Each year, before a trip I go over my tackle box and put in all the lures I think I may need. Later I will take out some, but the box puts a limit on the insanity.....How's everyone else doing with your tackle? Got pictures?

Oh! Ya! There is a second layer to my tackle box.

:)

quote kanoes: ":) "

Now that's ultralight! Curious, do you keep a jig and some line or anything else in your survival kit?

no, but that is a great idea.

how does this sound?

1/8oz jigheads (3)
yellow 3" powerbait twisters (5)
beetle spin safety pin spinner
12 lb trilene xl (20 yards)

all fits in/on a 35mm film canister.

ya think yellow is the best all around choice for twister color?

50 feet of 8lb test and a couple of yellow 1/32 ounce tube jigs. If I was dyin', I'd want yellow...

I think yellow is a great twister color but here in sw Minnesota (not the b-dub at all) white is a bit better.

quote kanoes: ":) "

Im starting to tear up, imagine the lonliness of that empty tackle box, its just blasphemy :-)

quote Basspro69: "

quote kanoes: ":) "

Im starting to tear up, imagine the lonliness of that empty tackle box, its just blasphemy :-)"

not me...all considered i save about 5 lbs. :)

only 5? you've never seen my tacklebox ...

Barbless Box

SunCatcher

Now! That's what I'm talking about! Nice Suncatcher!

I know I won't use most of it but can't bring myself to leave anything behind.

quote kanoes: ":) "

I like the optimism of the ruler to measure the fish with no lures.

quote DTrain: "I know I won't use most of it but can't bring myself to leave anything behind.



"

I know the feeling. I'll be digging through my tackle again this spring (I don't even know how many times I've gone through it this past year) to thin it out...

I'll post a photo when I put it together- my buddy and I challenged each other after our last trip to fit each of our's tackle into our own quart-size ziplock bags for the next trip. I'm tired of carrying pounds of stuff I don't use...

I mainly take Mepp's #5 spinners, many different colors! catch everything on those guys!

Why fight it...we bring it all:-))) Here's some of it. We generally only do one portage anyway to get to some of the best fishing in Quetico.

My favorite color at home in Illinois is white, in the Quetico/BWCA it's brown/orange.








I rather cut back on my clothes that I bring...

Its nice to see that some people have their priorities in order.
Anthony

quote Miami1: "Its nice to see that some people have their priorities in order.
Anthony"

i do! thanks for noticing. :)

quote fishguts: "Oh! Ya! There is a second layer to my tackle box. "

FG - how do those purple lures work for you in the Q? What are they?

Those are Purple-esant Deep Reef Runners...
They were a recomendation from my buddy Journeyman, he claims they are the
"Hot Ticket"........I'll let you know when I get back from Quetico in late June ;-)

quote Wallidave: "Why fight it...we bring it all:-))) Here's some of it. We generally only do one portage anyway to get to some of the best fishing in Quetico.

My favorite color at home in Illinois is white, in the Quetico/BWCA it's brown/orange....I rather cut back on my clothes that I bring...

"

OMG!! Thx, Walli...you just ruined a good sleep for me tonight! :-)

quote fishguts: "Those are Purple-esant Deep Reef Runners...
They were a recomendation from my buddy Journeyman, he claims they are the
"Hot Ticket"........I'll let you know when I get back from Quetico in late June ;-)"

Hi, Fishguts. Good luck next summer. I used a Purplescent Deep Tail Dancer last Aug on McIntyre (thx for your location tip)...





And this guy was hungry for it...

DT-
I notice you've got the trolling book in there. Do you bring a line counter to the B-dub? I've thought about but never pulled the trigger. How's it work out?

Last year I did but had some technical difficulties. I damaged a rod guide on the way in and didn't realize why line kept breaking until I got home. That really put a damper on things and I had to fallback to my spinning gear for trolling. This year I have a new setup and my old setup graduated to a leadcore rig. This year I have a new 7' St Croix Premier medium moderate crankbait casting rod that will double as a casting/trolling rod. My plan is to swap out a baitcasting reel for linecounter trolling reel depending on whether I'm trolling or casting the shorelines. I love a linecounter, I can put my baits a foot off the bottom when contour trolling, or a few feet above fish seen on the graph when trolling open water. With snap weights I can send floating raps or spoons to whatever depth I want. The entire process is repeatable, so if you catch a fish there is no guesswork in getting your lure back down to the same depth.

Fishguts, do yourself a favor and take a few minutes to tune that reef runner when on the water. They are notorious for running out of tune. In my experience the hooks are poor quality too, I think I've replaced most of mine. They are a nice lure though in that they catch fish, the dive curve is similar to the deep tail dancer.

