, the phone will revert back to factory settings, and you will lose everything. This is what happened to her one rainy day - the cover kept pressing accidentally on the front of the phone, but without her entering her fingerprint or password, it kept saying "try again". After 25 tries, she lost everything, including the photo of her 15-pound pike! Anyway, there is a setting on your phone - find it, and disable this auto reset.

Last summer, we took to sharing our best photos each evening via Bluetooth. Connect the phones, share photos, build redundancy into your system. Speaking of redundancy or lack thereof, we have done these month-long trips using only TWO paddles. So there. Roast me if you like, it's a flatwater trip, not a river.

Back in the 90s in the early spring, we casted jigs into shallow south-facing bays, and caught some massive pike. My biggest was 24 pounds. We might revisit that lake this year, not sure yet. Back in the 90s, we had a 30-pounder up to the canoe before it let go! There are some big-ass pike in Quetico.

Even though I carry wire leaders, I almost never use them in Quetico. The fluoro leaders are surprisingly resilient to bite-offs. [is that a word?] When you add in the length of a wire leader to the length of the fluoro leader, it makes it harder to handle. So ... I just don't bother with the wire leaders much if at all.

So, pretty much incidental pike catches the last three summers.

Smallmouth Bass:

Back in the 90s when we went in June, we caught mostly bass by casting into the boulders close to shore. In the springtime, the prevailing winds are from the SW, so the bass tend to hang out in the NE corners of the lake where there is sand deposited, and they can hang out spawning in the warmer water. Anyone ever notice that - bass in the spring caught in SW-facing bays in the NE part of the lake?

The last three years in the summer, we haven't caught all that many bass, but we caught a few whoppers just over 4 pounds. Our favourite lure by far for bass is the Berkley Choppo Lure, a classic cigar-shaped surface lure which has a big propeller that makes a lot noise. It's an upsize from the good ol Dying Flutter, which is too small and too hard to cast. For whatever reason, the bass in Quetico love the sound of these lures, even in the summer, and they will come up a long way from deep water to hit them on the surface. The Choppos are particularly effective in fast water below waterfalls - man oh man, have we got some good ones there. Hell, we even got some three-pound walleye hitting the Choppo lures right at the base of the waterfall in the middle of July! The benefits of an empty park, eh? Those fish probably hadn't seen a lure in three years.

Back in the day in June, we used to catch most of our bass casting Berkley Power Leeches - sadly no longer available - into the boulders on 1/4-ounce jigs. I'll be trying lots of Power Bait jigs this June for bass.

A lot of the other bass came by trolling the J13s over windy areas, and trolling the TD11s in deeper water.

So there you have it. If you want more info and pictures, look me up on Facebook - Peter Zabrok - and search for "Quetico" in my profile.

Cheers, eh? See you this summer.

About that time to start getting some Spring reports!!!

Lake Size Medium
Lake Level - slightly high, some rocks hidden from view
Dates 5/15, 5/18
Shallow and Windblown shoreline or points were the best fishing
Jerk Baits worked the best

My 3 top Hard Jerkbaits for me this trip
1. Rapala SDR11 Shadow Rap - Silver and another used CLOWN color with success
2. X-Rap - Rusty Crawdad size 8 and size 10 - for the Smallie bite this rocked
3. Rapala ripstop - Albino Shiner for dusk/night fishing for walleye

5/15 Monday Details:
Just starting out from camp trolling landed a nice eater size walleye on an SDR11
Smallie Bonanza - NE bay pointing SW where the waves were rolling into.. near shore on almost every cast a good size Smallie from 10:30 am to 3 pm ish
We had 2 Smallies hit our floating XRaps near canoe while we were both chatting
Went back out to fish a shallow bay at dusk and landed 4 nice size walleyes using SDR11 and a ripstop. All between 16 to 21 inches within 40 minutes. Might have been quicker but the smallies were still biting.
Another canoe also kept some walleye eaters so we had a big fish fry for our one fish meal of the trip that night.

