Heading up to Duncan in a couple of weeks. Going to camp and fish. Where and what do you look for as far as structure, fishing for trout in the winter. Since I have to use a hand drill I don’t want to wear myself out ice trolling!

On new lakes I always look for flats in 25-45' of water, directly adjacent to a big steep wall/pinch point/hump/saddle/funnel. Lake trout use walls and other structure to corral/corner baitfish. Any structure that will act as a barrier (including the bottom of the ice, which is why they like to chase vertical) will be used by Lake Trout to hunt. Bonus points if this structure is directly adjacent to the deepest water on the lake.

I like to fish the flats because I like a good flat bottom on the sonar. If I can't see that bottom few feet of the water column because I am on a slope, I can't see any of those fish coming in hugging bottom, which are generally a majority of the fish I mark on any given day.

General feedback I've been hearing in the last few weeks in northern MN for Lake Trout is to fish shallower than you'd expect. Most fish are cruising anywhere from 15-50'. Start shallow and move deep if you aren't finding fish.

Thanks for the info. I'll give an update when I get back.