Hi All,
Just wondering what people that pull spinner rigs and weight forward spinners in the Quetico like to tip them with?
I love the Lindy and a leech combo in the BWCA...
Three weeks and counting!

Leech crawler minnow

quote Basspro69: "Leech crawler minnow"

I think he means artificial options since he mentioned quetico.

Personally I haven't fished with such rigs :/

I've tipped spinner rigs with plastic swim baits or gulp leeches with ok luck. I haven't done it a lot since I prefer live bait for those applications.

This is mostly a pike technique as they are attracted by the flashy blades and will strike at almost anything if trailing the spinner bait. If they follow but don't strike - change up or go to more erratic retrieve. But I usually start with the slow roll.

Yup - swim baits of all types - large twister tails (yellow and white) , paddle tails (shad color and sparkly greys) , or even fluke type lures with no action. Have caught about as many on a simple skirt as any life-like bait on a spinner. They don't call them "fresh water sharks" for nothing!

But I generally prefer to offer movement, vibration and natural looking baits once the blades get their attention.

By the way - don't overlook buzz baits for pike in the shallow weeds/pads. It is a real circus. :)

Might also consider adding stinger hooks.

Strongly suggest braided line and stiff rod (nothing less than medium action - but a little stiffer rod is better) for this style. Big pike have very strong jaws and many fish are lost at the boat due to not enough hook set power to "slip" the lure in their jaw grip to set the hook. You battle them all the way to the boat only to have them open their mouth and watch the lure flutter out - they had it "clamped" tight all the time with no hook set.

That will wipe the smile off your face!

Old Hoosier

Gulp leeches and Gulp minnows for Quetico

Having been a devotee of weight forward spinners and all sorts of crawler harness rigs for Great Lakes walleyes I have given this question considerable thought since I fish the Quetico.

Thought it through, packed everything up, tripped into the Quetico and my carefully laid plans never seen a drop of H2O. Maybe you can help make my vision reality and let me know how it worked.

First off I don't like the idea of multiple hook harnesses with plastics. Bad presentation iMO.......quite likely you will have to build your own. Think along the lines of a Gamakatsu rubber worm hook. They usually have a few barbs on the shank to keep your offering in place.

As per the bait? After scrutinizing the isles of several big box stores (what else do I have to do on a Friday night) I have settled on an old favorite......a 6" Culprit. With the back half of the worm achieving that "swimming" motion I think it would be quite effective. Throw in some "prop wash" from the blaujde and I think it would be a winner. They make a brownish coppery colored worm which should fit the bill rather nicely.

One last thing......the worm must be rigged perfectly straight.......don't bury the hook but rather leave it exposed. So that means a straight shank hook. Capiche?

We will expect a full report upon your return. Good Luck.

quote murphylakejim: "

quote Basspro69: "Leech crawler minnow"

I think he means artificial options since he mentioned quetico.

:/"

oops missed that part :-)

I tried a bunch of different combinations. The most effective was a pinched off piece of floating Gulp Alive Crawler on a slow death rig with smile blade. Generally, not the most productive technique this trip but always fun to tinker.

Thanks everyone for the input.

Whatever you use, just make it move right. Smell is overrated, in my opinion, especially in Quetico where most of the fish haven't seen anything you might throw at them.

quote MeatGun: "I tried a bunch of different combinations. The most effective was a pinched off piece of floating Gulp Alive Crawler on a slow death rig with smile blade. Generally, not the most productive technique this trip but always fun to tinker.


Thanks everyone for the input. "

What was the most productive technique? Just curious. What is also funny I was reading this and I was going to suggest a slow death hook and same type of crawler with a Northland Holographic spinner gold or silver size 2 or 3. Never tried it myself though---then I got to your post and saw ya tried something similar.

I have thought about using rigs but my most productive methods for the Q are cranks and trolling then for stationary is jigging impulse twisters or ring worms.

T

MeatGun,

I don't quite bring the "kitchen sink" when I go to Quetico to fish ( like Mastertangler does ... sorry MT ... but your assortment of tackle that you bring on a trip is nuts ... but I know you are crazy about fishing like many of us ...LOL ... and thanks for sharing your 3 videos with us).

I too am partial to spinner blade rigging floating worm harnesses with bottom bouncers and Lindy rigs with 4 inch Gulp/Powerbait worms for walleyes. Its a great way to cover a lot of water and locate hungry fish. And the past several years I have gone to Smile Blades and Slow death hooks with Berkley Gulp 3 inch Killer Crawlers espeacially when the bite gets tough.