5/18 Thursday - another epic fishing day was on hand with the overcast sky and rainy morning..
Had to leave but 2 casts my daughter made near portage, landed one Smallie and the another was snipped line with rolling surface waves. Assume by a Northern.
Another couple stayed behind who don't fish and i left 2 poles with lures on.
XRap 8 and the SDR11 Shadow rap.
They caught a lot of smallies on Thursday 5/18 on the XRap Rusty Crawdad size 8

Side Notes:

I placed fish remains in a baggie and sunk it under a rock next to shore.
Next morning we had leeches attached to the baggie. i assume there were a few pin holes in baggie.
The leeches were tried by 2 (with jigs i think) and didn't work, but i did not try em. Jerk Baits were still the winning ticket group wise.

Some of the crew used Shad Raps and Husky Jerks with success.

Some black flies were biting, but the windy days helped.
I never put on any bug stuff.

Chota Tundra Hippies worked awesome for jumping out of canoe near shore in wind blown conditions to cast from points and shorelines.

Bikefishski: "Lake Size Medium
Lake Level - slightly high, some rocks hidden from view
Dates 5/15, 5/18
Shallow and Windblown shoreline or points were the best fishing
Jerk Baits worked the best


My 3 top Hard Jerkbaits for me this trip
1. Rapala SDR11 Shadow Rap - Silver and another used CLOWN color with success
2. X-Rap - Rusty Crawdad size 8 and size 10 - for the Smallie bite this rocked
3. Rapala ripstop - Albino Shiner for dusk/night fishing for walleye


5/15 Monday Details:
Just starting out from camp trolling landed a nice eater size walleye on an SDR11
Smallie Bonanza - NE bay pointing SW where the waves were rolling into.. near shore on almost every cast a good size Smallie from 10:30 am to 3 pm ish
We had 2 Smallies hit our floating XRaps near canoe while we were both chatting
Went back out to fish a shallow bay at dusk and landed 4 nice size walleyes using SDR11 and a ripstop. All between 16 to 21 inches within 40 minutes. Might have been quicker but the smallies were still biting.
Another canoe also kept some walleye eaters so we had a big fish fry for our one fish meal of the trip that night.


5/18 Thursday - another epic fishing day was on hand with the overcast sky and rainy morning..
Had to leave but 2 casts my daughter made near portage, landed one Smallie and the another was snipped line with rolling surface waves. Assume by a Northern.
Another couple stayed behind who don't fish and i left 2 poles with lures on.
XRap 8 and the SDR11 Shadow rap.
They caught a lot of smallies on Thursday 5/18 on the XRap Rusty Crawdad size 8


Side Notes:


I placed fish remains in a baggie and sunk it under a rock next to shore.
Next morning we had leeches attached to the baggie. i assume there were a few pin holes in baggie.
The leeches were tried by 2 (with jigs i think) and didn't work, but i did not try em. Jerk Baits were still the winning ticket group wise.


Some of the crew used Shad Raps and Husky Jerks with success.


Some black flies were biting, but the windy days helped.
I never put on any bug stuff.


Chota Tundra Hippies worked awesome for jumping out of canoe near shore in wind blown conditions to cast from points and shorelines.



"

Thanks for the report! So you were out on just days, the 15th and 18th? How shallow or deep were the smallmouth being caught?

Got a permit for a lake and hopeful site that we have done very well from shore on several trips before. 90% fish caught on slip bobb and leech. 5/17-5/21

3 1/2 days fishing (all these #'s are only fish caught from campsite we camped at-- higher numbers were achieved based on fishing in canoe or from other campsites)
4 guys -- but site limited fishing to only 3 lines at a time.

67 Walleyes (largest 19.5")
10 crappies ( all over 10')
8 northern-- ( all hammer handles)
4 smallies ( all very large -- one at 21"+)
5 perch ( largest 12")
1 sunnie (bull at 10")
1 small rock bass

Headed back up in 4 days and expect a change in the depth of shoreline fishing on a different lake but generally same flowage mainly due to increase in water temp.

