We're heading up to Seagull the first week of June and would love to catch some Lake Trout. It's a new location for us and the first time we've been in an area with Lake Trout.

That time of year, do you think we'll be doing a lot of trolling in deep water for trout, or will they be closer to the shallows? I read on another forum that lead-core line and a heavier-duty bait-caster help a lot with trolling when they're deep in the summer.

Any help is appreciated!

Ben

I don't know where the fish will be, but I do know that a leadcore set up is fantastic for trout in the BWCA/Q. In my experience, by early June, fish are surprisingly deep -- I keep thinking they'll still be up in the springtime shallows, and I usually end up trolling for them deep. Your mileage may vary, of course.

But yes, take a leadcore set up. If you're fishing Seagull, you won't have any major portages, so weight shouldn't be an issue. It's *golden* for catching trout up there -- and almost no one does it.

work the west side , sometimes just trolling open water with spoons will produce

shock: "work the west side , sometimes just trolling open water with spoons will produce
"

Ok, thanks! We wanted to head West anyway, hopefully see fewer people :)

Thanks! I'll get the lead core setup then, I appreciate it!

I’ve had great luck trolling with 2 ounce jigs, and regular mono.

bnilsen: "Thanks! I'll get the lead core setup then, I appreciate it!"

Lead core line seems like overkill to me, and your rod is limited to laker trolling only. Use mono and a 2 oz or 4 oz keel sinker, three feet of mono leader back to a ball-bearing swivel with a flashy spoon attached. Just my recommendation for you to consider.

This will be my 7th opener on Seagull. I go for the trout and walleye. Like what Shock said, west side. In late season I have jigged off the bottom in 70 foot of water.

bobbernumber3: "

bnilsen: "Thanks! I'll get the lead core setup then, I appreciate it!"

lead core line seems like over-kill to me. And your rod is limited to Laker Trolling Only.
"

Huh? Thousands of contour-trolling walleye anglers tend to disagree. I’ve caught walleye, pike, and lake trout all on my Lead setup, same rod for all.

Leadcore isn’t my favorite way to fish, and some times it can be overkill and unnecessary. There are other times when it will outfish every other presentation in your boat, period.

I am no expert in regards to lake trout, but the last 3 years my trips have been in the "teens" of June due to work scheduling. (meaning 12-19, 10-17, etc.) All 3 years I have caught lake trout trolling a Rapala deep Tail Dancer. (purple) I used the 20 and the 30 ft versions, and caught lake trout on both. Last year I caught 2 lake trout trolling a Husky Jerk that only ran 6 ft deep. I would think that a lake trout may rise to a lure running above it, so you may not need to get your lure right to the depth of the fish.
My experiences were also in Quetico and WCPP, so there may be differences because of that.

bnilsen: "We're heading up to Seagull the first week of June and would love to catch some Lake Trout. It's a new location for us and the first time we've been in an area with Lake Trout.

That time of year, do you think we'll be doing a lot of trolling in deep water for trout, or will they be closer to the shallows? I read on another forum that lead-core line and a heavier-duty bait-caster help a lot with trolling when they're deep in the summer.

Any help is appreciated!

Ben"

Haven't truly "trolled" up there per say. More like jig a spoon while I let the Canoe float with the current, then go back again and repeat.

good advise from Bobber#3 , again,
And good luck Mickeal , i wont be making it this year :(
first week in June , lakers may not be too deep ? trolling shoreline still may produce.
Bnilsen , if 1st trip on seagull ? the wind can nasty west of 3 mile island. respect the wind and be smart ;)

Snap weights are the answer imho. Clip 2-4 oz anywhere on your line you want and just unclip on the way in. Works like a charm. They are very popular with the walleye crowd but work just as good for lakers.

thegildedgopher: "Huh? Thousands of contour-trolling walleye anglers tend to disagree. I’ve caught walleye, pike, and lake trout all on my Lead setup, same rod for all.
."

Well, okay. You got me on that one. I have never used lead core line. And assumed it is not a casting line, but I don't know.

My other dislike is losing line into the environment and the lead involved. Although I do use and lose lead sinkers every year. Usually trolling for lakers.

June 1 most years they won't be that deep, maybe 20 feet much of the time. Depends on how hot end of May is going to be.

also is dependent upon the mayfly hatch, which that far north can happen right around that time, which will completely change your fishing, going deep when that is on can make lake trout fishing futile when there is so much to fill their bellies on the surface

bobbernumber3: "

thegildedgopher: "Huh? Thousands of contour-trolling walleye anglers tend to disagree. I’ve caught walleye, pike, and lake trout all on my Lead setup, same rod for all.
."

Well, okay. You got me on that one. I have never used lead core line. And assumed it is not a casting line, but I don't know.


My other dislike is losing line into the environment and the lead involved. Although I do use and lose lead sinkers every year. Usually trolling for lakers.


