Greetings fellow bwca.com-er’s,

I have been fishing in the BWCA quite a few times now and I’ve had much success with smallmouth bass, northern pike, and fairly good success with walleye. However, I have been itching and longing to catch Lakers.

I would not call myself an expert fisherman, but I have catch thousands of many other types of fish but not any lakers.

I am planning to take a trip to the BWCA opener weekend, and hopefully another in late August or the beginning of September. Also, I would be willing to go ice fishing for Lakers this winter if that is a good idea.

So, I have a few questions for those of you who have experience catching Lakers.
1. What tips could you give for catching lake trout as far as bait/lurers and presentation?
2. What lakes or type of lakes would you recommend? Preferably smaller lakes being I go with my family and big lake make them nervous. I’m not asking for your sweet spots but if you want to share that with me I won’t complain. Just trying to catch one or dozens if I can :-) (if you want to private message about a special lake, that works too)
3. What time of year have you had your best success with lakers?

Thanks for you help!
Canoe Viking

You are on the right track: spring opener. Go to a lake with good populations of Lakers....Seagull, Gillis, etc. we have found fish against deep shores, also near incoming , flowing water. We just troll SR9 Shad Raps in a minnow color until contacting fish, then drop jigs on them. We aren’t too scientific about , and we catch fish.

Deep lakes!! I've caught them all year but they are deeper, later on in the year.

The first thing you do is to make sure the body of water has the species of fish your after. Seems obvious enough but stranger things have happened.

The next thing is to educate yourself on the preferred prey species found in your target lake. The fish you seek wii never be far from the grocery shelf.

Then use lures which imitate the prey.

Lastly become knowledgeable with your fishes preferred water temp. Lakers are very temp specific but will abandon that to make forays into bait schools. Lakers may also decide not to eat for periods of time. The trick is perseverance and confidence. Keep fishing, trying at various times of the day. They can be a frustrating fish at times but also can be very easy.

Thanks for the info so far.

When you start to jig for them, what would you recommend for jigging?

Also, I’ve read Lakers are connected to the thermoclime more than other fish, how should I take this into consideration?

Thanks again,
CV

fishing opener is a prefect choice/time of the year for lake trout fishing . as Bassnet stated seagull lake is a good choice , it is a larger lake but also an entry point lake ,no need to travel any further if your goal is to catch a lake trout. lures= spoons , my favorite trolling lure in the BW for early season lakers is a F-18 blk/gold original rapala.
1 thing my group always bring is frozen suckers ((i freeze 6 to a baggie then freeze all in a small cooler)) for campshore fishing .all you need for this simple set up is 1/2oz to 2oz egg slip sinkers(wind) a #2 hook and some baby split shots , i just put the baby split shot up about 18" from the hook holding the egg sinker up instead of a swivel . simple and very productive early season and not just for lake trout , pike and even walleyes when they get back on the bite after spawning.

Yep I have never done much dead bait fishing but I am looking into it. Lots of Utube dead bait pike fishing videos, I was looking at one last night as a matter of fact.

I have heard of guys using a strip of pike throat on the back of a jig for bait. Is that legal?

I would say May is one of the best months but honestly I catch as many in late Sept. No thermocline yet in May so you can catch them shallower. I usually use a blade bait for jigging. I think the vibration attracts more fish. A jig is nice also as it is easier to make quick releases with 1 hook. When trolling I use a 10 DD Husky Jerk usually in firetiger. On 10lb Fireline it goes down 15-20' without weights. I use the Tracer line and I like it for trolling and jigging. When I want to go deeper I just add weight to a snap swivel tied into my line at the splice to a fluorocarbon leader.

Pretty much all the same tackle I use for walleye.

Lake Trout

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.

Opener is a great time for lake trout. Depending on when ice out was, the fish may be extremely shallow or down as deep as 30'. I've caught them casting husky jerks right to shore, exactly the same as bass fishing, and I've caught them 20-30' down trolling flutter spoons with jet divers, reef runners, and SR9 shad raps. Until we figure out how deep the trout are, my partner and I troll lures that run at different depths and we change up fairly often. We find them suspended more than shore-related, but perhaps that is due to the lakes we fish.

