Advice For a New Guy

[YukonDew]

Guys -

I'll be up in the BWCA during the end of May. Three of the lakes I'll be on ( including the lake we will base camp ) are known for trout. I am no expert fisherman - for about the last two years I've been getting out on the lake pretty consistently, but mostly on area metro lakes looking for pan fish. Sometimes I'll target bass or pike depending on the lake. I have never caught a trout. I'll be taking a bait caster, maybe a spinning reel as well - two rods, medium and light action. I have a few weeks to sift through my gear and decide what to take. Any recommendations for a guy like me? - Both in terms of what to bring as well as recommendation for trout fishing lakes from a canoe? Thanks!

[hunterDan870]

yo,

Ben up in the bwca only once but when we were there we did verry well on lake trout just vertical jigging spoons such as kastmasters,little cleos,syclops. we also used countdown rapalas. we usaly found a point and just started farly close to shore and worked our way deeper. when jigging with a jertical spoon we just drop it all the way down and jigged it 3 times and reeled it up 3-4 turns on your reel.

Good luck hope that helped.

[Redlantern]

I like to troll for lakers that time of year. There typically still in shallow water and still easy to get to. I troll floating raps I think the sizes are 11 and 13 but I can't remember for sure, through the boxes away. I've had luck with the black and silver, blue and silver and gold and black. I also like using 3/8 ounce little cleo spoons in clown pattern, blue and silver and gold and orange. I also will bring bait with me. Frozen ciscoes that I let thaw and then salt. I use a fifty/fifty mixture of salt and sugar sprinkled on them. They last quite a while without getting rancid. This is good for adding meat if your jigging or if your sitting around camp and want to throw a line out. Just let it sit on the bottom.

A good source of info would be in the BWCA/Duluth/Range forum. Those guys will be able to give you more suggestions.

[Tom Linderholm]

I have packed in Frozen smelt before and had good luck with a lighted bobber suspended in 20 feet of water of base camp in the evening.

This time of year verticle jigging has been my best producer using Cleo's and Crocodiles off of points in 20-40 FOW. Find the structure and if you have a portable fishfinder that suctions to your canoe it will be a plus in finding the depth where the fish are at. Its helped us.

[Quickstrike]

We do a lot of trolling for lakers out of a canoe in the summer. In the spring you can get away with long lining spoons or sticks and then in the summer we add either snap weights or small dipsys above the leader. Look for points and humps and troll over them, if you find a small area where you are picking up fish you can also stop and vertical jig a tube or a spoon above concentrated fish.

[YukonDew]

Thanks for the help guys! I still have a few weeks to plan and your expierience will help me get ready - I'll let you know how things turn out.