Arctic Trip Info?

[jasonk]

I am fortunate enough to be going to Churchill, Baker Lake and points north in 2 weeks. Does anyone who has been way up there have any recommendations as far as specific tackle to bring? We will be going after lakers, northerns, grayling, and anything else that bites.

Thanks

[bigdog]

For grayling use small black or brown flies or small spinners. I like a Panther Martin with black body and three yellow dots. Could also try a small jig/twister.

For Lakers I have had good luck with a Swim-Whiz and a T-55 or T-60 size flatfish. Clown or chartruese are good colors, sometimes black/white can be good as well.

On Northerns I like to use bucktails. Black hair/orange blade, white hair/silver blade and brown hair/gold blade have been good. Inhalers and Mepps Musky killers are favorite brands. If the pike happen to be shallow enough to site fish a 9" banjo minnow or a 7" Stanley minnow can work.

Bring an assortment of spoons, Daredivils, Silver Doctors, etc. You don't need the huge ones, the husky devil size is fine.

Have used 30-40# Power Pro for pike and 30# fireline on lakers. A T-55 can hit 28' with 30# fireline. I use terminator titanium leaders. Other things to remember are sun block, bug spray or bug jacket, spare jaw spreader and long nose pliers. I attach a cord to my pliers after having donated a few to many to the water. Can get cold on the water so pack a couple warm items to wear under rain gear.

Good luck fishing.

[jasonk]

Thanks for the reply. Have you tried, or do you know anyone who has tried, Thermacell up there to keep the bugs away? Are they as bad as they say?

[prov1900]

From experience, the tundra is brutal for bugs. Buy yourself a quality bug suit with head net, gloves, the works. You wont regret it. Make everyone that is going with you buy one as well. Dont know about the time of year you are going, but I assume, until the frost hits, that you will be hitting the bugs. Sorry, dont know about Thermacell. Cant imagine it would keep up, but some people swear by it.

[bigdog]

No experience with the Thermacell thing. I used to be up pretty early and the bugs were not to bad. This year I was up in mid-July and they were worse than I remembered. I just use muskal (sp?) or ultra-thon. Never have had to use my bug jacket but they are lightweight so it goes with anyway. Usually the wind keeps bugs down, its when you get up on shore or in camp that its bad. I would take with some mosquito coils for inside your tent/cabin.

[uffdapete]

I've also used the 2 1/8 & 2 3/4" Yozuri Pin's minnows for grayling with very good success.

[jasonk]

So if I bring one medium heavy casting rod spooled with 30 pound Fireline, and one medium spinning rod spooled with 8 pound mono, will that pretty much cover most situations?

[bigdog]

I would take at least one spare casting rod. I've had eyelets break, rods break, etc. so spares are a good idea. For grayling I used a light spinning with 4#, 8# will work if it can cast your lightest lures.

[Big Northern]

I just got back yesterday from a 6 day fishing trip to the arctic. We were on Victoria Island, which is well north of Churchill so maybe my advice won't be totally applicable but here goes anyway.

We've had great success on lakers for years with Dardevle Huskie Jrs., Huskies, and 1 oz. Dardeveles. Hot orange and chartreuse are the two top colors. Best pattern for us has been orange/chartreuse/scale. Haven't used flatfish much but they are another well known "classic" laker bait. Lakers also like 7/8 oz. Pixies (Blue Fox makes them) in gold/orange and pink/orange.

Lakers love to bump your lure (I am assuming you'll be trolling for lakers.) It's like they are back there playing with the bait. Power Pro is a good idea because it's easier to tell if a laker is bumping. If you get a bump, pump the bait forward then drop it back. Often you'll hook up. In fact as you are trolling pump the lure every 30 seconds or so and you will catch more fish than if you just drag the bait through the water.

If you use a mono leader in front of your Power Pro make sure you have a good connection between lines. I will regret to the day I die the fish I lost last week. It hit a Huskie Jr., peeled 125 yards of Power Pro off my 6500, and was well into the backing when I thumbed the spool to slow him down. Slack line. When I got my line reeled back in I found the knot I'd tied (uniknot to uniknot) had failed. The same knot had landed me a 24 lb fish the same morning. The 24 pound fish pulled maybe 20 yards of line out (I use somewhat of a light drag setting for Power Pro,) so how big was the one that broke off? I am thinking 50 lb. So anyway, tie good knots. And use good swivels. Lakers like to twist like mad when you get them close to the boat, they will destroy cheap swivels.

The most fun I've had fishing for Northerns in Canada (this was at Nueltin a couple years ago) was with a big (4" or more) bass tube rigged weedless on a leader. Really any large plastic bait that you can fish weedless and weightless will work. We caught fish up to 44" in 2 feet of water in heavy weeds. Color was unimportant. With the tube you can move the bait much slower than you can with say a Johnsons weedless spoon. Johnsons are another classic bait (with a plastic trailer, or use pork rind) but even in remote Canada the fish can be slow to chase a bait that is moving fast.

Bring extra line. Good luck, tell us how you do.

[jasonk]

Big Northern, I wasn't planning on using a mono leader when fishing for lakers. I take it you would recommend it?

[Big Northern]

I always use a mono leader in front of Power Pro. Lakers don't seem that line shy so maybe that is not needed.