I wrote a blog post after my September Lake Trout trip (video coming soon)! It took me a long time to figure out how to catch Lake Trout out of a canoe. Lake Trout fishing doesn't have to be difficult; I wish someone would have taught me the basics years ago. Hopefully this helps for those of you just starting to target the species, who haven't quite figured it out yet.

Top 3 Baits for Catching Lake Trout

Nice write-up Eric, looking forward to the video!

Thanks for sharing, I'll be checking it out for sure! We typically target walleye but have occasionally found ourselves in good Lake Trout water without the knowledge of how best to land one.

Thanks, Eric. Helpful illustrations that increase one's confidence in using specific baits. Sometimes, that's the key.

Eric,

Thanks for sharing your insight on laker fishing. I have only begun searching out lakers the past couple of years.

One question. How far up the line from your spoon fo you attach your in-line or snap weight? I have been experimenting with 3 feet for in-line and 3 feet to as far as 50 feet for 2oz snap weights. Off Shore Tackle makers of Clip on Snap Weights instruct you to use their 50/50 method ... let out 50 feet of leader and snap on a weight and then let out another 50 ft of line. Have you ever tried this 50/50 snap weight system ?

Also, what time of day have you had the most success catching your larger lake trout? Early morning, mid day or afternoon? Sunny or cloudy ? Calm or choppy water?

I am a walleye hunter but I have begun to fish for Lakers mid day on clear water lakes and having some success.

This is my standard rig for lake trout trolling. I typically drag a spoon or flatfish.

Wally13: "Also, what time of day have you had the most success catching your larger lake trout? Early morning, mid day or afternoon? Sunny or cloudy ? Calm or choppy water?

I am a walleye hunter but I have begun to fish for Lakers mid day on clear water lakes and having some success. "

Won’t speak for Eric, but happy to share my experience here. I have read numerous times that crack of dawn is THE time to target lakers. Every trip I drag my ragged behind outta bed at 5am to get on the water for that hot morning bite... and then... nada. The earliest I have caught trout in the BWCA is 930am, the latest maybe 7pm. So on average I troll around for about 3-4hours until my first strike, just drinking coffee and wishing I was back in my mummy bag or eating bacon or something. Our biggest fish came around 11am when we were getting ready to call it quits and head in for lunch.

This year we are going to switch it up. We’ll be sleeping in a bit, enjoying a nice big breakfast, and getting on the water with full bellies and rested bones & brains. We’ll target lakers til dinner time, and then have enough energy to go out walleye fishing at night to boot — I personally think eyes are much more daylight averse than Lakers.

Triple post, gee whiz

Dbl post

I will go as long with my flouro leader as my rod will allow. On my 8' trolling rod, my leader can be 6' and I can still secure the back treble hook to the reel while traveling with our lines up. Also, the longer the leader the less likely you will spook the fish, but you have to be careful that it isn't so long that you can't land the fish, when you finally catch one. I would say minimum leader of 3', and its unlikely anything over 6' would be more productive.

I tried the snap-weight system for my Kekekabic trip this June, and only clipped them between 6-10 feet up the line, and ended up losing both of them almost immediately to snags. It is a good idea to let out more line before clipping it on, that would mean the weight is less likely to get snagged since it wont be running anywhere near as deep as the bait. Unfortunately, I dont really feel like spending another $15 to replace the ones I lost so quickly. I think I will just stick with the cheapo 1-3oz in-line weights.

I have caught lakers as early as 20 minutes before sunrise (in Quetico) and as late as 30 minutes after sunset. I also have friends who got into some midnight lakers trolling around in Quetico a few years ago during a full moon. They are visual hunters, so anytime they can see they are going to be hunting.Generally, I treat lakers like walleye and try to be fishing at those lowlight hours. I get up early, try to be on the water at first light, and fish at least until 11am. The afternoon hours (11-3) have never been that productive for me, but I have caught fish at that time. I would rather be back at camp resting and having a big lunch/early dinner so I can stay on the water until about 20 minutes past sundown.

Even though I get up super early and stay out super late, I would have to agree with gopher and say that I have caught 80% of my lake trout in the morning, probably between 730am and 1030am (probably even more significant if you count ice fishing). However, I love being on the water in the early morning, so trolling around sipping my coffee isn't so bad, even if I am not catching anything.

Eric,

Thanks for the quick comeback. Some very good information that I will use next year.

Awesome write up & tips man! Going up next spring for my first time targeting lake trout and will be using your advice. Enjoyed reading the 'About Me' page on your site, I am envious of the life you live! Looking forward to more content.