You are living the life!

What batteries do you use in your Lucky Sonar?

You are living the life! What batteries do you use with your Lucky Sonar?

5/18-23, three guys, 99% of time in Quetico

What species did you catch?
lake trout - 12, most were 5-7#, a couple smaller, one about 12# (estimates, only weighed the 7# and a 6# that we ate)
walleye - 150?, mostly 1-2#, one was a bit over 4#
smallmouth - maybe 30, many were 18-20"
pike - not many, mostly not large. Lost one big one. Biggest landed was about 30"

Depth?
Current seams below raging falls were the best for walleyes, but we got a couple trolling shallow cranks over 80'; trout were in 8-80', but the 10-25' range was best. Bass were mostly 6-10'. In current and behind boulders was best, but we caught them everywhere.

Lures/Bait?
2.5" tube jig got the grand slam, jigged little cleos for the grand slam, trolled spoons got a couple trout, reef runner for the biggest trout, one day a big doctor spoon was the ticket for bass (???). Got blanked on the zulu rig; the fish were not yet shallow enough. Overall, jig and plastic was the top producer. Some days the tube was hot, some days a twister tail or finesse minnow was better.

May 26-29 fished 3 small to medium sized lakes near Ely. 3 father/son (11-13 years old) canoes in our group. Overall fishing was average for BWCA and mosquitos caused us to stop fishing earlier in the evening than I wanted.

Bass - Caught 60+ largemouth one afternoon. We caught lots of 1-2#
Bass with a handful of 3#+ mixed in. Saw LOTS of bass cruising the shallows but the ones we could see wouldn’t bite. Most bass were caught on a jig and leech. Some were under a slip bobber, others were dragging on the bottom in less than 5’. One canoe stuck to keitech 2.8” swim baits and whopper ploppers. They caught fish but not as many or as big that afternoon. Water was chilly but air was warm so I started wading along shore and had good success casting over big round boulders. It was easier to fish slow than battle the wind in a canoe. I haven’t fished these lakes before but was surprised at how few smallmouth we caught.

Northern - Trolling Shad raps provided reliable northern action. Most were 18-24”. One ~10# northern was caught on a Mepps next to the canoe. Loved watching my son battle that one.

Walleye - Only caught walleye in one lake we fished. 6 walleye were 15-18”. One was 23”. Caught 4 trolling Shad raps, 2 on slip bobbers in 4-6’ and one on a keitech 2.8” in main lake weeds in 8’. We didn’t bring lindy rigs in but a few groups we talked to were having success on lindys and rainbows.

What did you catch your walleye on?

Thanks!

Fished 3 different medium sized lakes for walleye on the Gunflint side. June 4-6. 1st lake we found walleye in 5-6 fow in current, 3 of us caught approximately 30 fish, largest walleye was 25" and released. 2nd lake walleye were in 5-8 fow. Largest walleye was 19 1/2", 5 fish caught. 3rd lake walleye were in 6-8 fow. Caught 1 19" walleye and 3 northerns 22"-25". All on slip bobbers and leeches.

Stayed on Alpine lake for 5 days (may24-29).

We bumped into a couple walleyes the first afternoon. After that we dialed it in and hammered them. We never got out for a sunrise bite, but mornings we decent. Slip bobbers with a plain hook and a leech, on shallow wind blown rock 4-10ft. In the evening the bite was best, hair jigs, or jig and a leech. Anchor up and pitch the jigs, 6-10ft on the wind blow shallow rock. The lower the sun got, the better the bite, as long as you can put up with the Mosquitos.

Biggest walleye was 30.5"(released), 26"(released) and our average was 20".

Went in on June 3 out on the 6th, fished smaller lake in Gunflint side. Fished 3 hours on 6/3, 6 hours on 6/4 and on 6/5, caught 114 walleyes between the two of us, 15 perch and 3 largemouth bass. Saturday and Sunday caught most if not all on white paddletail baits, then thunderstorms on 6/4 came through, then 6/5 all they wanted was a leech under a bobber. Caught very few on paddletails. Biggest walleye was 24" and biggest perch was 12" majority of the walleyes were 13-17", 100% of the fish were catch and release.

