Boundary Waters Quetico Forum :: Fishing Forum :: Best fishing memories from camp
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pastorjsackett |
Stab at fish. Fish get off. My feet are now on the algae-covered, 45 degree angled rock under the water. I go down like a ton of bricks, covered with water, no fish. BWCA trifecta! My brother in law captured it all on his phone including an epic eye-roll from my son as he turned to walk away in disgust. Made a great sermon though. Show the phone video on the big screen. |
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treehorn |
One afternoon he tangled his entire line...huge bird's nest, unrecoverable. He must have spent 2+ hours sitting in camp pulling it out, cutting it, then putting new line on his reel. As mentioned, he wasn't an accomplished fisherman. He finally got it rigged and put a lure on and confidently walked down to shore for a cast. The rest of the group were chilling in camp, watching and I guess hoping he'd get a fish, or fall in, or do something entertaining. His first cast, his lure goes flying off his line into the lake, followed shortly by his entire reel. Somehow he loosened it to the point it was no longer secured to the rod. And clearly didn't tie a decent knot to the lure. We laughed so hard it still hurts. And we tell the story every single year and laugh almost as hard. He did recover that reel, but no sign of the lure. |
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DRob1992 |
Savage Voyageur: "I’ll post one of my favorite memories. There is a lake up there that holds nothing but eater sized walleye. Nothing big and nothing small. All fall between 16”-21”. You can fish all day on this lake and catch fish one after another. The same lake has a big bay and most trips the prevailing winds blow into this bay. This bay always holds fish so it’s a favorite or our group at night. Not too far to travel back to camp on a moon lit night. But the beauty of this spot is you really don’t need to even go into a boat at night to catch walleye. There is a underwater rock wall that they hang out on. You just cast a lighted slip bobber from shore and catch walleye right in camp. And to make it even better there is a perfect rock to sit on with a rock backrest and a rock footrest in the exact position. It took us a while to find this gem of a lake and many here know the area well. The night bite on this lake is about at 7:00 PM until 10:00 PM. By that time we are tired and hit the rack. " That's heaven man. Oddly enough, I've only had minimal success while night fishing for walleye. Sounds like you've got the ideal spot and setup there. |
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DRob1992 |
AirPrex: "This was a fun thread so I’ll revive this with a story that was maybe more camp adjacent than at camp. That's wild! We've had some big loons attack our stringers in the past, but never a pike. Great story there! |
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lindylair |
First time to Vista Lake back in the 70s. We got to camp and my buddy puts on a Rapala and pulls in a 20 inch walleye on the first cast. We proceeded to catch several over the next couple days. Chatted with a middle aged woman on the portage from Fourtown to Boot lake and she directed us to a campsite - she said go to the back side of that site and fish and you will do well. Caught my personal best 27 inch walleye from shore there that very same night. First time to Homer Lake, stayed on the site on the north side of the lake. Fished the Vern River and did quite well. One early evening back at camp fishing from shore I caught a nice walleye 18ish, a decent pike around 26 and a good sized smallie all within about 45 minutes. Last summer on Homer we stayed at the site on the southern shore. Didn't fish a lot from the canoe or shore but over a few days time I caught 7 - 19" walleyes from the rocks at the front of the site. My buddy was getting frustrated, he only caught smallies. Caught a dandy walleye around 25 from the backside of our island site on Perent too. We don't fish a lot on our daytrips and come to think of it I have probably had better luck from the campsite than from the canoe:) |
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DRob1992 |
preacherdave: "Not even close for me. Few years back we were in Quetico. My buddy had slipped and fallen hard on a rock. Spent two days in a hammock recovering. I was hanging out on a rock at camp and spied a northern swimming by. Grabbed my rod that had a Ribbett tied on and cast it out. Made for a fun few minutes. " What a dream sight hunting and catching that hog Pike must have been! Very cool |
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papalambeau |
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deancal20 |
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johndku |
It was to much for just the two of us to eat, so it lives to see another day. |
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papalambeau |
Would also like to hear the story that goes with those two nice bucks on your profile page! Blessings |
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DRob1992 |
