Who is trying something new this year? Are you trying out a new lure? Are you trying a new presentation or technique? Are you fishing somewhere new? Are you trying out a color you never used before? Anything new or different this year compared to previous trips.

I think I might try out Ned Rigging. I hate jigging, so that’s the main reason I haven’t tried these lures. I normally fish a shallow river at home and I get constantly snagged while jigging. It seems a little easier jigging in a deeper lake. So I am thinking I might give this lure and presentation a shot this year. At least until I get snagged a number of times and give up and move onto something else. :)

I'll actually target bass with some whopper ploppers this year.

We used to experiment, experiment and experiment some more, just for fun. Once you have them dialed in, it’s more fun to catch than “try” to catch. We have 9 days in the Q this year, and we are basically taking two presentations of soft plastics , and the Ned rig is one of them. It helps to have the right equipment for Ned fishing and definitely takes some level of fishing “feel” so it’s not for everyone and it’s certainly not a search bait. Don’t do it QMike, you won’t catch anything lol

With only one Q trip under my belt from last June, my trip this June still seems new and exciting simply because it'll only be my second canoe country trip, as I previously had this mistaken (stupid?, ignorant?) idea it wasn't a top-rate backcountry trip. Anyway, what is new is that I am going to break out my fly rod to catch some bass and pike off points with casting room - not the most efficient method for Quetico, but that's not the point - it'll be a blast to catch a topwater smallie on the fly in such a beautiful place.

While I’m not new to trolling, I am going to implement it differently by trolling on travel days. Historically I’ve always pushed to a designated spot and then started fishing from there, and feel I’m missing some opportunities along the way. This year I plan to troll on travel days both to cover more water fishing, but also as a part of an overall shift towards being more intentional and present while traveling rather than being so focused on getting from point A to point B.

QueticoMike: "Who is trying something new this year? Are you trying out a new lure? Are you trying a new presentation or technique? Are you fishing somewhere new? Are you trying out a color you never used before? Anything new or different this year compared to previous trips.

I think I might try out Ned Rigging. I hate jigging, so that’s the main reason I haven’t tried these lures. I normally fish a shallow river at home and I get constantly snagged while jigging. It seems a little easier jigging in a deeper lake. So I am thinking I might give this lure and presentation a shot this year. At least until I get snagged a number of times and give up and move onto something else. :)"

If you are going to try Ned rigging, use 1/10 oz ZMan finesse shroomz jigheads with a ZMan finesse TRD plastic. Green pumpkin works well in clear water, and I’ve heard it works well in tannic water. I’m going to try out the bubblegum color when I go to Basswood Lake in June. Black and blue works well for largemouth in water with low visibility, but I see no reason that a black and blue or junebug wouldn’t work on smallmouth. I have also had luck with the coppertreuse color in relatively clear water, but I bet it would work well in stained water. Smallmouth love Ned rigs. They will catch big fish but you’re going to catch a lot of small ones too. That’s one of the reasons it’s good to have the ZMan elaztech baits, they’re very durable. If you’re going deeper, a 1/6 oz jighead would probably be good. To retrieve a ned rig just drag it or hop it. You can do big hops, small hops, or even little twitches and shakes. One other technique that works well is just reeling so slowly that the rig drags on the bottom. Make sure to always mix in some pauses while Ned rig fishing, the pause (“deadsticking”) can get you lots of bites

Going to try this new fangled ZULU rig from a guy they call QueticoMike. :)

My go-to is an EWG jig with a finesse worm on it, and I catch tons of fish with it every year locally. It performed really well last year in the BWCA, but on one of the last days I tied on a Maribou jig and had a lot of success too - something I've never replicated elsewhere.

This year I'm starting with the Maribou jig. It is compact, no extra plastics to manage, and is more oriented towards the walleye we're targeting more heavily than the smallmouth bass we were mostly fishing for last year.

Going to try blade baits for trout this year. Typically focus on trolling or slip bobber fishing for lakers but decided to add another option to the mix.