Nice report

Went to Quetico finally! Great to be back since 2019!

Enter on 5/26, exit on 6/8

First half of the trip was spent fishing around the Kawnipi area. Walleyes were being caught everywhere we would fish for bass. Sometimes close to 30 a day. They were caught mostly on Zulu rigs and swim baits. When we were actually looking for them, I used a black hair jig, 1/4oz size to jig them off of some muddy flats with emerging weeds in about 12 to 15 feet of water. We caught 100s of smallmouth each day. My thumb was bleeding by the end of this trip from lipping so many smallmouth. Most smallmouth could be found around moving water. You could also find a mix of male and females along the shoreline, but mostly males. The females were mostly off the bank in a little deeper water. The majority of my smallmouth were caught on the wake bait, Zulu rig, and chartreuse double willow blade spinner baits. Biggest smallmouth was just under 22 inches. Biggest pike was probably in the low 30 inches range. Biggest walleye was in the lower 20 inch range.

Second half of trip was spent fishing around Basswood. Fish were a little more difficult to find. I think the warmer water had the females sitting a ways off shore. The shorelines were littered with male smallmouth. Some were in the 20 inch range so they were fun. 95% of the fish were caught on the wake bait and Zulu rig. We only caught a couple of walleye on accident. We only fished them once on purpose and couldn't find them so we went back to bass fishing. Caught a big largemouth bass on the wake bait. Caught a 35 inch pike on silver sparkle curly tail jig. Water temps were extremely warm, I am guessing in the lower 70s. They were 65 up by Kawnipi.

kj: "What did you catch your walleye on?


Thanks!"

Trolling jointed Shad raps (perch color), slip bobbers in 4’ with leeches and one on a swim jig with a keitech 2.8” paddle tail.

Just back from Quetico - Beaverhouse to Batchewong/Nym June 3-10. Best week of fishing I’ve ever experienced. As usual, we targeted bass, but all takers were welcome! Huge numbers of bass, walleye, and northerns. Average and largest sizes were both remarkable. Darn near anything we threw got bit, but the most productive were chartreuse and/or white spinnerbaits burned just below the surface, and darker (bluegill) curly tailed grubs retrieved quickly within 18” of the surface. Great trip!

Just back from Lac La Croix. We were in June 10-17th. 8 guys fishing hard and we did decent but my expectations were higher as our crew is experienced. Fishing was just weird all around. Fish were scattered in all sorts of depths and caught with many presentations but I will list the best couple presentations for the 3 main species we targeted. We had to work really hard for the fish we caught. Water temps were mid 60s to low 70s where we were fishing.

Smallmouth Bass: Mainly caught along shoreline structure with whopper ploppers, flukes, jig-swimbait combo, wake baits, slip bobbers. Caught from 2 feet of water up to 10 feet of water. Biggest bass were found by deeper structure. We caught a lot from 16-19" but only 3 over 20 inches which was disappointing to me. I would guess we caught between 400-500 smallmouth (caught around 150 myself). Numbers was decent but quality was lacking. Guessing the hot temps the last 2 weeks pushed the big ones deeper.

Walleye: This was by far the weirdest Walleye trip I have ever been on. Caught Walleye anywhere from 2 FOW to 20 FOW. Best lure was a jig and swimbait combo. Lindy rigs and slip bobbers also produced well. Picked up a lot along shoreline structure, weedlines, and rocky reefs. Caught Walleye from 10-26" with most in the 16-22" range. I would say we caught around 300 for the trip. Never really found much of a concentration of them other than a couple spots. This was the main species we targeted on the trip.

Northern Pike: Caught the most of these I ever have on a trip. (I almost never target Pike) Found these pretty much anywhere as always. The Northern Pike ranged from 10-37". I would say we caught atleast 20 pike over 30". I don't mind catching pike over that length but we did catch plenty of hammer handles as well. I would say probably around 100 pike for the trip. Caught using all our presentations pretty much. Swimbaits, crankbaits, slip bobber, lindy rig, other plastics, spoons, topwater, etc.