My favorite fishing memory from camp happened to be on my only trip to the Quetico. My dad and I were staying on an island site - I forget which lake. Anyway, the day was approaching dusk and I was throwing a shallow-diving purple Rapala from our 'front-porch'. My dad was casting a chartreuse spinner from our 'back-porch'. After several casts, I hooked into something. The fish was fighting differently and I was really hoping that I had hooked into my first-ever laker. After a good battle, I was able to land the fish - a healthy lake trout! The only issue was that, at the last moment, the fish became entangled in the line and managed to cause chaos. The Rapala, along with the fish, became deeply embedded in my shoe. Obviously, we were using exclusively barbless hooks and lures on this trip; so I thought it wouldn't be too much of a hassle to unsnag myself. I was wrong. It was a pretty big challenge. While all of this was happening, my dad had hooked into a sizeable pike and was calling for my assistance to land his fish. I never even heard his quiet calls for help. He finally landed the pike, walked back to camp, and immediately says, "What the hell?!" I simply pointed to my foot and shrugged. We both laughed and ended the evening with a delicious fish n taters dinner. |
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YardstickAngler |
pastorjsackett: "Summer 2021 my nephew hooked a big northern from camp on Crooked. I ran for the net, and came up next to him. Now THAT is a sermon I’d love to hear!!! |
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papalambeau |
pastorjsackett: "Summer 2021 my nephew hooked a big northern from camp on Crooked. I ran for the net, and came up next to him. |
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shock |
Savage Voyageur: "Too many memories to tell only one. Something about watching a lighted slip bobber go down while sitting next to a fire or by the lake. It just doesn’t get much better than that. "yes many memories indeed ! 1 that comes to mind . i was up early everyone else was sleeping , i hooked into a nice 9lb laker and it kept taking drag, many turns making my reel sing , everyone was within ear shot and was wondering what the heck is going on , 1 person finally crawled out of the tent. i just love camp fishing, slip bobber--deadbait on bottom--is always a blast but nothing like getting slammed on your retrieve ;) and being 61 now , i'm fine with fishing from shore in the BWCA. |
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4keys |
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shock |
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DRob1992 |
missmolly: "lundojam: "Years ago here on the forum somebody asked "what is your favorite way to catch walleyes?" or something of that nature and I answered "half-drunk from shore." Carefully but hurriedly setting down your red-boxed-wine-in-a-coffeecup and running to your bobber rod is a ton of fun. I quit drinking by the way. Nothing fresher and tastier than that! Makes me hungry!! |
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lundojam |
I also have a fond memory of cooking fish while one guy was cleaning and two others were still catching. That's fresh fish right there. |
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Speckled |
I had gone blueberry picking on our island. We were camped on LLC. I returned to find my three other tripmates, having already eaten lunch and shore casting. I took my time getting lunch ready, after lunch smoked a cigar and then grabbed rod and wandered down to shore...the group had been at it for about an hour and caught nothing. I tied on a vibrax inline spinner, and remembered as we paddled in, there was this shelf out there...maybe 6 to 10 feet deep and it dropped off from there much faster. First cast right along the edge of that shelf - fish on, 2-3 lb smallie. Second cast, missed the edge and was way on top of the shelf, nothing. Third cast, nailed it, another 2-3 lb smallie, 4th cast - ohh this ones got some weight, 6 lb northern. 5th cast - 4 lbs northern. At this point the group is in various states of WTF'ness and disbelief. The one fella walks over giggling, "How is this possible, I've been fishing for like an hour". I'm like cast over there, he does.."No you gotta let it sink" next try, not kind of Jig/pulse it as it's coming back. "Here let me show you - I cast out, one pulse - fish on - smaller smallmouth. I hand it back to him and went back up to the fire. The rest of the group fished that shelf for another 20-30 minutes and no one caught a thing, lol. |
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pastorjsackett |
My son is quite the hunter. It started when he was quite young. In 2012 we took two great bucks on the same opening day of MN firearms season. Since then he has taken so many big deer (and guided me to a few as well) that those deer have a back seat in the trophy room now. He's all grown up and left home for a nursing career. The line of work affords him lots of time for outdoor pursuits as well. |
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bumabu |
Absolute favorite fishing memory of all canoe trips. |
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Savage Voyageur |
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AirPrex |
Coming back from an afternoon of fishing with a couple eaters on the stringer for dinner but we were wanting 1 more fish to complete our meal. We stopped about 20 yards from camp which was in a shallow bay and were casting near some weeds on the shoreline where we had caught a couple fish earlier in the trip from shore that we figured we could pull a pike from quickly. As I set the hook on a good eating sized pike with a buzzbait as we hoped would happen, something smacked our canoe making it rock quite a bit. We looked at each other confused when another big smack and some commotion and splashing happen next to the canoe where the stringer was tied. A big pike had our dinner in its mouth and refused to let go. I landed my fish as my buddy pulled the big pike in the canoe half by the stringer and half by a net, our smaller fish still in its mouth. We quick pulled into camp to take a few pictures and get our dinner back before releasing it. To this day is the biggest fish we’ve ever “caught” up there. Measured it at 35” and with a lot more girth than a 33.5” we had caught earlier on the trip. |
