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How
to fish for Lake Trout
Lake Trout occur all across the northern region of North America including the Great Lakes. The Lake Trout tends to inhabit the cooler waters of large deep lakes but can inhabit the shallower lakes of the north that have cooler waters, preferred temperature is 42 to 52ºF. It is also found in some large rivers. Smaller lake trout feed on insect larvae, small crustaceans, clams, snails, leeches, several kinds of fish, mice, and shrews. Larger Lake Trout, when available, feed extensively on other fish such as whitefish, grayling, sticklebacks, and sculpins.
Lake Trout can achieve large sizes of over 60 pounds but most anglers will encounter Lake Trout under 10 pounds. In spring, when lake waters are cold, Lake Trout can be found near the surface and along the shoreline. In spring successful Lake Trout anglers use bright spinners or spoons while fishing from shore or near inlet and outlet streams. As the season progresses, Lake Trout go deeper and finally reside beneath the thermocline, many times they can be found in water from 50 to 100 feet deep. Trolling slowly through deep, colder water layers and along steep rock walls or dropoffs produces good catches of Lake Trout.
For Lake Trout many fishermen use a 8 to 10 foot medium action rod with a conventional star drag reel or a larger level-wind reel spooled with 250 yds of 10 to 12 pound test super-line. At the end of your mainline tie on a barrel swivel and then on the other end of the swivel tie on 8 to 12 feet of 10 lb fluorocarbon leader. At the end of your leader tie on a Lake trout spoon such as a Premium Flutter Spoon, Acme K.O. Wobbler, Luhr Jensen Rattle Kwikfish, Cabela's Canadian Spoon, Williams Whitefish Spoon, and any large chrome spinner or any Rapalas that resemble local baitfish.
These Lake Trout spoons are fished off a downrigger, either by themselves or in conjunction with a dodger or flasher. With a downrigger you will be able to work all depths and will have the added advantage of no weights between you and the fish once hooked. Anglers who troll spoons by themselves behind a downrigger, especially when seeking wary fish such as Lake Trout often prefer 10 to 30 feet between the line release and spoon.
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