by dahlberg » Sat Jul 12, 2008 12:59 am
hi BGF
That's a great area. My uncle, one-eyed Jim, made a living up there as a pulp cutter. (That's how he lost his eye!)
See if you can get ahold of the River2Sea Yabbie. It's a crayfish type bait that's positively lethal on smallmouth. The two larger sizes are best.
In line spinners like vibrax and mepps are always good (size 2)
Tiny Torpedos and Skitter props are good topwater choices.
For muskies try Cowgirl Bucktails, Jackpots, small reef hawgs or piglet and a prop bait like a rumbler.
I would suggest not using live perch because it's totally illegal in minnesota. Suckers will work fine. I suggest a quick strike rig or some kind, or if you can get big enough suckers you can actually let the fish swallow them and catch them USING NO HOOK AT ALL!
Stick 27# leader wire though nostils and crimp. Let the fish eat the bait, get him to the boat and snatch him in the net. I like to let them chew for a minute, then ease them up and take a look. Lots of times I'll purposely pull it out of their mouths, twitch it a few times, and get to watch them bite it again. Sometimes they'll come back a half dozen times.
To release the fish, just give a yank on the wire, the sucker breaks free. Fish gets a free lunch with no holes poked in him, you get a great experience and nobody, but mr. sucker, is inconvenienced.
You might loose a few depending on cover,size of bait or fish, but it's surprising how few you loose if you're good with a net!
best,
L
L
Larry Dahlberg
The Hunt For Big Fish