Heading in for 5 days the end of Sept / start of Oct. I fish Lakers in May every year and catch all we want, but I’ve never fished for them in the fall. Normally walleyes. Is it worth going after lakers or is it too sporty and water temp dependent? Do they come back into trollable depths, ie 10-20’ off surface? I’d rather not jig in 50’ all day. Too boring.

And I don’t know where yet if it matters. I plan on just choosing a good laker lake because I know getting a permit that time of year isn’t a problem. So lake tips would be good too if you’ll give them up.

Laker season ends in Sept., so Oct. fishing for them is out. Lakers can be shallow depending on the water temps that time of the season.

I'll troll 40' deep with snap weights and alter depth depending on success or graph findings. Once I find them I'll blade bait for them.

AmarilloJim: "I'll troll 40' deep with snap weights and alter depth depending on success or graph findings. Once I find them I'll blade bait for them."

Anybody ever had success jigging lakers with a Rippin Rap? Man those things are fun to fish, the feedback and vibration is in the same league as a good blade bait. Color selection not the greatest for deep water, but maybe Purple Clown would work?

Sorry for the aside.

Interested here too. I plan on fishing for lakers a day or so after my canoe trip, prob the last day of the season Sept 30th. I'm planning on Snowbank. Burntside is supposed to be good, but the fact it's enormous and I haven't fished that lake makes it an unlikely choice for me for such a short period. And I'll be doing it via boat/motor, because if I have to go out in wind & waves & deep water, canoe fishing can be....unwieldy (is that a word?).

thegildedgopher: "

AmarilloJim: "I'll troll 40' deep with snap weights and alter depth depending on success or graph findings. Once I find them I'll blade bait for them."

Anybody ever had success jigging lakers with a Rippin Rap? Man those things are fun to fish, the feedback and vibration is in the same league as a good blade bait. Color selection not the greatest for deep water, but maybe Purple Clown would work?


Sorry for the aside."

I don't know why they wouldn't work. Same basic style of fishing. The Rippin Raps have a rattle as well so this may help or hurt depending on fish mood. I think the blade baits sink faster so you may have to wait longer for the raps to get deep. I fish these (as well as everything else) on Fireline so I can feel every wiggle of the bait. I allow the baits to fall on taught line so I can slow the descent and feel the fish strikes. Not a great search lure in deep water but once you have them located you sure can catch a bunch.

HowardSprague: "Interested here too. I plan on fishing for lakers a day or so after my canoe trip, prob the last day of the season Sept 30th. I'm planning on Snowbank. Burntside is supposed to be good, but the fact it's enormous and I haven't fished that lake makes it an unlikely choice for me for such a short period. And I'll be doing it via boat/motor, because if I have to go out in wind & waves & deep water, canoe fishing can be....unwieldy (is that a word?)."

Where you headed on your canoe trip? I'll be in the SAK/Kek area at that time. Coming out on the 29th.

Any time you can fish for Lakers is worth it!

Be sure to get a couple Northland Buckshot jigs in the blue, white, and yellow. I used the 2 ounce size this week in Quetico and hammered some big Lakers. By far the best lure I have found for big Lakers.they work equally well trolled or vertical jigging.

thegildedgopher: "Anybody ever had success jigging lakers with a Rippin Rap? Man those things are fun to fish, the feedback and vibration is in the same league as a good blade bait. Color selection not the greatest for deep water, but maybe Purple Clown would work?


Sorry for the aside."

Yes. They're magical when you figure out where the fish are. I use white and chrome/blue.

always worth it , i've caught lakers in early september and also had a very difficult time finding them in late september. go figure !

Most of my fishing targets lake trout. For me, September is a TOUGH time to catch them.

Your results may vary.

Its worth a try. These were a Sept/Oct trip a few years back and caught with May tactics - trolling a 3/4oz little cleo in 30-50 fow and slip bobber from shore with leech/worm.

We go in late September every year and have no problems finding lakers. Deep diving rapalas in purple descent or white work. Typically they hit around 20-25 FOW. Always say I want to use a jig but rarely try. We are in the Q though. Maybe in the BWCA things are different.