Quetico Spring Fishing with Adam Macht

I just got back from a week-long trip into Quetico.  We did some exploring but spent the bulk of the trip fishing on Argo and McIntrye.  The lake trout fishing was fantastic.  Our best success came trolling crank baits that dove 15’ – 30’ (my favorite was the Rapala Deep Diving Tail Dancer).

A lure with a white or silver flash seemed to be most effective.  I had good response with a Norman Shad lure as well.  There were times throughout the trip that a jig with a 4” white minnow (artificial) was very productive.  We had plenty of fish to eat!  Interestingly, in one of the fish we caught to eat, it’s belly was full of flying ants (I should have taken a picture!!).  I had never seen this before.  They must have been coming to the surface to pick the ants off the water.  It was unique, and might explain why the bite was a little slower that day.

Argo Lake 

Foggy Morning on McIntyre

Morning on Argo

Solo sunrise on McIntyre

Overall, the trip was great.  We had great campsites on Argo and McIntyre, and the only canoe we saw was a family of 4 with 2 small kids.  It was so quiet and peaceful, and it is always fun to spend a week with good friends in Quetico.  I hope you get a chance to get out and enjoy this beautiful wilderness up here!

Adam Macht

Piragis Outfitting

800-223-6565

Quetico Fishing Pictures

“Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing it is not fish they are after.”
 Henry David Thoreau

That may be true.  It is also true that many men and women go fishing all their lives and never catch the size of fish you'll find in the Boundary Waters and Quetico wilderness waters.  For some of our outfitting trip clients, fishing is (need we say more) a passion.

Fishing certainly is a fun part of the canoe trip experience.  Whether you practice catch and release or catch and eat, it has rewards that other sports do not.  Fishing on your own can be a great time for reflection, relaxation and rendezvous with nature.  Fishing with a friend combines all those and more.  I've fished for hours with my friends and we've barely said a word.  Those unsaid words spoke volumes.  I've gone fishing on Father's Day with my Dad and treasured every piece of conversation we shared.  I call those days the "no-limit" days.

Catching up with old friends in a canoe that I've not spent time with since high school is something I'll never forget.  The catching those days didn't depend on whether the fish were biting or if they weren't.

"There is certainly something in angling that tends to produce a serenity of the mind." ~Washington Irving

"I love fishing.  You put that line in the water and you don't know what's on the other end.  Your imagination is under there."  ~Robert Altman

"Three-fourths of the Earth's surface is water, and one-fourth is land.  It is quite clear that the good Lord intended us to spend triple the amount of time fishing as taking care of the lawn."  ~Chuck Clark

"Last year I went fishing with Salvador Dali.  He was using a dotted line.  He caught every other fish."  ~Steven Wright

As promised, here are a couple pics from Brent and my most recent Quetico Adventures!  I’ve got many, many pics – however, these are some good ones with really nice sized fish!  The almost 30” lake trout is my biggest to date!  Brent caught his biggest walleye and pike, and we both caught 20 inch smallmouth up and down Wicksteed’s bays.  Great fishing this spring!

Cheri Henderson

 

Morning Fog on Glacier Lake

Cheri with 29" Lake Trout on Argo Lake

Brent with 20" Smallmouth on Wicksteed Lake

Cheri with 19" Smallmouth on Crooked Lake

Brent with 26" Lake Trout on Argo Lake

Moose on Darky River

Brent with 39" Pike on Wicksteed Lake

Brent with 25 inch (plus) walleye on Crooked Lake