BWCA Quetico Fishing

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.

Basin Smallmouth Bass in Summer

I know what you’re thinking? Fishing smallmouth bass in a deep basin is just plain a wacky idea in canoe country. Nope. Let me explain a few things. First of all smallmouth bass are voracious predators and they quite simply go where the food is. If this means deep basins so be it. Next question; how does one find smallies in a basin? Basins are deep and typically big or super big so defining where to start can be so easy it’s not funny or it can be a search mission.

Lets start with the easy part, sight fishing. Yep you can see smallies in 40-80 foot basins with the naked eye. How you say? Just notice the surface. Do you see fish exploding on the surface over basins? If so I’m betting these are smallmouth bass chasing bait to the surface. This could be a few blow ups or an entire couple acre area with hundreds of fish blasting away at bait right under the surface! And this is the most fun you’ll ever have in a canoe. Typically this occurs in light wind situations so you can see this a long way off. See the surface blowing up? Start paddling immediately because these fish will eat swim baits hard. Really hard! Some of my favorites swimbaits are Keitech and Zoom. I prefer lighter colors and the larger sizes. Put them on a 1/8 or 1/16 jig head and cast ’em into the boiling water. Start reeling as soon as the bait hits the water and rip it fast just under the surface. Rip it all the way back to the canoe many will eat right in front of you, usually in packs of many. You’ll be amazed! I have witnessed this many times. Two particular adventures had us catching big smallies hand over fist for over an hour using this method and a few other times we had 5-15 minutes of non-stop action on fish over 18 inches.

So that was easy and almost dumb. To find them deeper fish basins attached to weed beds and points. This tactic is a little more methodical but when you find the smallmouth they eat in volumes. Typically I’d start at the first break, say 15-20 feet and work towards deeper water casting the same rig mentioned above only let the bait hit the bottom then start snap jigging it back to the canoe. These fish are on the prowl in schools. Playing keep away is what works best and the bites are take no prisoners.

Want to know more? Feel free to comment and I’ll get back to you. Or shoot me an email.

This is one of the smallies we caught inches under the surface in about 65 feet of water. You gotta see the tail walk!

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Big Pike in Quetico

Big Pike Eat Plastic Worms

This 40 inch pike was caught while fishing for smallmouth bass in 10 feet of water. Shield lakes often produce large northern pike and are often hooked and landed while casting jigs for smallmouth bass and walleye tipped with soft plastics…Culprit Worms, Kalin’s Grubs, Keitech Swim Baits etc etc.

It may sound crazy but we catch more pike over 36 inches while fishing for smallies and walleyes than when we cast lures specifically targeting big northern pike. That said I mostly fish for smallies and walleyes.

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