Lake trout often suspend quite shallow over very deep water in May. I usually catch my biggest trout over 30-100' FOW, but I'm trolling much shallower than that. My biggest, right around 20 pounds, was on a Memorial Day weekend trolling a large reef runner over 90 FOW about 50 yards from shore.

If the trout are shallow, it's tough to beat flat-line trolling a Little Cleo, especially for smaller, eating-sized trout. In lakes with small trout where the primary forage is invertebrate (Daniels, Gillis, Tuscarora, J.A. Paulsen, etc.) a small spoon does much better than a large one. The tiny 1/8 ounce Little Cleo can be dynamite.

If you went to Seagull, you could do a day trip to J. A. Paulsen (JAP on old maps). It's loaded with small, hungry lakers. Be warned, the portage is 520 rods, and it's not the length that makes it the hardest I've done in the BWCAW! Often people simply hike in and fish from shore for the day.

quote mastertangler: "Yep I have never done much dead bait fishing but I am looking into it. Lots of Utube dead bait pike fishing videos, I was looking at one last night as a matter of fact.


I have heard of guys using a strip of pike throat on the back of a jig for bait. Is that legal? "

a strip of walleye belly meat would work too , BUT both are illegal in Minnesota.

I’ve caught very few lakers on bait, it’s not necessary and I rarely use it even when legal and convenient. If I’m vertical jigging I will use a spoon, likely a little Cleo, a swim bait or a tube jig.
Trolling I will usually use either a spoon... again a lil Cleo usually or a crank bait such as a tail dancer.

quote Lotw: "I’ve caught very few lakers on bait, it’s not necessary and I rarely use it even when legal and convenient. If I’m vertical jigging I will use a spoon, likely a little Cleo, a swim bait or a tube jig.
Trolling I will usually use either a spoon... again a lil Cleo usually or a crank bait such as a tail dancer.
"

I have never caught a laker on any sort of bait live or dead (probably because I have never tried ;-) But from everything I have read they sound like they are very susceptible to a chunk of meat wether a whole Cisco or smelt still fished on the bottom or a strip of meat on the back of a jig.

I like your lure choices Lotw. I keep wanting to use the Shimano butterfly jigging spoon system on Lakers (and walleye) in canoe country. There is little doubt in my mind they would get slammed. They just flat out catch fish. Maybe this summer (didn't I say that LAST year ;-)

Lakers can be caught at anytime of the year. Summer is obviously the most difficult time, but not impossible. During the warmer months I use a three-way swivel system. I've had success with Little Cleos and Kastmasters. I think the key to catching Lakers,especially during the summer, is persistence. This past June I was catching Lakes in about 40-50ft. Nothing deeper and nothing shallower.

quote egknuti: "Lakers can be caught at anytime of the year. Summer is obviously the most difficult time, but not impossible. During the warmer months I use a three-way swivel system. I've had success with Little Cleos and Kastmasters. I think the key to catching Lakers,especially during the summer, is persistence. This past June I was catching Lakes in about 40-50ft. Nothing deeper and nothing shallower. "

Same for me last summer, 30 feet seemed to be the magic depth where I was at. What I mean is I was fishing 30 feet deep over 60 to 120 feet of water,

Good advice here on depths and lures. Check out the MN DNR Lake Finder to determine what lake have good populations of Lakers. What I would add is Lakers will remain shallow in deeper lakes into mid June as they are slower to warm. During theses time trolling 3" Rapala Shad Raps in perch or shad patterns work as well as anything. Fall season has been tough since it is hard to judge when the turnover occurs. Turnover can make Fall fishing tough for weeks.