:)

Blue Wing, do you take those to the BW? I love to bass fish with my fly rod but usually go in Aug. or Sept. so it's not really conducive to fy fishing.

Also, in the new BWJ there's a nice article about tackle by Darrel Brauer. Unless going in May and early June he basically skips all medium/shallow divers. He brings surface plugs, deep divers and jigs. I think this makes a lot of sense and will do the same for my September trip.

I was fishing last August with shallow running Shad Raps. We'd troll with them from honey hole to honey hole. I had about six and they only lasted about half the trip due to pike, but they sure caught a lot of bass and walleye...and pike.

quote kanoes: "no, but that is a great idea.

how does this sound?

1/8oz jigheads (3)

ya think yellow is the best all around choice for twister color?"

yellow twister tails would definently be my color of choice!!!

quote TomT: "Blue Wing, do you take those to the BW? I love to bass fish with my fly rod but usually go in Aug. or Sept. so it's not really conducive to fy fishing.

Also, in the new BWJ there's a nice article about tackle by Darrel Brauer. Unless going in May and early June he basically skips all medium/shallow divers. He brings surface plugs, deep divers and jigs. I think this makes a lot of sense and will do the same for my September trip."

Unfortunately not. 75% 0f my fishing is New England fly fishing for trout, and 25% tuna/marlin fishing. This summer is going to be my first BWCA trip. So you can imagine Cabella's is making a nice profit from me this winter. I've been reading through all the fishing threads, taking in everyones' advice, and started ordering tackle through Cabella's. I have a 6'6" fast action St.Croix Triumph matched with a Pflueger President 6lb test (8lb test on spare spool). So my tackle is being matched for that set up. I'll probably by another rod and reel (since the girlfriend has taken to fishing) and bring my fly rod for smallies.

Pretty sure the only thing I can catch fishing in the BWCA with the above picture is grief....

Hi, BlueWing. I wouldn't necessarily rule out your New England gear. Dawn and dusk can be great surface fishing in canoe country, even in the dog days of summer. No doubt the fishing is better in May/early June, but I've caught quite a few 20+ inch smallies on the surface in July and August, a couple on Triumph rods. Also, highly recommend you bring at least one spare rod and reel.

I doubt you'll catch only grief in the BWCA. :-)

quote BlueWingOlive: "I'll probably by another rod and reel (since the girlfriend has taken to fishing) and bring my fly rod for smallies.

Bring some dahlberg divers and watch out. Nothing would beat having a 5lb smallmouth on a fly rod. My biggest bass fly fishing is a 3LB 4oz largemouth.

I will also add a package of gulp leeches and worms plus live bait.

BigZig,
Is that a Purple Reef Runner?
Heard good things about them!

Fishguts - Yes I found one of them and got it based on your tackle box. We will see...

I have no pics, but thanks to Fishguts a few years ago, I discovered the purpledescant deep diving taildancers. I bring DeepTaildancers in purple and flash yellow perch, chugbug, origional floating rapala in silver (and black/gold-thanks to Bromel), black and white twistertails, gulp leeches and emerald shiners, deep rebel craws, and hooks,hardware,bobbers etc. Even though TGO's 'live bait school" prevails on productivity (for me) I can't resist stuffing a plano 1102 two sided tackle box FULL. I always bring more than I use, but have no self dicipline when packing for my favorite vacation. We base camp mostly.

Every year I take less and less lures. A selection of cranks to cover 0-20ft., jigheads from 1/8oz. to 3/8oz., 40-50 grubs in black and white. Crank color? White or gold... White in clear water, gold in Tannic. Topwaters only in black. (When a fish looks up, all they can see is a sillouette). The secret to catching fish is not trying different colors, it is LOCATION!!!! Color is not rocket surgery, but sometimes location is!(what did he say??!!)

my light-weight set...

bump

Finally got around to getting my tackle box ready for our trip in June. ;-)

Here's a photo:


We spend the majority of our time fishing for walleyes, hence the number of jigs and twister tails. We'll troll with crankbaits sometimes and we'll also cast for the big Jacks if a given spot looks "fishy".

Ok Im ready for the fish .

BP... you bring all that stuff on a canoe trip? Percentage-wise, how much of it do you figure you use during the week?

We used to bring far more tackle than we do, but finally came to the realization that all we were carrying was weight and we didn't use half the stuff. It was a whole bunch of "what if" stuff, and the "what if" scenarios never presented themselves so we quit bringing it.

quote Jackfish: "BP... you bring all that stuff on a canoe trip? Percentage-wise, how much of it do you figure you use during the week?