Berkley Gulp 3 inch Killer Crawlers

Yes, I vertically jig too with twister and paddle tails especially when i find walleyes in large groups in an area ... but I do try a lot of new ways to catch walleyes. For example, I have begun to use a "Jigging Rap" that has been popularized by Al Linder.

I read what all fellow posters put out here on bwca.com to learn what works up on Candian shield water. I also follow walleyecentral.com to get new ideas.

The farther I go into Quetico the less tackle I tend to bring along. Especially when I am going solo. If I am part of a larger group of 4 or more then I will take more walleye tackle. If I go on trips that put me closer to entry points I will bring more of an assortment. You get the picture.

By the way, I went with Old Hoosier on a fall trip to Badwater a few years back and I brought 1/2 the kitchen sink for walleye tackle. And let me say, this walleye fisherman was humbled by Old Hoosier's walleye fish catching ability. he literally "smoked" me. He just pulled smaller shad raps and rapalas ... in "Blue" and I thought my larger and deeper crankbaits and working deep spinner rigs would be the ticket for Fall fishing. Well, let me say I got schooled by Don ... Sure it was his home lake and it was my first time fishing Badwater ... but he knew what worked on this lake at this time of year. He shared some of his small shallow diving cranks with me and the catch was on.

I guess the moral of the story is ... there are many ways to fish for walleye but don't just stick to one method ... give several methods and loctions a try. ( Rock, flats, drop offs, sand, wood, weed edges, narrows, night fishing, Lindy rigging, Spinner Rigging, slow death, TGO, pulling cranks, jigging, slip bobber etc .... oh no, Ii just realized if I follow what I am suggesting, I will be bringing the kitchen sink on canoe trips just like Matertangler.

I like that Berkley Gulp 3 inch killer. That looks sweet. Lots of uses for that.

Yep, trolling cranks was the best technique for walleye. Jig and fake Leech (gulp and Slimerz) worked the best for smallies. Best fish below:

Ahem.....walleye 13 did you just call me "nuts"? That is one of the most unflattering descriptions I have ever recieved. Crazy would of been acceptable, (my therapist calls me that almost every time we meet ~ I'm kidding!)

That is the most I have ever brought and I am glad I did. I used most of it with a few notable exceptions and learned quite a bit. All it took was one more trip down the portage trail. Going for 3 or 4 weeks is certainly different than 10 day trips as far as bringing a big selection iMO.

Already planning for next year and will probably end up bringing a boat load of stuff once again although a different focus. I'm all in with the big plastics for pike......but this is a walleye thread and I have hi-jacked it.

Back to walleye.........my big emphasis will be on Chatterbaits with those big bite trailers. They were killer and I have yet to really give them a real try, I just used them casually up shallow and didn't really put much time in with them. I have always caught fish with Chatterbaits but now there will be a concentrated focus with various color combinations, weights and line classes. Probably will have an entire Plano box devoted to them along with a pile of those Big Bite Warmouth baits.

MT ...

Just kidding calling you "nuts" for all the equipment you brought up fishing this year. No need to justify. Like you say, it just takes one more trip across the portage. I too like to bring a bunch of tackle up to the Q when I fish. But the main difference is that I mainly just fish for walleye and spend some time smallmouth fishing. You go after several species that includes big pike. And if you go after Big Pike, that takes some "big tackle" for sure.

I have never tried Chatterbaits for walleye. I may have to give them a try. Chatterbaits seem like a natural for smallmouth bass ... not sure about walleye but I always like to experiment and try "new" things.

Thanks for taking the time to submit your fishing ideas on this site. I have learned a lot.

Where are you looking at for 2017?

I dunno Mike......options include back to Woodland Caribou, going to Burt in the Quetico or even Isle Royale. But who knows what a day may bring (Lord willing ) Why......you want to go? I need someone to help carry those big plastic baits.........I mean if you don't mind going with someone whose nuts!

The Chatterbaits are a natural for walleye and has been my "go to" lure for walleye when they are buried in the weeds. Just jig and rip them through letting them drop back down and they get whacked more times than not. At Musclow they were chewed by walleyes quite aggresively. But then again so was pretty much everything LOL.

But we are out of order.......this is Meat Guns thread about trailers. I am really high on these Big Bite warmouth lures as a trailer. They are so cool looking in the water and fish agree.

I know this isn't a spinner rig but it's not so far away and a cross between a jig and a blade. Might be an interesting option.

Rage blade