I've always been relatively successful without any extra weights. If you can get 20 to 25 feet down, the fish will come up for you. I love taildancers and heavy spoons. When you find them you can drop 1 oz jigs. Midday has always been best, but I suppose you can get them anytime of day. If you go early in the season, you can stay shallow. I've caught 100's from the shore within 3 weeks of ice-out.

Thanks for the feedback, OMG. That's why I started the blog and Youtube channel. I am truly blessed to be living and working on the edge of the BWCA and I am happy to share all knowledge I gain in the pursuit of my dream life.

"mapsguy"- I totally agree that often you can find the trout just fine most of the time (especially in the spring or fall) without lead weights. I have been on trips, however, where water temps were really warm and we could literally see the fish on our sonar all stacked up at 40+ and they refused to come up to hit our baits unless we were at least 35-40' down.

The lead weights also allow you to get down deeper with much less line out. When you have a tail dancer with 300' of line out get snagged, you have to paddle back a long ways to get it unstuck. Also, with less line out, you have more tension, which means better hooksets and less lost fish. I hate losing fish...

I can attest to the Rapala Deep Tail Dancer - 11 cm. It's done well for us on our yearly mid-August trip to NW Ontario (when water temperatures are the warmest).

I've never fished Quetico or the BWCA, but I have fished the lakes of the Rushing River Provincial Park (Kenora area), which is a west and a bit north of Quetico. But it's all very similar water (deep, clear, oligotrophic water which is loaded with ciscoes, whitefish, lake trout, and smallmouth bass).

I have a 14 foot square back canoe and a Minn Kota electric motor. And we portage into some of the lakes of Rushing River Provincial Park that are not accessible by a full sized boat. So I'm fishing in a very similar setup (with the added advantage of the electric motor of course). In any case, the deep Tail Dancer 11 in Purpledescent has been quite effective.

For added depth (down to 45 feet on superbraid line), I also picked up a few Salmo Free Divers, in the 12 cm size. I had planned to use them this year in Canada, but with the border being closed, I never had a chance.

So, if you're looking for another option to get deep (without needing to use leadcore, snap weights, or down riggers), the Salmo Free Diver (12 cm size) might be another option.

As mentioned, I'm using a Minn Kota trolling motor, so I have no problems getting up to speed even dragging these hard pulling cranks. I have no idea how well the Free Diver would work if I were relying solely on paddling (that could end up being quite a workout).

In most situations (even in the dog days of mid August), we can still catch lakers in the upper 30 feet of the water column (Deep Tail Tancers - 11 cm). Heck, we've even had a few accidental lakers come up and hit our shad raps (running only 15 feet down) when trolling for suspended smallmouth bass.

So, we're tending to move away from the downriggers and simply going to the deep diving crankbaits. The downriggers are kind of a pain to set up, and we're actually doing better these days on just the simple flat line crankbait setup.

Just my 2 cents, but I REALLY love those purpledescent Tail Dancers

"Jackpot" John Schroeder

Thanks Jackpot, I'll have to check out that Salmo, looks like a nice bait for sure. People trying to get that deep with no added weight might also be interested to know that Rapala makes a #13 Tail Dancer that can also dive to about 40 feet. I don't think they're selling them in the US market yet. They list them on the Rapala EU site and I think you can pick them up on ebay.

As for abandoning weights altogether, I don't think I'm there yet. Leadcore for me is about more than getting deep. There's something different that leadcore does, especially making turns when trolling, that I sometimes seems to be the only thing that works in my boat. Not to mention they're a great combo with spoons.

Nice article Eric!

Gilded - sounds like you use leadcore then? I have been using mostly snap weights for awhile and really like the flexibility they give you. But going forward I think I am going to do a little more solo fishing and snap weights by yourself in a canoe/kayak is really hard to manage. So I was thinking of moving to leadcore and I am trying to understand the cons - I get that it's a little pricier and I'd think it makes that reel setup basically a trolling only setup. I am completely fine with those 2 downsides, just wondering if I am missing something.

SurlyDude: "Nice article Eric!


Gilded - sounds like you use leadcore then? I have been using mostly snap weights for awhile and really like the flexibility they give you. But going forward I think I am going to do a little more solo fishing and snap weights by yourself in a canoe/kayak is really hard to manage. So I was thinking of moving to leadcore and I am trying to understand the cons - I get that it's a little pricier and I'd think it makes that reel setup basically a trolling only setup. I am completely fine with those 2 downsides, just wondering if I am missing something. "

Another negative I hear people cite would be the weight, obviously. Not just the line but the larger reel required. Not a concern for me. Tying knots is also an acquired skill when it comes to leadcore sheath. Finally, it can be work to get the leadcore to pay out. It doesn't exactly jump off the spool. In a motorboat you can use horsepower to surge a bit and encourage it to spool off, that's tougher to do paddling. To me the benefits outweigh the downsides. I definitely avoid leaving large lead weights on the bottom of the lake and that's very important to me personally.

