Lake Trout Trends and Trips

By all measures, lake trout are top-tier predators. A lake trout is capable of acceleration not found in any other predator. Under the ice, lake trout become more active and ice anglers are captivated by their strikes and runs. We have seen fish rocket 50 feet through the water column to hit a tube that was being cranked up as fast as you could turn the handle on a baitcasting reel. These fish can move up and down incredibly fast when they want to chase a lure. Big fish will roll and dog right below the ice before burping up some air and burning drag right back down to the bottom, sometimes peeling off 100 feet or more of line in the process. Monster lake trout are one of ice fishing’s most coveted trophies. Other than being a fascinating fish that is built for speed and power, these fish live in some remarkable places. More and more ice anglers are consumed by the lake trout spell each winter, as the popularity of this experience reaches new legions of fans. 

What continues to fascinate me about lake trout is the nuances we often find from one fishery to the next. While the strikes can be violent and a cranked lake trout is more than capable of catching up to any spoon or tube, these extreme feeding windows can be short and intense. There are just as many days where fish dart in and out while merely swatting or head-butting the lure. We often see situations where the fish are really keyed on a specific size, profile or color while ignoring everything else. There are other situations when lake trout seem to prefer one specific species of dead bait that must be presented just perfectly. On many fisheries, dead bait like ciscoe, eelpout or whitefish account for some of the biggest trout every winter.

Soft Plastic Trends

I don’t know if there is any specific lure category that has taken more lake trout than a classic white tube jig. Tube jigs continue to catch fish and are a go-to lure on many fisheries that we travel to. Other natural colors that include greens, motor oil, pumpkinseed and purple, can also be worth experimenting with. On fisheries where lake trout are keying on tullibee, dwarf tullibee and white fish, white can be a solid color option, but other species can be an important food source as well.

Lake trout often live in environments with excellent water visibility, so matching the hatch can really pay off. Yellow perch, suckers, stocked trout, and eelpout or mariah can also drive some lake trout patterns. Not all tube jigs are created equally, and some of the most effective jig heads for vertically jigging feature an offset hook eye that is located farther back on the lead head. My personal favorite tube jig head is the Level Head designed by Colorado guide Bernie Keefe. Anglers have also incorporated small spinner blades into the tube bait like the T. C. MOTO Chaser Tail.

Tubes aren’t the only soft plastic option, either. Fluke tails and paddle tails can also be deadly on lakers. Perhaps more important than color is the overall profile and size. A 30-inch-plus lake trout has no qualms about eating a baitfish that is more than a foot long. The standard size tube or soft plastic that so many lake trout anglers use seems to stretch between 4 and 6 inches. A great standard size tube is the Juice Bait Company Laker Tube in the 4.5-inch size. But, we have also experienced days when downsizing or upsizing made a huge difference. When bigger is better, it is tough to beat an original 7- to 10-inch Hogi rigged on a stout triangle jig. 

Flutter Spoon Renaissance

Spoons continue to provide anglers with an effective and versatile presentation option, particularly on inland waters where there are no strong currents. Classic spoon options include the Acme Little Cleo and Mepp’s Cyclops. On many spoons, we upgrade the split rings and upsize the treble hooks, particularly on many Canadian fisheries that require barbless hooks.

Fort Peck Reservoir in Montana is currently one of the best winter lake trout fisheries in the Lower 48 for great numbers of quality fish. Photo courtesy Jason Mitchell Outdoors.

Another new option that has gained serious momentum is the Clam Pro Tackle Super Leech Flutter Spoon. Over the past three years, the Super Leech has been my hottest spoon from Fort Peck to Lake of the Woods. On most days, you can fish the spoon naked and simply keep working it to entice smashing strikes, but there are most definitely days when a strip of walleye belly (where legal) or a minnow hooked on the treble hook can convert fish that are otherwise turned off.   

If there is one common trend that we are seeing on many fisheries, that trend would be downsizing spoons. We can correlate these experiences to coincidence, but we really have no explanation. The reality is that there are many days when smaller spoon profiles seemed to get more strikes — and that caught big fish. We can hypothesize that the older and bigger fish are getting conditioned to some of the larger, more traditional hardware. Even on remote fisheries in northern Manitoba and Saskatchewan, there is a good reality that many of the biggest trout have been caught before. Realistically, on many fisheries we often catch more lake trout on small spoons that were probably originally designed for walleyes. There are days when simply downsizing to smaller spoons and tubes literally saves the day.

Keep Away

Regardless of what lure you start or end the day with, the name of the game most days is keep away. We will work a 10-foot area of the water column at a time with a longer stroke or snap to cause the lure to flash and draw fish in. Lakers are interesting in that they often dart in and out of the cone angle, sometimes chasing the lure up or down for several feet. My most effective maneuver when a fish comes in hot is to simply bounce the lure while reeling up in three- to four-foot intervals. Keep the fish chasing the lure. 

