I was planning to hit Turtle Lake off of Bald Eagle for some pike fishing in late June and saw on the DNR site that the fish population basically consists of pike, perch and suckers. I know that wild suckers are sold in MN baitshops and was wondering if anyone had knowledge on how we might capture or catch a few for bait. We are thinking of bringing a seine net. Any suggestions on where to target suckers with a seine?

Thanks.

Jim in Accra

I tried one year to seine and trap minnows in the bwca. It is usually hard to find minnows to seine because most of the bw i've been is very rocky. The traps only produced bullheads for me. I've seen them work but to insure good fishing bring in the bait. frozen dead works good to.

Turtle Lake is noted for its trophy northerns. It is very shallow (max depth is about 10 feet)and apparently doesn't support ciscoes but does have a substantial population of white suckers and perch. Second question. . .Is it possible to buy large suckers in Ely and how difficult are they to keep alive?

Speaking from experience on Turtle, you probably wouldn't need live bait for those monsters. They'll hit a LOT of artificials - FWIW. I, personally, find live bait a hassle, but Turtle worked out really well in that respect.

Sounds very encouraging. Any lure in particular that you might recommend? Also I was debating on whether or not I should bring a heavy action baitcasting combo with 30# braided superline specifically for Turtle Lake. We will be base camping on Gabbro or Bald Eagle where I plan to use a medium action spinning outfit with either 6 or 8 lb test. Do you think this would be adequate as well for Turtle? Our objective is catch, photo and release.

By the way, this site has been a huge treasure of information.

Check out the trip report from a couple years ago. Depending on the time of year you go, and how thick it is, we had good success with Moss Bosses in the vegitation. Other topwater stuff, like poppers and Zara-puppies, did well, but I'm biased. Nothing more exciting than fishing topwater for huge pike.

Mind you, this was before the big fire, so I couldn't comment on how anything's changed regarding the Turtle Lake fishing.

I agree you don,t need live bait for northern pike.I also disagree that a lunker is 35 in maybe 35lbs,but I get to go to saskatawa every year so i,m spoiled on lunkers. If you want big fish you need big lures my #1 lure is a firetiger colored suick. bring the heavy pole and minimum 30# test line so you can play and release fish faster. The heavy line also insures that you don't loose the 15$ a peice lures. bulldawgs also work good but don't last long if the tail gets bit off you can "glue" the tail back on with a lighter, pinch the barbs on it because they always swallow it to the leader. I cut the front treble hook off cause of this. I have a hard time sleeping at night if I kill one of those big guys so please realease the big ones and eat the lil ones!

a 14 inch walleye can be just the ticket as I found out on sunday.

Hey Pikeman what size of Suick do you use? The 9" or the 12" and how would you fish it on a weedy shallow lake like Turtle?

Nice fish Chadwick, I read your story, guess I'll have to bring along some gummy bears as well.

9 in unless I'm musky fishing. You use the unweighted ones and cast as close to the weeds as possible. they don't sell a weedless one. Make sure you do the jerk while you reel and keep it moving. Just a tip you can weight them your self with big split shots and a drill bit, it will save you a couple bucks on each one. I like mine to be "suspended" when i'm done.

oh yah I forgot nice fish chadwick

Two questions for you experienced guys... any particular color you prefer on the jerkbaits and any advice for landing northern for not very experienced fisherman...

I go to Q every year, but the rest of the year I only see largemouth... I tried to use a cheap lip grabber the past two years, but it wasn't easy to use. I can see how the nicer ones would work well. Some people mention gloves...