Can't think of much I haven't tried over the years, but in the Q, simple is usually best. I do have a couple of those wake baits that you mentioned awhile back. I might give those a try ;) The Ned rig is a killer when fishing is off and will often slay the walleye. It is not my favorite bait when fish are aggressively feeding as it does catch a good number of smaller fish and fishes rather slow. It will catch when nothing else will, and does catch some very large fish. Use the Zman bodies, as the tails float up off bottom, which is much of their appeal. Both the "Zulu rig" and the "Ned rig" will often catch when others won't, but neither covers water very fast. One is great when fish are relating more to the shallows or surface, the other for when they are relating to deeper water or the bottom, but both are finesse. I live near Ned Kehde, the man who made the Ned rig famous, although he would be sure to say that he in no way invented it and does not like that they named it after him. He prefers that it be called midwest finesse. He is a very humble man, but he can sure hammer the fish! If it is extremely snaggy, try to swim it just above the rocks with a shake here and there, or drift fish over deeper water and fish vertical so you can avoid most snags. I have caught a ton of walleye just slow dragging it with the tail sticking up, but that will find every snag. The TRD is the most classic Ned body and is super effective. You do not want much action most of the time.

papalambeau: " Going to try this new fangled ZULU rig from a guy they call QueticoMike. :) "

There’s nothing new about it anymore. :) Hard to believe it’s been a couple decades now since I first started using the rig.

Micanthropyre: "My go-to is an EWG jig with a finesse worm on it, and I catch tons of fish with it every year locally. It performed really well last year in the BWCA, but on one of the last days I tied on a Maribou jig and had a lot of success too - something I've never replicated elsewhere.


This year I'm starting with the Maribou jig. It is compact, no extra plastics to manage, and is more oriented towards the walleye we're targeting more heavily than the smallmouth bass we were mostly fishing for last year."

I started using black hair jigs some years ago for walleye and did well with them. The walleye like them, plus they last longer than soft plastic.

Headed to central Ontario this year to target walleye and Pike. I will be trying Joe Bucher Depth Raiders and Shallow Raiders for big Pike.

Also for Pike I’m trying some new micro double cowgirls in various colors.

This winter I tied about a 100 walleye spinner rigs in various colors in minnow and two hook crawler rigs.

Savage Voyageur: "Headed to central Ontario this year to target walleye and Pike. I will be trying Joe Bucher Depth Raiders and Shallow Raiders for big Pike.

Also for Pike I’m trying some new micro double cowgirls in various colors.

This winter I tied about a 100 walleye spinner rigs in various colors in minnow and two hook crawler rigs. "

What lake are you headed to Savage Voyageur? I will be doing much of the same hitting both Eagle and Wabigoon near Dryden, Ontario. My new bait I'm trying this year is the Lee Lure's Death Pause Minnow. I've enjoyed some of Lee's other lures but recently picked this one up and am anxious to use it for pike/muskie. And are the micro double cowgirls you're using for pike or more of a bass lure? Would love to see a pick and size comparison!

New sleeping bag.
New kayak paddle.
About 40 new lakes on 3 different trips.
3 new entry points.
1st time for 5 or 6 that I'm taking, including my grandson.
Several new lures.

DJtheAngler: "

Savage Voyageur: "Headed to central Ontario this year to target walleye and Pike. I will be trying Joe Bucher Depth Raiders and Shallow Raiders for big Pike.



Also for Pike I’m trying some new micro double cowgirls in various colors.



This winter I tied about a 100 walleye spinner rigs in various colors in minnow and two hook crawler rigs.



"

What lake are you headed to Savage Voyageur? I will be doing much of the same hitting both Eagle and Wabigoon near Dryden, Ontario. My new bait I'm trying this year is the Lee Lure's Death Pause Minnow. I've enjoyed some of Lee's other lures but recently picked this one up and am anxious to use it for pike/muskie. And are the micro double cowgirls you're using for pike or more of a bass lure? Would love to see a pick and size comparison!"

.
I will be about 40 miles east of you on Kukukus Lake. This whole area up there is just loaded with walleye pike musky and smallmouth.

