I've fished the BWCA in mid/late May several times but now have the chance to fish a couple of days next week. I'd like some advice on rigs/tactics/structure+ to catch some walleye or large pike. I'm looking to catch'n release except what I have for dinner. I'd just like to learn new tactics and have some success in a different time of year that I'm used to fishin'.

I've been going up to the bwca this time of the year for the last decade now. In the past I brought everything from slip bobbers to shad raps and everything in between. The only thing I use now is a weighted jig head sometimes with a twister tail most times without.
I make my own jigs, The color that seems best is watermelon, pink on top glow in the middle green on bottom tipped with a leech or crawler.
The question of where on the lake to go? look for any mid lake hump that tops of at about 17' or so surrounded by deeper water. Last year we found a series of humps in about 30' that top off at 17-18'.
we caught about 50 to 70 walleyes at dusk and dawn. everyday. We didn't go hungry.

JUst got back from the Malberg area and every walleye that we caught was relating to weeds. Gofishn's idea is better, but it is not always easy to find midlake structure, even with a depthfinder. So, try the deepest weeds you can find, especially those that have access to deeper water and have a solid sand or gravel bottom. Good luck.

Just got back from Sawbill and Alton area. 95% of eye's caught on jigs and slip bobbers with crawlers, on mid lake humps 12-14 ft. We caught them all times of day. Also their stomachs were all empty.

We just got back from Pine Lake (just east of Trout) and all the walleye we caught were in 4' (yes 4') to 14 FOW.
The main reason is because this is a very dark stained lake.
The surface temps were 65 degrees.
We caught them with jigs and lindy's - mostly on minnows, some on leeches.

The best bite was on a mid lake hump, toping at 8' (rocks) surrounded by 17' (mud).

We never would have found that spot if I hadn't carried in my depth finder. I marked the heck out of it with my GPS.

Last week we did pretty well with a simple 1/8 or 1/4 jig w/ a twister tail. Worked both with and without a leech attached...though more often than not, better off with the leech.

Thanks for all the advice. Regarding the leeches - has anyone used the Gulp leeches? If so, how did they work?
I'd also be interested in finding some large northerns. What type of tactics/structure should i target this time of year?

we just got back from gabbro and bald eagle and we caught most our walleyes on a floating jig head a foot off bottom. i just had a nice sized split-shot about 12-18" above the jig head tipped with a leech. someone also used a three way swivel with a floating jig head on one line and a sinker on the other.

at night, drift the shore that was pounded by the wind in the day. look for rocks about 6-8 inches in diameter.