Boundary Waters Quetico Forum :: Fishing Forum :: Late July strategy
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dele |
However, lots of the fun of fishing anywhere, but especially the BWCA, is trying new things and seeing what works, and you may tire of pulling small pike out of weedy areas. When you don't know a lake and especially if, like me, you fish without electronics, wind and current are your friends. Predator fish like both. By late July, smallmouth will be holding in medium depth areas that have current or wind blowing food into or across them. To catch them, find windblown areas that have some cover, and throw jigs with twister tails around. Try bouncing them off the bottom and also swimming them higher in the water. You may also pick up some walleyes this way, but the smallies in the BWCA are incredible. There are 16 inch fish all over the place, and lots of bigger ones too. They fight really hard and taste great, unlike bass from warmer waters. For walleyes, just remember that they like food and cool water and they hate sunlight. They'll find the shallowest areas with the most cover they can that are also cool and dark. If it's a bright, sunny day, they'll often be deep and hard (not impossible) to catch until sundown. In these cases you need to fish deep reefs and the deep edges off windblown points. But they might not be there, if there is a more food rich location that is still cool and dark. Once, I spent most of a hot sunny summer day fishing deep points and reefs with no luck. Trolling on the way back to camp in the afternoon, I caught a walleye in six feet of water in a weedy channel. I stopped there and threw a jig, and quickly caught a bunch more. Clearly, there was enough flow to keep the water cool, and the lily pads provided enough shade to keep the sunny weather from bothering the walleyes. So just ask yourself: if you wanted to be near as much food as you could while also remaining cool and shaded, where in the lake would you be? Sometimes the answer will surprise you. |
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timatkn |
I also like Marsonites advice on wacky style senkos. Not sure who put this on to me on this site but this was the first technique my 7 year old learned in the Q...he almost always outfishes me for smallies going in late July early August. You can fish anywhere in the water column. White or pumpkinseed are good colors. T |
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missmolly |
dele: "If you really just want to catch fish to eat and don't care about species, it will not be hard to catch small northerns near weedbeds at that time of year. Find weedy bays with the wind blowing into them, cast rapalas or spoons and retrieve them fairly quickly above the tops of the weeds, and you should be able to catch all the three pound northerns you need for dinner. They are not glamorous fish in the eyes of many people, but they fight hard and taste great, and catching them is a lot of fun. ^If this comment were a restaurant, Michelin would give it three stars.^ |
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jhm5th |
First time in the boundary waters for me. Going with a friend from Duluth and a couple other guys. We'll be heading out in the dog days of late July, so I imagine the fishing strategy will change quite a bit from now till then. With my research, it sounds like chartreuse spoons and jointed rapala crankbaits are probably the best overall non-fish-specific strategy. That should get me some northern and maybe walleye to eat. I imagine that lake trout are pretty tricky to catch in late july. Any general tips or places to look for a new guy? Thanks for any help. Sunny |
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x2jmorris |
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marsonite |
My other go to for catching smallmouth bass for a meal (when I can't scare up anything else) is to use wacky rigged senkos, often just cast from shore. I've heard of using a bobber, but I usually just cast them out and let them sink and retrieve them slowly. I generally don't use leaders on crankbaits as I feel they hurt the action and limit the diving depth. 8 pound mono is fine. |
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jhm5th |
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marsonite |
8# is plenty strong enough to land any fish you encounter up there. You just need to have your drag set correctly. |
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jhm5th |
1: I'm not targeting any particular fish. I'm looking to catch anything and not starve. 2: Any advice on line to use, leaders, etc. is also very welcome. I'm very new to this particular style. I've mostly used bobbers and texas rigs to pull fish out of ponds. This is a different game entirely. Help a guy put dinner in the camp! :) |
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walllee |
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treehorn |
Lots of good stuff there. |
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GickFirk22 |
jhm5th: "Thanks! This is great advice. Will the 8 pound mono line hold up if something big grabs it? Also, is it basically a guarantee that if a northern grabs a line without a leader that you'll lose the lure, or does the line sometimes survive? " My Personal preference is to use 20lb braid up there. If I'm targeting pike, I'll use a 12" 30lb titanium leader. With properly set drag, I've never had this setup fail me (except once when a monster pike bit straight through my leader.......). If I'm walleye fishing, I'll tie on a 6' 10lb fluorocarbon leader using an alberto knot. That's what I use. I stopped using mono a long time ago, but again, personal preference. |