"

You should give it a shot some time, might be surprised!

No, lead isn't castable -- but my point was that trolling lead is far from trout-specific and works great for walleye and pike as well.

On the environmental side --- I have never lost even an inch of leadcore to the water, whereas I've lost plenty of lead sinkers. With leadcore you run a mono or flouro leader, so if you get a snag you either lose the terminal tackle or the whole leader, but not the actual leadcore line.

thegildedgopher: "

bobbernumber3: "

thegildedgopher: "Huh? Thousands of contour-trolling walleye anglers tend to disagree. I’ve caught walleye, pike, and lake trout all on my Lead setup, same rod for all.
."

Well, okay. You got me on that one. I have never used lead core line. And assumed it is not a casting line, but I don't know.

My other dislike is losing line into the environment and the lead involved. Although I do use and lose lead sinkers every year. Usually trolling for lakers.

"

You should give it a shot some time, might be surprised!

No, lead isn't castable -- but my point was that trolling lead is far from trout-specific and works great for walleye and pike as well.

On the environmental side --- I have never lost even an inch of leadcore to the water, whereas I've lost plenty of lead sinkers. With leadcore you run a mono or flouro leader, so if you get a snag you either lose the terminal tackle or the whole leader, but not the actual leadcore line."

Yes! You can learn something new every day.

Being not castable is a hard stop for me on leadcore. I want to troll in the morning and jig the rest of the day. Good to hear about the mono leader to prevent line lose... one less thing to worry about as I fall asleep tonight! XXQXQQQQ
(that's supposed to be the sound of falling asleep dreaming about Quetico)

shock: "good advise from Bobber#3 , again,
And good luck Mickeal , i wont be making it this year :(
first week in June , lakers may not be too deep ? trolling shoreline still may produce.
Bnilsen , if 1st trip on seagull ? the wind can nasty west of 3 mile island. respect the wind and be smart ;)"

Thanks for the tip! We usually go to smaller lakes, we'll keep an eye on the wind. We'll try the shoreline too. We drive 13 hours to get there so we aren't taking any chances on not having the gear we need!

Pinetree: "June 1 most years they won't be that deep, maybe 20 feet much of the time. Depends on how hot end of May is going to be."

Thanks Pinetree! I'm bringing a regular spinning rod too so I can fish the areas that aren't too deep. We just don't want to take any chances on not being able to reach them.

I am a total believer in keeping it simple for lake trout. Especially if you are new to chasing them. I even wrote an article for the Boudary waters journal about my struggles for lakers with the weights, spoons, jigs, lead core etc...

Just troll a shiny finish crank bait with a lot of line out behind your canoe. I just tell people let out a lot, then let out some more. Then troll likely areas. If it is cloudy then use a brighter lure like fire tiger. Lots of good ones rapala, yozuri are favs.if I am heading across a lake I have a line out. I tried using weights just do better keeping it simple even in the heat of summer. Lakers feed up, I’ve had them hit top waters in 80 degree August days...you don’t need to go deep in June. You can and it will work, but it is harder for a beginner IMHO.

I’ll post a couple of pics of shallow water lakers in August...

I'm with Tim. Don't overthink it. I always go the first two weeks in June or the second and third week of September, mostly to Quetico and a couple times to WCPP. In any rate, we just throw out a deep diver like a Wiggle Wart or a Deep Diving Thunderstick JR as far behind the canoe as possible on 8 pound mono on a medium rod, and paddle (not too hard) for our destination. Usually we catch all the trout we want to eat between the portage and the campsite. I like firetiger and white but silver is just as good. I have jigged them up with spoons and big white plastic tube jigs in places where we trolled one up first.
JOe

gymcoachdon: "All 3 years I have caught lake trout trolling a Rapala Deep Tail Dancer. (purple) I used the 20 ft [TD9] and the 30 ft [TD11] versions, and caught lake trout on both. "

Emphatically concur. These lures dive to the thermocline or just below, which is where the fish hang out mostly. If they're deeper, then I switch to a vertical jig presentation in around the 1- to 2-ounce size. Bring every different colour of TD11 you can find, and switch up frequently.

timatkn: "I am a total believer in keeping it simple for lake trout...

... just troll a shiny finish crank bait with a lot of line out behind your canoe. I just tell people let out a lot, then let out some more."

You can never underestimate the power of luck, and Tim's pictures don't lie! Please tell me you at least use a line counter on your reel.

In the summer when the lakers are deep, I've found my new Russkie colour-screen Lucky fishfinder invaluable. It has a nice floating transducer that doesn't require any fancy mount, and it recharges with a USB cord from an Anker power bank. For 20201, we have picked up a new 4-pane lightweight folding solar panel that really cranks out the wattage. Even in the pale January sunshine in southern Ontario, it was producing 3.2W, which is fabulous considering most plug-in wall jacks are only 2W at best.