Help- I've never been to the BWCA

[Tippman]

Speaking of bent shaft paddles, for those who use them how much do they help?

[palisade1kid]

My stroke is shorter only I'm moving more water.Add that up over a full day of paddling and it's a big difference.

[nofishfisherman]

They just feel better to me then straight shaft. I feel like they are more manuverable and they dig in better. And as CK said your stroke will be shorter which means less motion on each stroke.

For me its a feel thing and I really prefer bent shaft.

[spivak]

I think Mike Furtman's Boundary Waters Fishing Guide book is a great place to start for techniques that work there. I've spent some rainy days paging through it in the tent--it has a few squished mosquitoes and blackflies in it. The section in back which gives a quick guide to the lakes regarding depth, pressure, littoral area, and especially fish species present is invaluable. Not all the information is current but it's a great place to start.

[eye_point]

A couple more tips...

If possible, get to Ely and pickup permit (Wolf Center) late the afternoon before going in, this way you get an EARLY morning start before the wind gets blowing. Nothing like heading into the wind going down One and thinking, we will never get there at this rate. Sleep in truck (Miner's Lake landing) on way in, and a room on the way out.

Check likely wind speed/direction for entry day on Yahoo maps, "Detailed Forecast" just prior to going up there.

Have a good dinner planned for first night in camp.

Bring Shore Lunch to dip fish in prior to cooking.

Pack rain gear in easiest spot to get at in canoe; same for bug spray, suntan lotion, and water.

Keep plotting yourself on the map.

Fishing tip #47: instead of casting the shorelines for walleyes, drift, drift, drift. Not directly under you, but trailing out as wind blows you sideways down lake, touching bottom off and on. Also look for running water, like between a point and an island.

Sick bwca fishing tip #5: I like bringing a portable lcd depth finder (2-lantern batteries). It not only shows the depth (could use map), but where they are stacked like cord wood. You may not get them to bite, but you are confident that they are there.

Best of Luck!

[Rooster Chaser]

Having just spent the past four days in the rain in the BWCA I would recommend picking up a tarp (or two) to line your food pack with, and then use it as a rain/wind block for camp. We also had cheap plastic clothes pins that came in pretty handy when the clouds broke.

I used a mesh anchor bag for the first time and consider it to be one of the best fishing tools I could have brought with. Once we found the eyes it was nice to be able to hang close to the structure and jig for them.

Have fun.

[Guest Kyle]

unfortunately I dont have any kind of electronic fishing equipment. Its always the old fashioned way for me. I wish I had some kind of electronics but it just isnt in the cards for me right now. College students arent loaded $.

Thanks much to everyone for all of the great information.

hunter4life

[macgruber]

you can pick up portable depth finders for pretty cheap..... you don't need a good lcd display showing the fish up there...... if you can find the breaks on the lake maps and stay in the depths mentioned earlier this thread, you'll find the 'eyes-- once you find 'em, they are in that depth all around the area, so if you want to slay 'em, some type of depth finder is almost a must.......

just remember to fish from evening 'till dark (or past)..... i'd go as big as a 3/8 oz. weight on the rig mentioned earlier (slip weight, swivel, 20-30 in. of line, bare hook with leech or crawler)..... if there's any wind and yer not used to jigging out of a canoe with the "one-handed paddle stroke", it can be tough to keep it slow enough to get yer line on the bottom with less weight than that..... and if yer keepin a 3/8 oz. weight on the bottom, yer generally goin slow enough to get the wallys.....

if there is a lot of wind, don't be afraid to anchor and slip bobber around structure...... just keep adjusting it until you find bottom, then move the stop 6" shallower and drift away...... much easier than fighting a breeze and jigging and nearly as effective, as yer still able to cover lots of water......

lastly, don't be ashamed to have to resort to bass for food up there...... a small bass in that colder bwca water is remarkably tasty (anyone who says differently hasn't tried one) and you leave the walleyes to catch next trip.... don't get me wrong, i love catching smallies too, but technically, they're a non-native, albeit a fun one..... just don't eat the big ones-- they aren't so good....

the lake trout info surface tension mentioned is spot on and can provide some entertainment midday when the walleye are quiet......

[macgruber]

oh yeah, and don't bother with minnows..... past memorial day, it's a pain keepin' em alive and leeches or crawlers produce just fine..... just keep the crawlers in the shade and DON'T let them get wet or you'll end up with a gob of decomposing goo..... leeches are pretty tough to kill in a leech locker....