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missmolly |
lundojam: "Years ago here on the forum somebody asked "what is your favorite way to catch walleyes?" or something of that nature and I answered "half-drunk from shore." Carefully but hurriedly setting down your red-boxed-wine-in-a-coffeecup and running to your bobber rod is a ton of fun. I quit drinking by the way. I'm with you. I like to catch my meal right beside my stove, so it's from the hook to the frying pan in mere minutes. #nodamnstringer! |
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timatkn |
Back when live bait was legal in the Q, the wind was terrible, so my Dad threw out a leech and bobber from camp. This was walleye opener and very cold…as I am telling him that there is no way a walleye will be in this area the bobber goes down and he pulls in a 24 inch walleye. We never caught another one form that spot…but I wa s proven wrong…not the first time :) On disappointment lake I was bored, mid day and jigged a pink and white twister tail and hooked a 24 inch walleye from camp around Labor Day. On Basswood hooked a 28 incher from camp mid day early August with the same jig. Shouldn’t have been there either. But if ya don’t fish you have a 0% chance. T |
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DRob1992 |
timatkn: "Okay your first story is awesome…thanks for sharing! That last part - if ya don't fish you have a 0% chance - is so true and relates to nature in general. I often share nature stories with friends (who, unfortunately, haven't spent much time outdoors in their lives) and they are amazed at the things I've seen. In reality, anyone has the ability to see crazy nature events unfold. All it takes is getting outdoors and keeping your eyes open and your senses alert. |
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DRob1992 |
cyclones30: "Took some first timers a few years back. They stayed back at camp one evening to relax and fish. Upon us returning to camp, they had big smiles and said they'd caught and released a 30" walleye. Of course I was happy but a little "you're joking right?" and they're like no here...showed me their phones and yep. Giant old walleye right from camp w/ a slip bobber. " This is similar to a walleye story I've got from about 10 years ago. We had a group of six guys and we had friendly, daily fishing bets. I had gone out with another guy and had caught my personal best walleye (24"). As we were paddling and approaching camp, I felt confident that I'd be getting $1 from each guy for the biggest walleye of the day. Turns out, as we were out fishing, another guy from our group had landed a 27 1/2" walleye from our camp. I spent the rest of the evening trying to best his catch, to no avail. Very mixed emotions resulted - proud of my friend for his catch; sad about having to pay $1 rather than winning $5. |
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missmolly |
1. Each morning, I'd bustle out of the tent to to cast to a spur between our island and the next. My fishing partner was slow, so I'd provide some incentive to rise and shine. I was only a few feet from the tent, so he could hear the smallmouth leaping and I'd count out the fish: "Got one!" "Got another one!" "That's three!" Most mornings, I'd catch between five and seven before he emerged and we took to the canoe. 2. One day, when the Sun was high and penetrating deep into the water, I was sitting on a rock and saw two smallmouth pass. Five minutes later, they passed again as they were circling the island. Then again and again. Seeing them was even more fun than catching them. 3. My brother and I had just returned from a morning of fishing when I saw a smallmouth rise just off our island. I cast to it and hooked it and because he was on the shore and had his camera, my brother shot a series of photos of the fish jumping and being landed. 19 inches! |
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cyclones30 |
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Blackhawk |
The next year on the same campsite I decided that since there are some nice pike in the area I’d throw a red and white Storm Shallow Thunder (lure not made anymore) which resulted in a 19 inch smallmouth bass. The following year, same campsite, I thought with smallmouths around I’d throw a perch colored Storm Rattlin Thinfin which got me a 26 inch walleye. The next year I decided to give getting a walleye a chance again so I decided for some reason to cast a gold and orange 3/8 ounce Fiord spoon that I picked up at The Beaver House which as you can guess got me a 38 inch northern pike. I haven’t been to this campsite in a couple of years but when I go back I’m going to continue my tradition of catching a fish I was not targeting by using a 10 inch Suick so I can get that 21 inch smallmouth I haven’t caught yet. |
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MichiganMan |
pastorjsackett: "Summer 2021 my nephew hooked a big northern from camp on Crooked. I ran for the net, and came up next to him. I think you should share that video here too, lol. |
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Savage Voyageur |
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GopherAdventure |
Tony |
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yupski |