Good luck!

quote Lotw: "I’ve caught very few lakers on bait, it’s not necessary and I rarely use it even when legal and convenient. If I’m vertical jigging I will use a spoon, likely a little Cleo, a swim bait or a tube jig.
Trolling I will usually use either a spoon... again a lil Cleo usually or a crank bait such as a tail dancer.
"

early season , i find deadbait absolutely necessary , i'm fishing while doing camp chores - cooking/eating- enjoying the day at camp. my line is wet . these 2 from camp on seagull last May. i prefer sucker minnows 3"-7" because of the skull , it stays on a hook almost all day ,

That must of been a hoot Shock..........nice open site early in the spring to get that sun. I like the color on those fish, sort of coppery colored.

Other jigging lures to consider: Sonars (already mentioned), Buzz bombs, and Zingers. Something about the spinning buzz bombs and zingers really drives trout nuts at times.

quote mastertangler: "That must of been a hoot Shock..........nice open site early in the spring to get that sun. I like the color on those fish, sort of coppery colored. "

it was , me and the kids had a great time and adam caught his first ever lake trout (on deadbait) it was opening weekend and after Monday morning we basically had seagull lake to ourselves ! a lure i've always done good on early spring in the BW is the CD9 rapala pick your color but i've done good on the rainbow trout pattern.

Thanks for the pics Shock.I especially like the one with the rods propped waiting for a bite. I actually love that sort of fishing and we did quite a bit of it growing up for carp and catfish at night. I would always have a line out while in the Quetico until the bait ban. Sort of a bummer. I am looking forward to WCPP in August with some floating jig heads and a crawler.

The pic of the fish filet you are holding. Looks like you dropped it in the duff but are eating it anyway. A man after my own heart ;-) A little dirt aint going to kill ya!

Pan seared lake trout with some chunky seasoning , no dirt. On this one ;)

quote shock: "Pan seared lake trout with some chunky seasoning , no dirt. On this one ;)"

I want to hang out with you guys........pan seared Lake Trout with chunky seasoning, Hmmmmmm. Do you bring hammocks and put bells on your rods?

quote mastertangler: "

quote shock: "Pan seared lake trout with some chunky seasoning , no dirt. On this one ;)"

I want to hang out with you guys........pan seared Lake Trout with chunky seasoning, Hmmmmmm. Do you bring hammocks and put bells on your rods? "

thanks MT , i'm sure the only quiet time would be when we're eating LOL ! the sweet onion and herb is fantastic on pan seared fish. (pic) .. no bells,, either open the bail and put a small rock on the line or with a smooth shimano close bail, turn drag down and you can hear it when the run starts (my preference)((but not for brook trout)) no hammocks for me in May ;) or ever.

Thank you everyone for the tips, tricks, and for strengthening the desire to come some.

So let me summarize what I learned from everyone and ask a couple more questions.

1. You can catch them year around, but opener is easiest.

2. Deep lakes like Sea Gull, Sag, Gillis, Bat, JAP, Daniels, Ester, etc. Then, check on the DNR Lake Finder for more info on size of fish and populations. Also, fishing gently slopping, rocky, rubble type areas, inflowing rivers, and flowing water is helpful.

3. Most folk seem to troll with large lurers and spoons, (that match the know food source for that lake) then start jigging with artificial or like bait. (Shock has the relaxed shore approach with dead bait) Also, the three-way swivel system work well when trolling deeper.

4. In the summer you have to troll deep at least 40ft over deep water or try jigging over vertically over deep reefs as well.

5. When jigging in warmer water temps follow QuecticoMike's advice use a "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."

6. RPike likes "Sonars, Buzz bombs, and Zingers. Something about the spinning buzz bombs and zingers really drives trout nuts at times."


So for my couple questions:

1. Do the No. 44 Sutton spoons work well in the BWCA? If so, what color combo would you recommend?

2. What tips do you have in judging water temp's without a fancy fish finder?

3. It seems depth is most crucial with lakers, with is the easiest way to judge how much line you've let out? (my reel doesn't back reel)

Thanks again everyone for the tips and advice. I feel I stand a much better chance to catch some this year.

-CanoeViking