Canoe Country in May

May is boom or bust. Let’s go for boom.

Those traveling to the BWCA and Quetico often ask me how’s the fishing going to be on my trip. In which I follow-up with when are you going?

I’ve been to The BWCA/Quetico many times in May and it’s my experience that May breaks down in two ways, late ice out and early ice out. Arriving on fishing opener weekend can be a challenge. Water is cold and sometimes on late ice out years it’s very cold. Walleye and smallmouth fishing can be tough on late ice out years. On the flip side the lake trout fishing can be excellent and the big pike bite can be very good as well. I’d sum up May by saying the later in May you go the better the fishing will be.

Lake Trout

Trout tend to be shallow (10-30 feet) and trolling crankbaits along the shoreline break (best guess is 50-100 feet from shore) is a great way to load some lakers as is jigging tubes. My choice rod for lake trout is a medium power fast action baitcaster for trolling and I prefer the same type of set up for jigging but in a spinning rod. But this is the back country so you may only have 2 rods so just pick your favorite based on how much trolling you’ll do. The baits I’ve had the most success with are white tubes followed by minnow style crankbaits that run 12-20 feet. A good day of  lake trout fishing can produce 40 or more lakers. I can’t stress enough that if you catch a laker on a shoreline keep working that shoreline with both a crankbait and a jig. Tip: If you catch a few lakers on a shoreline trolling and the bite slows switch to a jig and fish the area again.

Big Pike

My experience on big pike is to fish a jig very slowly on the bottom in areas that attach to shallow bays.

Most of the big pike I’ve caught in mid-May are caught on 5 inch grubs. A good day can yield 10-20 pike over 10 pounds with many approaching or surpassing 42 inches. If you are so lucky to have warm sunny days I’ve stumbled on big pike in mud bottom bays and best of all spots in and around cane that has yet to emerge. A good pair of polarized sunglasses is most helpful finding these underwater cane fields.

I’m going to further break down the big pike situation. A typical May has the pike shallow (8-15 feet) but still somewhat sluggish and offering them a snack sized soft plastic produces more consistent results and you may even stumble on a walleye, lake trout or smallmouth bass. Areas to focus on are sandy flats and entrances to mud bottom bays. If the weather on your trip is warm and sunny the pike tend to be more shallow 2-6 feet and more aggressive. You can stick with the jig but switch to a bigger profile swimbait and fish it faster. Spinnerbaits and glide style baits are also effective although you will find it’s preferable to use baits with a single hook. Big pike with multiple treble hooks in them pose issues that I don’t like to mess with in the back country. My pike gear is also a medium power fast action rod either a casting rod or spinning rod will do just fine.

Walleye

Walleye fishing for me in May is always hit and miss as far as big numbers. The nice part is while maybe the total number of walleyes isn’t what it will be in June it is a big fish time of year. I’ve had some trips in May where we caught more walleyes over 27 inches than keeper size walleyes.

No matter the time of year I always find walleyes on sandy shorelines and sand flats that slope into deeper water. I also like current. If you find current and sand chances are you’ll catch walleye. Maybe even lots of them them! I fish a 7 foot extra fast Predator ML spinning rod for walleyes and smallmouth. I’m casting a 1/8 ounce jig with a black plastic worm or a minnow color grub in 6-12 feet of water most of the time.

Smallmouth

During May I typically don’t target smallmouth bass unless I stumble onto them. We catch plenty of them fishing for walleyes. If smallies are your target use the same set up as you do for walleyes but fish the entire shoreline not just the sandy areas with a jig and plastic. On sunny days you may see them swimming along rock shelves attached to deeper water. I’ve found these fish to be very agreeable to my presentations. Smallies may come from anywhere at this time of year and most are cruisers looking for an easy meal.

Gear

My recommendation for gear is simple. Each angler in the canoe brings two rods. One is a medium power casting rod and the other is a medium light spinning rod. I prefer fast action on the baitcaster and extra fast on the spinning rod but bring what you have. I always bring one extra rod per canoe. My choice is always a medium power spinning rod because it’s the most versatile option.

Lure choices are simple. The go-to is a 1/8ounce jig made with a really good hook. Hooks are very important in these waters. I’ve experienced a straightened hook on more than one occasion and it won’t happen again.

Here’s my tackle box mix in May:

Ten 1/8 ounce jigs per day. 5 days 50 of them
Ten 1/16 ounce jigs per day. 5 days, 50 of them
Twenty 1/4 ounce jigs.
1 spinnerbait
1 glide bait
2 topwaters
5 minnow style crankbaits 10-20 foot divers.
10 plastic worms per day
10 grubs per day
3 wire leaders
1 Needlenose pliers
1 Hookout

Any trip to canoe country is a good time to go and May can be outstanding. Remember this is a great multi-species time of year and be prepared to fish for lake trout, pike, walleye and smallmouth bass. Good skill!

Images from May trips into Canoe Country

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Author with a 42 inch northern pike caught while walleye fishing.

Now getting the fish to the canoe takes skill, luck and trusty gear, but what I really witnessed was we could avoid losing the fish if the canoe partner was ready to help avoid having the fish looking straight at the side of the canoe. Keep the paddle ever ready and watch the battle…keeping a close eye on where the fish is in relation to the canoe. If that big pike is thinking about getting along side facing the canoe (and they will) the other angler needs to paddle the canoe in way to help stop that from happening. The partner needs to predict what this fish is going to do and they can for the most part. Of course experience will tell but even a rookie can notice this. Back paddling can clear the big pike of the canoe. I have a video below that depicts this in multiple instances of large pike in canoes below.

In another scene the pike is ripping drag away from the canoe…in this instance chase the fish. That is, paddle towards the pike and a bit away from the pikes intended path to reduce stress on the gear and line.

Instance 3 has the big pike going back towards the canoe, the fish is trying face the canoe to dive under it. The other paddler needs to turn the canoe the opposite way the pike is heading. These tactics work in boats too. Get on the trolling motor.

What about a big pike canoe side horizontal to the canoe. This is tricky. Is the pike done fighting? Maybe a quick test touch will tell you. Most canoeists don’t have a net for these beasts so you can grab the pike by the shoulder…rear end of the head. It’s best to be committed. Grab it! No wishy washy attempts unless it’s a test attempt. I’ve seen many big pike get dropped back into the water and head under the canoe. Or even worse end up on the bottom of the canoe were all heck breaks out. The other way to land the fish is by the flap under it’s jaw. There’s no teeth there. The key is to slide your hand from the back of the flap to the front and lift the fish and take your photo. Again be committed as best you can.

There have been instances where the pike is so big that landing it on the water is a big challenge and potentially dangerous. especially in big waves. Since you’re probably close to shore you can paddle the angler close to the shore and land it in one of the tactics described above.

I also have another option for you. Release the fish in the water if you can. Going back to what I mentioned earlier the fish is most likely hooked in the upper front of the lip or side of the face. You can use your long nose pliers to unhook the big pike. Sure in this instance you probably won’t get a photo. But the plus side is both you and the fish go away unharmed. This is easier to do if you have caught many big pike and the photo is not necessarily the goal or it’s a safety issue.

The video below I’m hoping is both entertaining and educational. Please take a gander and see what I’m writing about.

This big pike video depicts much of what I explained above. Notice how paddling is helping the angler keep tabs on the big pike and take a look at the landing. This is a very large fish well over 20 pounds.