Lake trout fascinate me. A top-of-the-food-chain predator that is built for the cold water under the ice. They have serious horsepower and will test your equipment. The places they live will also test your equipment. Ice fishing for lake trout is not for the faint of heart. The conditions can be brutal. The fish themselves can be brutal on your soul and psyche. We often joke that the highs are high, and the lows are low when fishing for giant lake trout.
Lake trout just do things that defy imagination. We have seen instances where a fish will hit a bait 5 feet under the ice after screaming up 50 feet or more in the water column to chase a lure being reeled up as fast as you can turn the handle. Other fish dart in and out like sharks circling their prey as they bump the lure or even swat the lure with their tails. Circling until some move triggers that alpha predator into eating.
Jigging lures for lake trout is a joyful game of keep away. In conjunction with electronics, the entire process of fooling a lake trout with a lure becomes the ultimate game of cat and mouse. If there is a mistake you can make when ice fishing for lake trout, that mistake might be underestimating these fish as a predator. They want the lure to move and attempt to flee — to attempt to get away. Make these fish chase and they often will. Besides aggressively working an assortment of lures, we also often use dead baits on set lines, and as you can probably guess, the size of some of these dead baits simply inspire awe if you have never fished for lake trout. They are indeed the alpha predator under the ice.
Lake trout occupy a wide range across North America and amongst trout species, lake trout have one of the widest distributions across the continent. From upstate New York to the high mountain lakes of Colorado, and stretching all across Canada into Alaska, these predators can be found where there is the right cold-water habitat. Because lake trout need cold water that is highly oxygenated, most lake trout fisheries are deep with a thermocline. They have also been stocked or introduced into many deep reservoir fisheries like Pactola Lake in South Dakota and Fort Peck Reservoir in Montana.
Under the ice when water temperatures become more even from top to bottom, we have found lake trout at times in surprisingly shallow water. We have seen some shallow fishing opportunities develop on some reservoirs in particular, and through the ice, you never know when or where a lake trout will cruise through. We have caught them by accident in 5 feet of water on Canadian Shield lakes when targeting pike with tip-ups. We have even been able to sight fish for lake trout at times on a few different fisheries. Not constrained by warmer water near the surface, winter lake trout are more free to roam, but on a majority of fisheries where we have spent time targeting them, most fish are positioned around deep structure, and I would dare say an average depth might range between 40 and 80 feet of water.
Colorado lake trout guide Bernie Keefe once described the perfect lake trout location or structure as having a window with a view, and I thought that analogy is fitting. In other words, look for deep main lake points or reefs that have quick access to even deeper water. On many fisheries, the primary forage can be tullibee or whitefish. Burbot can also be an important forage. Stocked trout are the food item on some large reservoirs out West. The few shallow patterns described briefly above seemed driven by yellow perch. Lake trout will eat anything and seemingly everything — these fish are such effective predators.
Since we are often fishing in deep water for a big fish with a hard mouth, the rods, line and tackle have to be up to the task. For jigging lake trout, make sure to have enough rod. The trend recently has been toward longer rods for better leverage. We often use baitcasting rods in deeper water, simply because of the higher gear ratios available on baitcasting reels. But a spinning rod will work, especially in less than 60 feet of water.
Good commercially made lake trout rods with a heavy enough action have always been limited, so years ago, we came out with the Mack Series lake trout rods from Clam Outdoors. My all-time favorite jigging rod is the 36-inch Medium Heavy Bait Caster and 40-inch Heavy Spinning Rod in the Jason Mitchell Mack line. The no-stretch characteristics of braided line are important for hooking up fish in deep water. On most of my jigging rods, I use a 14-pound or 20-pound Power Pro Braid. Because lake trout water can be extremely clear, I often use about 4 to 6 feet of 20-pound fluorocarbon leader below the braid and use a heavy-duty ball bearing swivel to connect the braid to the leader.
The swivel also works well for indicating when a trout is getting close to the bottom of the hole. Since snaps and split rings can pull apart from the stress of fighting a big trout, always tie direct and make sure that the tackle is up to the task. Many lures will catch trout and many of these lures might have been designed with bass or walleyes in mind, so keep that in mind. Tube jigs, for example, work great for lake trout, but make sure that the hooks are stout and won’t bend out. And make sure the split rings on your spoons or rattle baits are heavy enough to handle a trout.
Big lakers have a really hard mouth and because these fish can accelerate toward you so fast, make sure you fish in a position where you can stand up quickly. We often fish outside off of snowmobiles just so you can stand up quickly and get the rod well over your head on a hookset. If you can, step away from the hole when you set the hook to increase the leverage in deep water. If you need to use a shelter, opt for a hub shelter so you can fish standing up with more room. Flip-over shelters just put you too low when sitting and don’t typically give you enough room overhead, or the ability to take steps away from the hole if you need to pick up a lot of line from a fish racing toward you or on the initial hookset.
