Quinte Fishing

I would throw in a couple of other options for fishing BOQ. I always two-fist it. In the left hand I have a Buckshot spoon with a minnow head or full minnow. In my right I have the largest jigging rap (largest they make, in fact, I have some old ones that are out of production that are even larger than what you can currently buy), with a minnow head. The Buckshot makes noise, the jigging rap makes crazy motion. If I need to take a break or do something else, I always fish lively minnows on the baits. I have never used a tip-up on BOQ, but have experience elsewhere and have found that I catch more fish with a pole in each hand than using the tip-up. If you are not proficient using two hands at once, I recommend you put a slender spoon or some type of lighter Swedish Pimple with a very lively minnow on whichever pole you don't want to actively fish and dead stick that pole. If I have a lure I am deadsticking, I use a medium to medium heavy pole. If I switch to a heavy split shot and hook for deadsticking, I use a 32" Noodle Rod and a baitrunner reel with 8# fluoro. For the lures, I jig really aggressively and have a whole range of other jigging motions I try. Shake, lift, shake/lift, pause, nod (sort of a very faint quiver achieved by squeezing the rod grip), pound the bottom, 1' lifts, 2' lifts, 3' lifts, 5' lifts,... I consciously try to do everything to call them in and try to remember what I was doing when a mark shows up or I catch a fish, to repeat it If I get a fish come in, then I keep moving, but usually tone it down. If I can get them to come up at all, I do the shake/lift motion while reeling very slow, with some pauses. Many of my fish 50%+? I never see. They are just on it after letting it drop, or they kamikaze the bait hard. My buddies who are super subtle with their jigging motions out-fish me when the fish are super tight-lipped. Which, of course is often true on BOQ and everywhere else. I just don't have the personality to do subtle very long. I swing for the fences with my jigging motion. I am not stupid though. If I have fish come in and leave over and over, I downsize everything and go subtle. As for colors, for jigging rap, my number one used to be blue/chrome. That is now tied with red/chrome. Second choice is white/chartreuse. For Buckshot, I fish kind of a perch color or a blue color. For Swedish Pimple, I fish gold. I have a ton of other lures I will run through when nothing is happening. I will also go with the smallest jigging rap and a minnow head in the middle of the day to catch perch and have a shot at smaller walleye. I personally have never caught a walleye over about 4 # on the subtle stuff. All my bigs come on the biggest baits. As noted, on parts of BOQ, current will blow your lure out from under your depthfinder's view if you don't go heavy. My final comment is that BOQ has been an extremely cruel mistress. I figure 50% of the days you only have a shot or two at a fish. 40% you have short bite windows at prime time (first and last light). 10% or less of the time they go all day. As for terminal tackle, I don't use it. Except, I will occasionally put a ball bearing swivel ups 2-3' above my lure. I fish either 15# mono with a 15# fluoro leader, or straight 14# mono. I used to use braid, but broke off too many really large fish by cutting the line on the edge of the hole. Anyone who has fished BOQ much, knows what it feels like to set the hook and feel like you hooked an anvil. You cannot move a fish in the double digits with a hookset. Turn everything lose above 20". Let the big girls go. Plus, they are full of poison once they get old.