Hey, we went into the boundary waters in early June for 8 days. It is tough and you are at the mercy of the weather, but we had an awesome time. Remember to take a good set of rain gear and dont over pack.
For Catching small mouth:
We had the best luck on white grubs on jig heads. Several fish on inline spinners (hard to keep the northerns away). Best areas to fish are any where that you can find current. And you can find current on the bigger waters if you look for it. There are several areas on the basswood river, crooked lake, and general surrounding areas where you can find the best small mouth of your life.
We had three people in a canoe on one particular day, we caught uppwards of four hundred smallmouth in about 7 hours of fishing. We had 3 fish over seven pounds. I have photos if you would like to see them. Just email me at [email protected]. The fish on that day were mostly caught on white grubs around broken and chunk rock below an area of white water. The current was strong enough that we had to anchor. Look for gradually tapering areas in the current and eddies with the broken rock and you will find smallies.
Jerk baits (husky jerks) also produced well but once again you will lose some lures to the northerns.
White seemed to be by far the best color. Remember to fish above and below any current. And dont think that any current is too strong. We caught several fish in the 4-5 lb range in current that would drift a 1/2 ounce jig head through white water. As soon as the lure fell behind a current break, wham.
Good luck and Good fishing.
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