The lure selection on most lake trout water is pretty simple. Few things have caught more lakers across the board than a simple 4- to 6-inch white tube jig. Both white and chartreuse can be solid color options, but black, brown motor oil and pumpkinseed colors can also be deadly — depending on the day and water. For tube jigs specifically designed for the abuse of lake trout fishing, I am a big fan of the T.C. Moto trout tubes. If you use a standard tube jig, just make sure that the hook is wide gap and stout — many of the tube jigs I like are actually intended for saltwater fishing.
Besides tube jigs, bullet jigs rigged with a fluke-style tail can also be deadly, and the combinations you can experiment with are endless. The actual size of the jig head can vary from 3/8 ounce to 3 ounces or more, depending on the depth of water and current. Some of the heaviest jigs I ever had to use were on Lake Superior just because of the depth and strong current.
In addition to the soft plastic options, spoons can also catch a lot of lake trout, especially if there is not a strong current. My all-time favorite lake trout spoon that seems to catch them in most places really well is the Clam Pro Tackle Super Leech Flutter Spoon. Other good spoon options include the classic Mepps Cyclops, Original Doctor Spoon, Williams Whitefish Spoon and the Bay De Noc Laker Taker.
Heavy rattle baits or lipless crankbaits are also becoming more popular with many winter lake trout anglers, and these baits are typically much louder than spoons or soft plastics. Popular lures include Rapala Ripping Raps, Northland Ripping Shads and the Strike King Red Eye Shad. I often replace the split rings and treble hooks on these lures. Compared to soft plastics and spoons, I typically use a shorter jig stroke where I just bounce these lures up and down through the water column. If there is one mistake you can make with lipless rattle baits, it might be too aggressive of an upstroke. Keep the lure moving, but move it in shorter hops.
In states and provinces where you can use a second or more extra line, dead sticking with dead baits can be extremely effective. We have also seen many instances where the dead baits accounted for some of the biggest fish. The dead bait can vary from region to region. It could be frozen smelt or anchovy. Dead ciscoe or tullibee can also be very effective. Dead burbot, too.
Due to the horsepower that lake trout have, we typically use dead baits below a rod and reel versus a tip-up. In many cases, dead baits can be simply dropped on the bottom, but you can experiment with hanging them higher in the water column. Often, a quick-set rig consisting of two treble hooks, is used with the spacing between the hooks and the size of the hooks depending on the size of the dead bait. If there is an average, I would say many dead baits are about 12 inches long and the space between the treble hooks is about 6 to 8 inches. Most of the time, I just use a size 4 or 2 treble hook on 20-pound fluorocarbon. Many anglers will use a tip-down system that enables you to see when the bait has been hit. Popular rod stands include the Clam Arctic Warrior and the iFish Pro. I personally like the ruggedness of the Arctic Warriors. Bait runner spinning reels are becoming much harder to find, but Okuma does have a bait runner that works really well.
Expectations can vary from fishery to fishery. Fort Peck right now might be one of the best lake trout fisheries for catching numbers of quality fish. A good day on Fort Peck could mean more than 10 fish per angler per day. There are other good lake trout fisheries where you can expect to catch fewer fish, but you have a legitimate shot at a fish over 40 inches. There are some premier lake trout fisheries in northwest Ontario that we have fished. For big trout, northern Manitoba and northern Saskatchewan are tough to beat. Lake Athapapuskow, Reed Lake, Kississing Lake and Clearwater Lake in northern Manitoba are tough to beat where you can target numbers of fish if desired, but also have the opportunity at absolutely enormous fish. Some of this remote Canadian Shield lake trout water has become much more accessible for many anglers as the roads improve and there are more lodging accommodations open during the winter. For many anglers, big lake trout are a highly anticipated winter road trip each year.
Also keep in mind that as more anglers fall in love with lake trout each winter, we need to be responsible stewards of the resource. A 40-inch lake trout is a tremendous fish that is perhaps older than the angler on the other side of the ice. Smaller lake trout are tremendous for eating, but take care of the bigger fish. Keep large fish in the hole when you unhook them, so they stay wet and don’t flop on the ice. Hold the fish horizontally for a quick picture if desired, and get the fish back in the water. Extreme cold temperatures can freeze the eyes, fins and gills, so take care of the fish. Top-end lakers are special, and it is important for anglers to take care of them. Many of these big fish are several decades old.
Few fish will run and fight like a lake trout below the ice … I actually don’t know of any fish that fight like a laker that you can catch through a hole in the ice. You can bring them up 80 or more feet and when these fish see the hole, they burn straight down and take 80 feet back off your reel.
Expect to get stuck in slush at times when your cell phone doesn’t work. Expect to be sore at the end of the day from lugging around a 10-inch auger. You typically won’t have trouble sleeping at night after a day of lake trout ice fishing. It’s hard work … but it can also be some of the most fun you can have on a frozen sheet of ice.
