I thought this had some promise. I am not a 3 way swivel guy when it comes to trolling weights out of a canoe (I prefer in-line) but this is different and I see applications not only for Lakers but for walleye and pike as well.

I bought a viper spoon several years ago (of course I did) but I have never got it wet. If you watch the video I really like the concept of the trailer he is using on the viper spoon. Something like a zulu which just might be the way to go since a guy would only need a few of them since they last so well.

The other thing which caught my eye was the Thundermist T-turn 3 way swivel. Certainly not your average 3 way. I like it.

Cranks + viper via 3 way

Thundermist t-turn 3 way

When trolling this rig on lakes, what should I be looking for in an area for lake trout? Should I be trying to hit a certain depth, main channels? I am going to Quetico in late July and will be my first time in. Going into Cirrus through Beaverhouse and plan to base camp on Quetico. I really want to put a lake trout in the boat, I've never been fishing in an area with lake trout. Any other pointers will be greatly appreciated.

If anyone has other great videos with tackle tips I would like to see them.

Thanks

OD45.......("Outdoors 45"?).........First off large handguns are illegal in the Quetico. Just keep your camp clean and you should have no problems. Late night partiers can be taken care of with some bear spray.

Late July......Big water.......good time to hit the bigger water IMO. By all means you can try the Viper spoon rig but you could also keep things simple. Lots of ways to skin the cat......if your not familiar with working with braid then just run straight mono in 8lb green trilene XT or 10b regular (they will test out equal). Run deep diving crank baits like a large Rapala Tail Dancer in main lake basins....Any color will work as long as its the Rainbow trout finish...let lots of line out and angle your rod at a 45 degree angle towards the lure to keep everything really tight (rod holders help immensely). Test your drag and make sure it is tight enough to absorb line stretch but not so tight the fish will break it. Ease around middlin speed. I like Laker fishing mid day when other types of fishing might be off.

Stay with it. I can't emphasize this enough. You might troll for hours or maybe even a few days and then suddenly they will turn on and you will bang them. Rainy days are also good. What I do is keep trying them for a few hours at a time but will try many times. Lakers can be content to sit in the depths but will come en masse to chew.

OD=Olive drab, my favorite color.
45=.45 ACP, so you are pretty good about reading into a name.

While I generally don't leave home without a firearm, I'm not going to attempt an international incident by trying to take them across the border. I'll have plenty of sharp objects with me.

Thanks for the tips. I'm really looking forward to becoming addicted to the BW area.

Caught several Lakers in Aug 2013. I did it just the way MT said. Dragging deep diving crankbaits. Lakers will move up to grab them. Pink was a hot color for us.

Sister-in-law went a different route and also caught several Lakers using Sonar Jigging Blade bait. It wasn't a large bait and did well.

Helps being on a known good Laker lake which unbeknownst to us we were.

What I do when searching is troll a lure deep for Trout and a lure not as deep. I have picked up many big Pike and Smallmouth hanging out in open water this way. IMO trophy fish like to do their own thing and hang out in open water among schools of cold water bait fish. I would rather target big fish than catch dozens of small fish. You can target Trout and Big Fish of other species this way.

It definitely helps to be able to keep track of how much line you have out at any given time. Pay attention to this so once you catch a fish you can duplicate/

Good Luck.

K

I am a big believer in the maxim "credit where credit is due" and although I appreciate the love Kawanipi trolling cranks is certainly not original with me. I agree that pink is a good color however and must help explain why the rainbow trout finish is such a good color for the Tail Dancer. I only advocated keeping it simple for the newbie.

But this thread is about trolling spoons AND cranks in combination. I think it holds much promise for a canoe country angler and could probably be done with a minimum of the dreaded "hassle" that should be avoided at all costs (hey, i'm on vacation ;-)

Those who haven't checked out the video should give it a peek. Interesting rig. Plus I really like the 3 way swivel in the set-up.........and that from a guy who is not prone to like 3 ways especially out of a canoe.

Please spare me the petty "this guy makes the viper lures and the 3 way and thus is a self promoter and should be disregarded" B.S.. If it works and the guy believes in his products and stands behind them I have zero issue with that.

FWIW............The viper spoon alone with an elastech zulu trailer looks like a great pike offering in as much as you could offer a fairly big lure on a modest outfit (preferably with braid > the hooks on the viper although super sharp look to be thick wire and thus no stretch line would be preferred with typical canoe country tackle). The viper is a fairly light spoon despite its size and I picture stopping retrieves halfway back, letting it sink and jigging it down through the water column until it hits bottom. The combination of spoon and plastic dancing might be quite provocative and catches would likely include walleye as well. But this is all conjecture on my part, I am merely visualizing things and have not tried the spoon out. The trailer hooks are connected via wire if I remember correctly and a guy might get away with running straight mono to the spoon which would certainly increase walleye bites and still have a decent shot at a large pike.

I'm not sure this presentation would be legal in Minnesota. Fishing two lines at the same time is definitely not legal with a few border water exceptions (like the St Croix river).

quote brux: "I'm not sure this presentation would be legal in Minnesota. Fishing two lines at the same time is definitely not legal with a few border water exceptions (like the St Croix river)."

Ah, good catch but its not really two lines but rather 2 lures. I wonder about Canada?

I bought a few of those Viper spoons a few years back but fishing with a three way out of a canoe was just too big a pain in the butt for me.

quote KerryG: "I bought a few of those Viper spoons a few years back but fishing with a three way out of a canoe was just too big a pain in the butt for me."

I thought you were a snap weight man? That would work fine and dandy with the Viper would it not?

My Suffix lead core showed up the other day and I'm looking forward to working with it. Seems like it would be an excellent way to present spoons. My first impression was "wow, this stuff is heavy" and then immediately thereafter "Duh, Its lead, of course its going to be heavy" ;-)

I find the double trailer hooks on the Viper intriguing. Lots of trailer options other than plastics including something like a belly strip out of a pike. Lakers are known for being a scent orientated critter. I will likely give that a try on Superior.

quote mastertangler: "

quote brux: "I'm not sure this presentation would be legal in Minnesota. Fishing two lines at the same time is definitely not legal with a few border water exceptions (like the St Croix river)."

Ah, good catch but its not really two lines but rather 2 lures. I wonder about Canada? "

After a little digging I'm fairly certain that MN would consider the setup two lines and is illegal in most waters in the state. An exception would be the number of flys on a fly fishing line.

An old thread but thought to mention that this is a legal rig in Ontario, as long as there are no more than four hooks in total. The set up is considered as one line, and a hook can either be a regular single hook or a treble hook. So a deep diving crank with 3 treble hooks on it, pulling down a spoon with one treble on it, is perfectly legal.

Moonman.