If you tone the lure down or do little with the lure, trout will often lose interest. See if you can get the fish to scream up and keep the lure moving up. Where we have been able to sight fish, or use an underwater camera for lake trout, we can often see where the fish simply ram the lure and then swing and turn sharply for another swipe. When the fish disappears, keep working that lure as they often reappear after turning. If the fish loses interest or stops chasing you on the way up, try working your way down. I have caught a lot of fish by simply letting the lure fall all of the way back down to the bottom. Lake trout have no problem using their speed to chase a lure on the way up or on the way down. 

For water less than 50 feet deep, the right spinning rod will work fine. In fact, when scaling down to the smaller spoons and tubes, a 36-inch medium-heavy, fast walleye action rod will work fine paired with 10- to 14-pound braid. For larger lures or deeper water, I like the advantages of a baitcasting rod and reel because of the faster gear ratio. One of the very best commercially made baitcasting rod actions for many lake trout applications is our Jason Mitchell 34-inch Heavy Action Mack Bait Caster, combined with a high-speed bait casting reel like a Quantum Vapor spooled with 20-pound Power Pro Braid

Northern Manitoba offers several accessible drive-to destinations that offer tremendous lake trout fishing. Classic tube jigs and narrow profile flutter spoons, like the Clam Pro Tackle Super Leech Flutter Spoon, are deadly on inland trout water. This trout was caught on a trip with Wekusko Falls Lodge on Reed Lake. Photo courtesy Jason Mitchell Outdoors.

Use a high-quality swivel to connect the braid to about three feet of 20-pound fluorocarbon leader. Attach the lure to the fluorocarbon with a heavy-duty, duo lock snap swivel. The zero stretch of braid is a big advantage for setting the hook over deep water and is also easier to pop out of the ice if the line cuts into the ice as the fish runs. When you are working a fish, try to set the hook while standing up if possible, and step back away from the hole — especially over deeper water.

Dead Bait Tactics

Some of the biggest lake trout are caught on dead bait every winter. Dead baits are best if they are fresh. Tried-and-true baits include tullibee, ciscoe and whitefish. Frozen suckers, anchovies or sardines can also catch fish. On some fisheries in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, freshly caught eelpout or mariah are deadly for catching big lakers. Baits can range from 6 to 16 inches long.

On many fisheries, dead baits are placed to lay right on the bottom, but you can experiment by hanging them horizontally off of the bottom a bit higher in the water column. The most popular way for many anglers to present dead baits is by using an Arctic Warrior. The Arctic Warrior is a tip-down device with a flag where you lay a spinning rod or bait casting rod in the bracket. When a fish picks up the bait and runs, the flag pops up and the angler can set the hook and fight the fish with a traditional rod and reel. For deadstick setups, I typically run a 20-pound Power Pro braid for the main line and use a 20-pound Fluorocarbon leader for the quick strike rig, in which I typically tie tandem size 2 treble hooks. The rod simply must have leverage for driving hooks home. The Dave Genz Split Grip Spinning Rod in the 36-inch Medium Heavy Action is ideal, especially when paired with a reel that has a bait runner.    

Dream Trips

When you look at the distribution of lake trout in North America, these fascinating fish cover a big chunk of real estate. You can target lakers from Alaska to Upstate New York. There are awesome lake trout fisheries on the Great Lakes, notably Lake Superior when there is safe ice. Opportunities also exist in northern Minnesota. Even South Dakota has under-the-radar fisheries in Lake Pactola and Deerfield Lake. Fort Peck might be one of the very best lake trout fisheries right now in the Lower 48 if you are looking for numbers of quality fish. Outstanding fisheries do exist throughout the Rocky Mountain states of Wyoming, Colorado, Montana and Utah. Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and New York have populations of lake trout, as well.

There are even more options north of the border. Ontario has a lot of incredible lake trout water like Lake of the Woods and Lake Simcoe, both being popular destinations for many ice anglers. In my opinion when it comes to drive-to adventures, northern Manitoba ranks at the top of the list for numbers and size. If you were to draw a line from The Pas to Grand Rapids and cover a 100-mile swath, you would encompass some of the best drive-to fishing for lake trout on the planet. Clearwater Lake, Reed Lake, Cranberry Portage and Kississing Lake are all top-tier lake trout fisheries that are very capable of producing trout over 40 inches.  Stateside, it is tough to beat Montana’s Fort Peck Reservoir for high numbers of quality lakers. Flaming Gorge still reins as one of the premier lake trout fisheries in the Rocky Mountains for big fish potential when there is safe ice. Of course, Lake Superior has serious big fish potential when ice conditions allow.

We travel extensively in search of lake trout every winter, and I would personally rate lake trout as one of my very favorite fish to target through the ice. A 40-inch lake trout is a special fish, but simply having a day on the ice where you can tag a half-dozen fish over 30 inches is a good day of living.

— Jason Mitchell is a hunting and fishing guide on North Dakota’s Devils Lake. Check out his television show, “Jason Mitchell Outdoors.”

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