That Death Pause lure from Lee is a great bait to use. It is a suspending lure that stays in the strike zone longer. I will be applying some lead plumbers tape to the bottom on my shallow raiders to give them a suspending action. I’ve caught many big pike on these too. That death pause will be good for musky/pike/or big walleye. Yes I said walleye. Last year I was trolling on Sally Lake where my buddy caught a 45” pike on a super shad rap. I wanted to catch a big pike too so I put on a 8” Jake and caught a 26” walleye. So don’t be afraid of putting on a big lure up there.

The micro double cowgirls will be used for pike and bass. I will be bringing baits for my buddy and I so my box will be full. Just a few I will list are 8 micro double cowgirls, 8 double showgirls, 8 double cowgirls, 13 super shad raps, 6 Jake’s, 9-7” shallow raiders, 2-8” depth raiders, 1 top raider and 5 whopper ploppers, 10 spoons 1-2oz size, 10” posiden, 3 mini Madusa’s. I will be fishing hard for big pike this year. We fill the stringer limit daily with walleye in 1-2 hours so that leaves me to catch and release pike the rest of the day.

If I have good conditions, I want to try the Berkly Finisher, size 10 1 0z. For trout.

I also want to try more swim baits/paddle tails for walleye and bass. Maybe even a bigger one for Pike. I just got done killing the crappie with a smaller version, Slabalicious, no reason it wouldn’t work on Bass and walleye, I just never try them.

Possibly want to add a smaller musky lure to go for big pike like a weight Suick or something similar.

New items I tried in the past successfully from this website:
Ned rig: good on Q walleye
Wacky work: My son out fished me in Q for bass when he was on his 1st trip at 7 years old. AWESOME. Simple and effective.
Mike’s Zulu rigging: works on bass in the weeds, in the Quetico for bass and Northern.

T

I have a fairly large supply of 2.75" tube baits that I used to fish with in Oklahoma ponds. They are going to Quetico this year, and leaving most of my crankbaits in OK. I have made some tube inserts that allow me to fish different water columns based on the weight (or lack thereof) and I'm eager to see how they work up north. I've taken a few before, but they have never been the focus of my gear....should be interesting.

goblu79: "I have a fairly large supply of 2.75" tube baits that I used to fish with in Oklahoma ponds. They are going to Quetico this year, and leaving most of my crankbaits in OK. I have made some tube inserts that allow me to fish different water columns based on the weight (or lack thereof) and I'm eager to see how they work up north. I've taken a few before, but they have never been the focus of my gear....should be interesting.
"

Would you mind sharing your tube setup? Or even a youtube vid that is similar?
I've had good luck with tubes, but, I feel it's more luck than anything, and am looking to dial it in.

Thanks!

I've been fishing the border county lakes for about 40 years. And now I pretty much take one particular rapala and occasionally a bobber.
I catch plenty of walleyes with a bobber and hook while at camp.
And I use my Rapala for everything else.

Over the years I just stopped trying different stuff when the rapala always caught my fish, except trout. Need a few other rigs for those.

I have a very small tackle box now.
Tom

tumblehome: "I've been fishing the border county lakes for about 40 years. And now I pretty much take one particular rapala and occasionally a bobber.
I catch plenty of walleyes with a bobber and hook while at camp.
And I use my Rapala for everything else.


Over the years I just stopped trying different stuff when the rapala always caught my fish, except trout. Need a few other rigs for those.


I have a very small tackle box now.
Tom"

I've only gotten back into fishing the last few years, but I quickly found that there is a lot of satisfaction to developing a small and efficient tackle box. I love to bring my "essentials" that make up my confidence baits and then add in one or two extra things to try out.

I "invented" it while fishing a particular pond in southern oklahoma that was filled with hydrilla. I had to fish the top 10" of the water column. I took a 1/0 worm hook, and added a pearl plastic bead to it. That simple rig kept my tube at the top, almost floating. From there, i added split shot in back of the bead to make it descend faster or slower. I glue the bead and the split shot in place with a hot glue gun, then use electrical shrink wrap over the top of that. Those beads slide right into the tube, and set the hook further back which was much more effective for hook up. I'll try and add a photo if you want to see one. I used the floating kind in White Otter PP a few years back, and had great success throwing them into moving water and just letting the stream take em. I caught quite a few SMB that way.