New years was the last time I went to quartz and I got skunked on arctic char - maybe two rainbows around 18" the rest were small. On the softwater there I have caught some 22"-24" char and I've seen rainbows that size caught too.
Smallish stuff is what I use - mostly jig heads tipped with bait - raw srimp, salmon eggs, roe, worms...really just about anything can work and variety is key because what was hot one day may not be the next. Also used airplane jigs, swedish pimples, and bare hooks with bait.
If you're in an ice house (state rents four) you'll just have to take what comes your way, if you want to work and find fish you'll be out moving...when I am feeling energetic and focused on nailing fish I like to auger a bunch of holes (one every 10 - 20 yards) in a line away from shore. Starting at 5 feet or so of water and working my way out from shore until I get 15-20 feet or deeper. Move from hole to hole until you get fish hitting and then drill some more holes in the area you're catching fish...
When I target char I just use a bare hook with roe and set it right off the bottom - little to no jigging...the char seem to roam around in schools to some degree and when you get into them get all the lines you can in the water in that area in a hurry and hook em up while it lasts. Then try to find where they moved to!
Quartz gives you the chance for a bigger fish (not huge, but still nice), but I will say that Birch has been producing more fish for me this year. If quartz is slow I wouldn't hesitate to pack up and come back towards town and give Birch a try...
should be fun no matter what! Are you renting a cabin and staying down there or just a day trip?