It was going pretty well. I had him cornered in the narrow slot, but then a jump, splash, and away he swam. Fish 1, me 0. I looked down at my rod and saw that the line had broke at the reel which was pressing up against a sharp rock. That meant that there was still ~15 feet of line attached to the pike, and as I looked back to the water, I could see some of the line sticking to the surface. I did the only reasonable thing and jumped in after it. I managed to grab the line and the fight was back on, Old-Man-and-the-Sea style. I got a couple of wraps around my hand and was backing the fish in toward shore again. He jumped a few times by stayed on. I was already wet, so no need to corner him in between rocks, just get him to shallow water. When he was just out of reach, he jumped one last time and broke the line near the hook. Fish 2, me 0. However, the fish was pretty tired out at this point. He only swam a yard or two before resting on some gravel. I had one more chance. I slowly sidled up to him, got my hands underneath his belly without him moving, and managed to pull him just barely out of the water before he lunged and slipped away for good. Fish 3, me 0. A more confident/competent fisherman probably could have landed him that last time by going for the gill cover, but I wanted to stay far from those teeth. The silver lining is that I may have saved his life by going in after the line and leaving him with only the hardware, but not the 15' leash. |
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bloody stump |
In recent years we seem to be doing more and more shore fishing (from camp or other spots) and my 'best memories from camp' keep getting updated ......Slip bobber with a leech and wait for the "hey where's your bobber" or casting spoons/jigs and let the fun begin... |
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DRob1992 |
bloody stump: "Like others have said, there is nothing better than fishing from shore when the fishing is good.....Jockeying with your buddies to cast to 'the spot', giving your buddy crap for stabbing at the 28"+ walleye with the net and subsequently losing the fish (and not caring all that much because the fishing is that good)...... the list goes on an on That Walleye and Laker are lunkers!! |
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BWfishingfanatic12 |
Both were from the same campsite on Knife lake, actually on the same trip. One afternoon we had just gotten back from day tripping. my brother went to go take a nap and I sat in the shade reading my Bible. For good measure I decided to cast out a slip bobber. Much to my surprise it started going down within seconds of casting it out. Over the next hour I cast it out along shore in about 15 FOW and I don't think it ever sat for more than 5 minutes without going under. In several hours I must have caught 25 smallmouth and around 20 walleyes as well with a few pike thrown in as well. The other campsite memory was one evening finishing up our campfire we saw a mouse scurry away from our kitchen area. We had the brought idea to try to catch him with a pot propped up on a y stick tied to fishing line. We caught him and threw him out into the water and a big fish came up and smoked it. We ran and grabbed some topwater lures and in the pitch black cast them out and in about a half hour had caught several really nice Smallies with a couple of them being over 20". |
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preacherdave |
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Bobaaa |
I landed the Northern and got him measured and safely released with no witnesses, and no official record other than a fond memory of another great morning in the BWCA. |
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DRob1992 |
Hammertime: "I can’t think of any that stand out. We’ve never got a trophy from camp, just a bunch of eaters. Gotta be my favorite method of fishing. And somehow, despite putting in minimal effort, it seems to be my most productive method, too. Speaking of talking trash to friends ... One of my best friends went on a trip with us one year. We were fishing near each other when he claimed to have hooked into a "lunker". This lunker broke him off and I immediately tell him he snagged a log. Kid you not, less than two minutes later we are walking back to our tent when we spot a nice-sized Pike with an orange floating Rapala sticking out of its mouth. Guess it wasn't a log that he snagged after all. |
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Hammertime |
I mostly just think of fun. Bobbers going down while playing cribbage, people scrambling to get the net, people casting right where somebody just got a bite, taking trash to your buddies, catching fish from camp is awesome. |
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DRob1992 |
salukiguy: "Caught my personal best walleye from camp casting a #4 Mepps spinner into a heavy wind in the middle of the afternoon. This was on Bald Eagle Lake. Caught my personal best Northern Pike from camp on Gull Lake using a Rapala." Thanks for sharing. I've had many experiences of catching fish when and where I had no business catching them (according to the fishing "norms" that we often hear about). Sorta like your PB Walleye in the middle of the afternoon ... I caught my 2nd best Walleye on a sunny, 90 degree day and it was on a mistake cast. I was throwing a spinner bait and the lure actually landed on shore. I reeled a tiny bit to get the lure into water and, the moment it hit the water, FISH ON! Surprised me so much that I jerked way harder than I should have. Luckily, I landed the fish ... a 23" Walleye. That was easily the most mysterious fish I've ever caught. |
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salukiguy |
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