Lake Trout: We made a few feeble attempts at the lake trout but struck out on them but there was not consistent effort put it on that species. Our depth finder stopped working for my canoe so we only fished for a couple hours for them.

Date of trip: June 10th thru the 16th.

What species did you catch? We primarily targeted walleye but did catch smallmouth and pike as well. Between 2 guys we probably caught 150 walleye and didn't even fish that hard.

Depth? Walleyes were between 8 to 12 feet deep.

Lures/Bait? The majority were caught using slip bobbers and leeches.

Sunday June 25th. BWCA lake on a day permit.
My wife and I caught a dozen walleyes up to 16 1/2". 1 was caught casting a Rapala, all others were caught on a slip bobber and a leech.

Bonus for the night was seeing a bull moose!

Date: July 2-8

Where: Bald Eagle

Plenty of Walleye and Smallmouth but interestingly very few pike.

The eyes and brown bass were really in the same location...generally in that 12-15 foot range. You didn't have to get all the way down to them which probably tells me they were suspended over the breaks. Look for areas where the lake drops rapidly to 15-20. Bluffs really held walleyes too. I did catch one big crappie in BE as well.

Soft plastics and trolling plugs equally effective.

I had a grand slam +1 fishing trip. Bass, northern, walleye, lake trout, and a bonus Brook trout!

Any intel on the LIS North area, going in on Sat for a week. EP 14. This will be our 2nd time to the area, first time stayed on Shell lake and did pretty well catching small mouth and walleye. This time hoping to stay on Lynx instead.

Date: 7/16 and 7/17

Largemouth bass: A lot of topwater frog action in very shallow lily pads throughout the day. Found a group of 14-17" hogs holding in a hole in 6-10 fow, caught on live crawlers set 2 feet below a bobber.

Smallmouth bass: Hitting T-rigged Berkley Power Worms cast towards shore, red eyed wigglers, and live crawlers under a bobber

Pike: were slamming spoons and spinners in every shallow bay anywhere from at least 15 fow. Live and dead suckers under a bobber worked well too. Top water cranks over deeper vegetation. Chatter baits with paddle tail trailers along shallow vegetation. Frogs in lily pads. Trolling large shallow diving cranks. To summarize, pike were hitting anything and everything at all depths we tried, but spoons and spinners worked the best.

7/13 - 7/18, Farm Lake/Kawishiwi into Clear, then Little/Main Gabbro.
Best fishing was on the Gabbros, at least for walleye (my target). I could never really get the river itself dialed in.

Brought 1lb of leeches and caught exactly nothing on them. Slip bobber under rapids, slip bobber in the current on the point of my campsite, jig into a hole, spinner rig on a bottom bouncer... nothing. They mostly just slowly died and went stinky despite my water changes in the leech locker.

What worked best for me were soft plastics, either ned rig or paddletail swim baits. Drifted slowly past islands and points, that produced enough fish to fry for dinner. Shad rap trolled past points also worked, yielded a big fat crappie and a hard-fighting smallmouth.

Also got a pike on a spinnerbait, but ended up having trouble throwing that reliably bc it kept getting snagged on bottom rocks and I didn't want to lose it. In general "I don't know how to fish very rocky bottoms" contributed to my success/failures here I think.

Just returned from a base camping fishing trip to Batchewaung. The fishing was incredible. I mainly targeted Walleyes. The odd thing was fishing seemed to be best from 10 am , till 4 pm. The early morning, and night bite was very inconsistent. The Walleyes were caught on the edge of big water reefs, in 14 to 17 feet of water. the bait of choice was 3 inch twister tails, In chartreuse, yellow, and white, and a 1/4 ounce jig. drifting, and slow trolling was my method that provided the best results. Many Smallmouth, and Northerns were also caught , mixed in with the Walleyes….