Hello All -

I have been going up to the boundary waters for a while, and have a lot of experience fishing for many different fish/using various methods.

One thing I have never done, however, is fish for Lake Trout. I am going to be putting in in Saganaga (getting a tow) and then heading west towards Knife, and I hear Lake Trout fishing in many of these lakes is great.

From what I understand, fishing for Lake Trout is done with much different techniques than are used for the fish I typically target (Smallmouth, Northern, Walleye), and is done at much deeper depths.

Does anyone with good experience fishing for Lake Trout have advice/suggestions for how to fish for them in the BWCA? Should I just stick to what I usually fish for?

Thanks ~

Do you have a sonar?

We have never used sonar, no. Though I guess we could if it makes a significant difference. As far as this year is concerned though, as we will be leaving next week, we probably will not be using one.

Sonar helps but you can successfully fish for them without. A little luck and patience are required, but I am living proof that you can do it, assuming you have a map that shows you approximate depth.

Here's how I had success in a deep lake on a windy/breezy day (in the middle of the day)...

Start on the side of the lake that the wind is coming from. You are going to let the wind push you across the lake and you are going to drift/troll. I would recommend having your bait about 30 to 40 feet down for starters as they swim up to bait so you'd rather be high than low. Then just pretend like you're "mowing the lawn" and work your way down the lake. Dead, stinky night crawlers on 1/8 oz black jig heads (and extra weight to get down) was the ticket for us but I'm sure you can find all sorts of information on the actual rig/presentation elsewhere that might work well this time of year.

The nice thing for us was that we were hitting lakers during the time of day most other species aren't biting so it wasn't like we had much to do anyway. We figured that if we got skunked trout fishing, at least we got to spend a nice day chillin' out drifting...and there was always dusk fishing ahead of us.

There are lots of ways to catch lakers depending on the time of year. in the Quetico I usually run a large rainbow trout colored Tail Dancer on 8lb mono and troll a bit on the slow side (2 mph) having a lot of line out.

Just paddle all over tarnation until you catch one and then focus on that area. Not so hard and certainly easier than precision trolling for walleye. You must keep trying and don't give up. Lakers may not eat for several hours or even an entire day but suddenly the light goes on. Persistence is key. Paddle around, enjoy the day and your paddling partner. Let no discouraging words come forth.........and Bada bing! They are very much worth your effort as they can really pull hard and are quite exciting to catch as well as fine table fare.

While paddling slow setting hooks can sometimes be a problem especially with mono (stretchy) and lots of line out. Angle your rod at a 45 degree angle towards your lure. This will "load" your rod otherwise the flex or bend of the rod will absorb much of the energy needed to sink hooks home. Your drag should be fairly tight if using mono as a drag which slips on the strike will mean hooks which didn't sink home. Don't forget to loosen your drag or turn your anti reverse off as the fish gets closer as you will no longer have the benefit of stretch. Don't want to lose your lucky lure ;-)

Troll baby troll...then refine your techniques.

Flashy/shiny minnow type diver crank bait, let out 75-125 feet of line. minnow rap, yo Zuri, tail dancer etc... keep it simple no weights just a crank bait and troll.

Pick deep water basin, wind swept side over deeper water nearer 20-30 foot water/reefs, but they can be anywhere roaming for food.

I catch quite a few just paddling around, I always have a crankbait out when we travel on Lake trout lake. Sometimes we have to stop fishing or they slow us down :)

T

if you don't feel like you are getting down deep enough with the cranks, we put a 2 oz in line weight directly onto the braid and then run 3-4 ft if flouro leader (8-12 lb). The weight changes the feel a little bit but helps get the bait down more. You can troll slow or fast and it works alright. We got a 16 and a 13 lb laker using this method.

Lake Trout ( from my article Grand Slam Lures )

The 3-1/4”, hammered silver, Dr. Spoon is the first choice when it comes to spring trolling for lake trout. In the spring, target areas in the 8 to 10 foot range, just outside the areas you would be looking for smallmouth. Look for gently slopping, rocky, rubble type areas. You don’t want to be in an area that appears to be a straight drop off from the shore. If you view the shore line, you can make a good determination of what the structure should hold beneath the surface.

I am still looking for that elusive trophy “laker”. Some people in the Ely area have told me if you want to catch an enormous lake trout you need to fish early in the season, just after ice out, and troll the shallow areas with a 4-1/2” nickel plated Dardevle Spoon. The nickel color imitates a cisco or whitefish which are the primary forage for these fish.

These two spoons can be cast or trolled during the early spring phase. When the water begins to warm, these trout will move to deep water on reefs located next to adjacent deeper water. The summer time phase is when you will need to troll deeper. This can be accomplished by adding weight to your line with a three-way swivel. Tie off about three feet of leader line to the middle loop of the swivel and tie on your spoon. On the bottom loop tie on about a foot and half of line with a one ounce weight at the far end of this line. Tie the remaining loop to the line on your reel. Let out plenty of line, at least 120 feet while trolling the depths of the lake. With the three-way swivel set up, if you do happen to snag up, there is a good chance you will just lose your weight and will be able to retrieve your lure. These spoons can also be jigged vertically over deep reefs as well.

Another good trout lure to use in warm water is the one ounce hair or plastic jig. White or black colors seem to work best while vertical jigging over a deep reef. I prefer to use white. You will need to lift the rod a little higher when jigging at extreme depths. Since you will be fishing so deep you probably won’t feel the hit itself as most of the strikes come during the drop. You will just feel a heavier weight on the line, when you do, set the hook as hard as you can.