We used to bring far more tackle than we do, but finally came to the realization that all we were carrying was weight and we didn't use half the stuff. It was a whole bunch of "what if" stuff, and the "what if" scenarios never presented themselves so we quit bringing it."

The third box is my fly box so I only bring that one if im flyfishing, but to answer your question theres ten lures in that box that I use 90 percent of the time and the rest is just in case the fish want something very specific. I look at it this way, its 3 extra pounds but for a fishing fanatic it might as well be 3 ounces :-)

I finally got around to getting organized for my up coming trip. Here is the new and improved summer fishing box!




What am I missing?

After taking a swim in Insula last June, most of my tackle is at the bottom. In the process of restoring it before June 15th. It's a bit of love and hate mixed together. I love buying gear but hate replacing gear when I could have avoided it.

The tackle box was partially open when we swamped.

That is bad luck. Have fun restocking.

quote CapitalCity: "I finally got around to getting organized for my up coming trip. Here is the new and improved summer fishing box!






What am I missing? "

Looks pretty good to me. If you are going after any smallies you might want to bring a Pop-R or Skitter Pop.

Rapala Deep Tail Dancer....for trout & lots of other fish

quote Jackfish: "Finally got around to getting my tackle box ready for our trip in June. ;-)

Here's a photo:


We spend the majority of our time fishing for walleyes, hence the number of jigs and twister tails. We'll troll with crankbaits sometimes and we'll also cast for the big Jacks if a given spot looks "fishy". "

Jackfish...that's it? That's all you bring? Wow, I'm feeling a little duped at the moment. First trip in will be this year and I apparently need to slim down. My son took a look at the 8 boxes full and asked, "how are we going to take it all". I have no idea what's going to work so have gone a bit further than I probably should have in that regard.

Here is the final pre-trip 28 days till we leave photo of
the 2011 Tackle Box. Got rid of the stringer, to make more room for big lures. ;-)

I have 30 days till I am up there fishing... I better start going through my tackle and get it ready

Boarstalker, yes, that's all my son and I bring. The other guys in our group pack slightly differently, but their tackle boxes look roughly the same.

We've been taking trips to Q for over 20 years now and used to carry tackle boxes full of stuff. Bit by bit, we realized we were catching fish regularly with the same lures, primarily jigs and twister tails and a few crankbaits. We always had to bring some extra cranks (just in case), but they were seldom used. So, through trial and error, not to mention the desire to trim weight from our packs, we've weened ourselves of all the extra stuff.

Keep in mind that Quetico allows no live bait.

With that said, walleyes are very structure-oriented fish so we've always found humps, reefs and points to be the most productive spots to bounce a jig. We catch fish until they stop biting, then move on. We'll troll some, but our fishing centers around jigging on structure.

As for the Daredevle-type spoons, how many does one need? Carrying two or three different colors/sizes should be enough. Northerns will bite just about anything that flashes in front of them, so color is nearly meaningless. The red & white and the 5-of-diamonds are about all one needs.

And as far as crankbaits go, we've trimmed down the number of cranks in the tackle box to the ones that are proven. A few different colors and actions, but we've questioned the reason for carrying a bunch of baits that won't get used anyway.

So there you have it - my reasoning behind what we bring for tackle. We fish hard, we fish almost all day everyday and I've never wished for more tackle options.

heading out in just under a month...can not wait!

quote friman001: "


heading out in just under a month...can not wait!"

Your looking good there for 'eyes and Bass, Maybe even a Laker. What, no soft plastic?..Im just sayin'.

tie the stringer around the box, the plastics underneath the stringer...

Third summer trip coming up in early August, will do some tweaking to the tackle contents...

quote Frenchy19: "

Third summer trip coming up in early August, will do some tweaking to the tackle contents..."

Fenchy I love your tagline by steven wright It just moved into my top 3 LOL

The guy is a hoot; if you ever get a chance to see him live, it's well worth it!

First time posting here, first time to BWCA, going with my son and his Boyscout Troop. Just dying to go, have been fishing up in Canada the last couple of years, trying to get my son hooked on fishing so to speak, and been successful thus far. Caught some killer Pike and Bass. This time around we're going with ultra light tackle, and just half a dozen of Mepps Lures. My personal favorite is a discolored copper Aglia that I found at a garage sale. Caught every single fish with it last year, and there were many...pike, bass, walleye, every fish going after that same seemingly worn out Mepps hook, barbless by now, to boot.

Not sure how we'll fare with the light line, but I suppose my idea is to spend the time out in beautiful country, fighting a fish now and again, and keeping it simple...

Any idea how fish are biting this season?

