Boundary Waters Quetico Forum :: Fishing Forum :: Need fishing advice! Wood Lake - Basswood June 15th
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murphylakejim |
FishingMD: "Fantastic insights, thanks CrookedPaddler1. It seems these are some of the lesser written about lakes so its good to hear from someone with experience. From looking at basic topographic maps from Navionics it looks like theres not a ton of structure on those lakes, any advice on how to fish them? " Weeds are a bit rare in the bwca compared to southern MN. Fish weed beds and shoreline points. Wood Lake has many large trees in the water to pitch at. The mid lake saddle of Good lake is productive and the fish on Indiana are visible under the right conditions ;) |
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mastertangler |
There is a big weed bed at one end of Indiana (near the portage to Basswood) which harbors some nice largemouth and some very thick northern pike. If you look carefully down into the weed pockets on a still morning you will see what looks like big logs........except they aren't logs ;-) Smallies are also fairly thick in Indiana but can be finicky, especially the bigger ones. Light line is key. Throwing out live bait from shore will get you fish before you can unroll your sleeping bag. If a fish swallows your bait and your intention is to release it, just cut the line quickly and tie on a new hook. The old hook will dissolve and the fish will live. Try and pull the hook out and the fish will die. Hooks are cheap.........bring plenty. Capiche? If you camp at Indiana the bugs are thick at dark but the lake is pretty and protected. There are no walleye to be had at Indiana however. |
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QueticoMike |
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murphylakejim |
mastertangler: "You can have an excellent trip just fishing the 3 smaller lakes. You will need live bait as that will serve you very well. Purchase the book "Lunkers love nightcrawlers" and you will get a very good education indeed. Hooks and sinkers and slip bobbers are not very expensive. If you take the plunge and get the book it will revolutionize your fishing forever and guarantee your fishing success on this trip and in the future. Trust me on this. (You can send me a Christmas card later ;-) I saw a couple big walleye on Indiana one spring. They were about 15 feet down on the bottom fallowing eachother closely. The white tipped fins were clearly visible. No luck getting their attention with a worm tho :( I doubt there are many walleye but the two I saw were bigger than the bass on indiana. |
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Grizzlyman |
Best fishing had was on basswood in hoist bay. We trolled a large husky jerk across the bay from the wood portage to the 4 mile portage landing and back. That whole area doesn't get deeper than 8-10 ft. We could not keep the northerns off- it was some of the best northern fishing I've ever had. AND they were all 3-5 lbs, so no hammer handles! Structure didn't matter either, they were all over the whole bay. It seemed the secret was out then because there were about a billion motorboats anchored all over the bay just casting. I fished good hard for walleyes and didn't do very well. Though I caught a few nice northerns on good too. |
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CityFisher74 |
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mastertangler |
QueticoMike: "Some of the worst black fly attacks I ever had was on Indiana. I had bloody lumps all over me. Not much wind down in that hole. I haven't been back since. The fishing was below par compared to Basswood. There was solitude there. I did have a wolf along a shoreline get pretty close to me. The wolf never knew I was sitting there in a canoe solo. I never flinched and watched the wolf work the shoreline towards me for about 50 yards or more. I didn't move until the wolf got about 15 feet away from me. I didn't want him to get any closer and spook and then decide to attack or jump into the canoe, so I grabbed up my paddle as some type of protection. As soon as grabbed for the paddle the wolf freaked out, jumped into the air a few feet and turned towards the woods and "high tailed" it away into the woods. I guess I scared the crap out of that wolf. Heart beat for me increased during this encounter :)" Thats a good story............. Yes the biting flies are tough there as well. I didn't get into the black flies but on a hot summer afternoon the biting flies were tough. I remember trolling the old Rapala fat rap in perch pattern with just enough time in the evening to make a run around the lake. I got around towards the weedy end and kept getting hung until finally I said "thats no weed". I fought that fish until well after dark and landed her standing shin deep in water. Only after I put her on a light rope so we could have a photo session in the morning did I realize how incredibly thick the skeets were and I was getting chewed rather severely. Could there be walleye there? I sure gave it the college try several times and totally struck out each time. Nice little lake, I like the place. Quality largemouth in the weed bed as well. |
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FishingMD |
Grizzlyman: See I think they would understand a few motor's going by if we made day trips into Hoist Bay and had this much success, and I certainly wouldn't mind. My first trip consisted of a huge storm the first day which I've heard can kill the bite, ended up catching just one Northern and nothing else. Granted I had no idea what I was doing and my line broke multiple times with some of the biggest fish I've ever seen in person. My gear and techniques that trip were certainly not optimal. Oh well, you live and learn. |
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Frankie_Paull |
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manmountain8 |
Any time of day can be good in June but I always make it a point to get up early and fish late. Some wind or clouds can help mid day conditions for walleye. For a good value on a rod I like store brands like Cabela's , bass pro shops, or guide series. IM7 graphite is a good all around choice. The ugly stick is a composite with fiberglass. They bend easily and aren't very sensitive. Used more for trolling or catfishing. If you want a better jigging rod, get IM8, and if money is no object get a G loomis. |
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manmountain8 |
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FishingMD |
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FishingMD |
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FishingMD |
My questions would be: Anyone have experience fishing Hula, Good or Indiana and have a favorite? or should we just be going on into Basswood (though I know boats may be there)? Any specific hotspots would be awesome although I know those can be protected like state secrets at times :) Any particular advice on time of day, bait, lures, line, or techniques given the time of year we will be going? Lastly, I need to get a new rod. I tried out the Ugly Stick in a store and it felt pretty good and durable, but would consider a nicer one as well. Any suggestions? Thanks and sorry for the long post! |
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QueticoMike |
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QueticoMike |
CityFisher74: "In my opinion I would stay away from Basswood as courtesy to the 1st timers. Not a very pleasant BWCA experience to have boats with motors passing by." Head to US Point on Basswood or over towards Basswood river. Big fish, no motor boats. |
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BearRaid |
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Frankie_Paull |
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CrookedPaddler1 |
Hula can have some very good northern fishing, and a day trip to Indiana is well worth the efforts for big smallies and largemouth. It also holds a few very nice northerns, although they are not many in numbers. I can tell you that I have spent many days fishing Wood, Hula, Good and Indiana and have never felt the need to go any further than that to find fish. |
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FishingMD |
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