When I'm trolling for trout with 2 people in the boat, I almost always have a #9 or #11 Tail Dancer on a flat line running somewhere between 15-30 feet, and the second rod is leadcore with either a Spoon or a crankbait that needs help diving -- like a Rapala jointed, or a jointed shad rap or something. I try to get that one at 35-40 feet. That means 7-8 colored sections of lead, so keep that capacity in mind when purchasing a reel. Feel free to send me an email, I'm happy to give some recommendations on a setup that will get you into lead without spending a fortune.

thegildedgopher: "Thanks Jackpot, I'll have to check out that Salmo, looks like a nice bait for sure. People trying to get that deep with no added weight might also be interested to know that Rapala makes a #13 Tail Dancer that can also dive to about 40 feet. I don't think they're selling them in the US market yet. They list them on the Rapala EU site and I think you can pick them up on ebay.


As for abandoning weights altogether, I don't think I'm there yet. Leadcore for me is about more than getting deep. There's something different that leadcore does, especially making turns when trolling, that I sometimes seems to be the only thing that works in my boat. Not to mention they're a great combo with spoons."

Thanks for the heads up on the Rapala Deep Tail Dancer #13. I'll have to check out Ebay, because those would also be great for lakers.

As far as lead core is concerned, I imagine it's also quite a bit easier to get deep with it while paddling (than a deep billed crankbait would be), because you're not having to fight the resistance of the deep diving bill which I would think adds a ton of drag to the canoe. I would thinks it's much easier to paddle troll an F-11 floater all day than a deep Tail Dancer 11.

Anyway, time to check out Ebay... :-)

thegildedgopher: "

SurlyDude: "Nice article Eric!



Gilded - sounds like you use leadcore then? I have been using mostly snap weights for awhile and really like the flexibility they give you. But going forward I think I am going to do a little more solo fishing and snap weights by yourself in a canoe/kayak is really hard to manage. So I was thinking of moving to leadcore and I am trying to understand the cons - I get that it's a little pricier and I'd think it makes that reel setup basically a trolling only setup. I am completely fine with those 2 downsides, just wondering if I am missing something. "

Another negative I hear people cite would be the weight, obviously. Not just the line but the larger reel required. Not a concern for me. Tying knots is also an acquired skill when it comes to leadcore sheath. Finally, it can be work to get the leadcore to pay out. It doesn't exactly jump off the spool. In a motorboat you can use horsepower to surge a bit and encourage it to spool off, that's tougher to do paddling. To me the benefits outweigh the downsides. I definitely avoid leaving large lead weights on the bottom of the lake and that's very important to me personally.


When I'm trolling for trout with 2 people in the boat, I almost always have a #9 or #11 Tail Dancer on a flat line running somewhere between 15-30 feet, and the second rod is leadcore with either a Spoon or a crankbait that needs help diving -- like a Rapala jointed, or a jointed shad rap or something. I try to get that one at 35-40 feet. That means 7-8 colored sections of lead, so keep that capacity in mind when purchasing a reel. Feel free to send me an email, I'm happy to give some recommendations on a setup that will get you into lead without spending a fortune."

Thanks for the reply and insight! I typically bring a line-counter reel, so the added weight/bulk isn't really a concern. It's a low-profile one which I really like and has a 14#/230 yard capacity . I'd love to get another one of those and I think doing some quick googling and converting sizes. I shouldn't have problem doing 10 colors with a backing and leader. I might take you up on the email offer before I fully commit though.

I'd be interested in checking out that low-pro line counter if you don't mind sharing. My level-wind reel weighs in at almost 13 oz empty and can hold 250 yards of 16lb mono. I have just barely squeezed 8 colors on there with pretty minimal backing. This is with 18lb suffix advanced leadcore. I do think you can fit more if you go with the "performance" series from Suffix or drop the test just a bit.

Possible my math was bad or that I grabbed the diameter of the performance series. It said .63MM for the 18# which I roughed out to about 1.7 times 14# mono diameter, so that would be 130 yards of that line. Figured I could go 15 -20 yards backing, 100 yards lead (10 colors) and a leader.

The reel I have is the Coldwater Low-Profile Line counter. Have used it for 3 season and I really like it. It doesn't appear to be much lighter than what you are using though at 12.5 ozs. But it is likely much less bulky.

Thanks for sharing!