Cheers,

quote gunslinger: "First time posting here, first time to BWCA, going with my son and his Boyscout Troop. Just dying to go, have been fishing up in Canada the last couple of years, trying to get my son hooked on fishing so to speak, and been successful thus far. Caught some killer Pike and Bass. This time around we're going with ultra light tackle, and just half a dozen of Mepps Lures. My personal favorite is a discolored copper Aglia that I found at a garage sale. Caught every single fish with it last year, and there were many...pike, bass, walleye, every fish going after that same seemingly worn out Mepps hook, barbless by now, to boot.


Not sure how we'll fare with the light line, but I suppose my idea is to spend the time out in beautiful country, fighting a fish now and again, and keeping it simple...


Any idea how fish are biting this season?


Cheers,"

Welcome to the board Gunslinger! From what I have seen and heard it has been a pretty average year for fishing. Best thing to do is just go up there and fish :)

I bought one of these a couple years ago, after getting yet another hook past the barb in my finger. It's a little bit hard on the fish, but I like em for pike.

quote analyzer: "I bought one of these a couple years ago, after getting yet another hook past the barb in my finger. It's a little bit hard on the fish, but I like em for pike.


"

Very good call! Have had many a Rapala over the years cut into my hands...this is also in my box.

There is a lack of spinner baits in this thread. I keep them individually in plastic bags at the bottom of my three tray box. Bouncing them along the rocks is like pulling a busload of of kids into McD's. A whole mess of happy meals.

quote myleslong: "There is a lack of spinner baits in this thread. I keep them individually in plastic bags at the bottom of my three tray box. Bouncing them along the rocks is like pulling a busload of of kids into McD's. A whole mess of happy meals."

Yep spinnerbaits are deadly, always in my top ten.

While I'm too decrepit to canoe, I do fish. I like to carry a mini bolt cutter with me. Its useful in cutting barbed hooks out of nets, clothes and me. (I did have a hook go through a webbing between thumb and finger so I cut the barb end off and easily removed the hook. Yes, I know hooks without barbs. As far as crankbaits go, you can remove the treble hooks and replace with single Siwash hooks. For example, use a 1/0 on the rear and middle hook (remove the front hook)on a 5 inch Rapala. The Siwash hook is especially made for replacing trebles. It has an open eye that is crimped shut. Also, I carry roadrunners and jigs with pretied snells on a pool noodle (just cut the length you want)stick the hook in the noodle, wrap the snell and peg it with a golf tee.

Frenchy19
I have been looking for that stringer for years! My father in-law has one and I love it. Where did you get it?

quote Jackfish: As for the Daredevle-type spoons, how many does one need? Carrying two or three different colors/sizes should be enough. Northerns will bite just about anything that flashes in front of them, so color is nearly meaningless. The red & white and the 5-of-diamonds are about all one needs.

"

Two thumbs up on red & white and the five of diamonds. They are the only spoons needed.

quote 108cneil: "Frenchy19
I have been looking for that stringer for years! My father in-law has one and I love it. Where did you get it?"

Do a search for sampo nylon snap stringer. It's been discussed on this site a bit, too.

quote schweady: "

quote 108cneil: "Frenchy19
I have been looking for that stringer for years! My father in-law has one and I love it. Where did you get it?"

Do a search for sampo nylon snap stringer. It's been discussed on this site a bit, too.
"

Sampo-Exactly! Looking forward to using it for the first time in a couple of weeks...

quote Frenchy19: "

quote schweady: "

quote 108cneil: "Frenchy19
I have been looking for that stringer for years! My father in-law has one and I love it. Where did you get it?"

Do a search for sampo nylon snap stringer. It's been discussed on this site a bit, too.
"

Sampo-Exactly! Looking forward to using it for the first time in a couple of weeks..."

Thanks a ton!! I just ordered my from Amazon. Can't wait to use it next weekend fly-fishing the Clinch River in East Tennessee.

108cnell-Best of luck this weekend; post some pictures when you get home!

I did the final sorting this morning. And I also realize I have an addiction. When new lures are left at home you know there's a problem... There must be an AA group I can join somewhere. :)

Here's the gear I will bring. The loose stuff fits into a small cordura duffel bag that I lifted from my wife years ago.




Here's what fits in the main box




This is what's in the jig box




Here's the blue duffel that holds all the loose stuff. Everything but the main box fits in here



I found that those flat velcro "lure saver" covers work great for storing safety pin spinners in the duffel. You can see two of them just left of the fishing line. I know I am still bringing too much but I have pared it way back from previous trips so I'm proud of myself for that.

Tom T
Yes you now qualify, the addiction looks to have taken over. When you return from your next trip, we'll find you a group to join....you might even need treatment.....:-)

Is it my imagination or am I seeing fewer spoons than in past tackle box threads?