We will be on Long Island and possibly a couple more trout lakes in late May this year. We will be doing some trolling(advice welcome, depth and lures) but I enjoy fishing from the campsite when it is feasible, If by chance we get one of those campsites, what would be my best bet for casting from shore and the possibility of hooking into one or two?

I have read a few reports of folks having luck from camp for LT and from what I have read they may still be relatively shallow that time of year. I have never caught a Lake Trout, don't go to that kind of water too often(because it often means no eyes or smallies) so this year might be my best chance.

If you happen to know of a lake or a campsite or a method that might put me on a few fish it would be much appreciated. Give me a walleye lake or a smallie lake and I WILL find the fish. Lake Trout are a whole new thing to me.

I think I recall that Shock has had luck from camp in May fishing preserved sucker minnows under a float? Hopefully he will chime in.

I have no experience (walleye and smallie guy as well) but if I were you I would run a beefed up lindy rig with a big dead minnow of some kind. Might have to take the boat out to drop it at the proper depth.

Late May there should be plenty of LT hanging out in the more shallow water yet. Spoons.

I have caught them from shore on a Arkansas shad fluke on a Texas rig.

Yeah, either toss your flashy spoons and cranks into deep water and bring them back. Or toss dead bait under a bobber out there....large salted...whatever you can get your hands on, as mentioned earlier. You can always cut it in half if you find it's too large. If you get small preserved minnows...hard to make them bigger.

That time of year I troll a DD Husky Jerk 10. This gets me down 10' to 20' deep.

I was also thinking spoons. Not only do they catch quite a few of the lakers I get in May or June, they probably can be cast out further than a lot of other lures or baits. Go with a size that lets you cast easily but far. Blue/silver little cleos are my fave, but straight silver or gold/copper are always with me.

I’d also suggest you scout campsites on the maps to see if you can find one with a point in or near camp and access to deeper water. When I’m casting rather than trolling, I often have success fishing just in the deeper water near 10 foot deep rock/Boulder piles. If possible, also cast into the wind as baitfish may be pushed toward shore.

If you are fishing from ice out to say 4-5 weeks later there will always be trout swimming close to shore. The key is to find a shoreline with 10-20’ of water a casts length out. Nice fist to basketball sized rock/sand/gravel bottom is best. Spoons are great for casting, little Cleo’s etc, but a salted Minnow will work awesome. It’s crazy how good they can be.

Moonman

Thanks everyone, appreciate it. When you talk spoons, what size/length should I have? I have spoons ranging from tiny little ones to huge doctor spoons. Probably pick up a few Little Cleos but how long?

Also going to look around for some salted/preserved minnows to bring, imagine bait shops have them? Bet they r kind of stinky, they should go in the bear Vault at night?

8 lb test sound about right?

Thanks

Jeff

lindylair: "Thanks everyone, appreciate it. When you talk spoons, what size/length should I have? I have spoons ranging from tiny little ones to huge doctor spoons. Probably pick up a few Little Cleos but how long?


Also going to look around for some salted/preserved minnows to bring, imagine bait shops have them? Bet they r kind of stinky, they should go in the bear Vault at night?


8 lb test sound about right?


Thanks


Jeff"

You can just get some sucker minnows and preserve them yourself if you want.

Cleos are labeled by weight. Match to the weight recommended for your rod in my opinion. I throw a lot of the 2/5 and 2/3 ouncers. They are actually the same length, just different weight. and they cast a mile.

I agree on the 2/5 and 2/3 sizes and rainbow trout has been my best color. They cast a mile and if you're on shore the speed of retrieve or how long you let it sink will determine your depth. Just beware....it would be pretty easy to snag if you're not careful or reeling soon after it lands. Ideally you'd have access to deep water from shore or I'd be throwing other stuff for that spot.

Most of my little cleos are 3/4 oz, but I use those mostly for casting from my canoe. If I wanted to cast from shore I would likely go down one or two sizes. Definitely check out the water you will be casting into from you canoe first to look for snags, boulders, etc.

If you do have time to troll about, bring a couple Rapala Taildancers or Deep Taildancers. Blue, purple, and rainbow have been my best so far.

thegildedgopher: "

lindylair: "Thanks everyone, appreciate it. When you talk spoons, what size/length should I have? I have spoons ranging from tiny little ones to huge doctor spoons. Probably pick up a few Little Cleos but how long?



Also going to look around for some salted/preserved minnows to bring, imagine bait shops have them? Bet they r kind of stinky, they should go in the bear Vault at night?



8 lb test sound about right?



Thanks



Jeff"

You can just get some sucker minnows and preserve them yourself if you want.


Cleos are labeled by weight. Match to the weight recommended for your rod in my opinion. I throw a lot of the 2/5 and 2/3 ouncers. They are actually the same length, just different weight. and they cast a mile.


"

Little Cleos, Kastmasters and Krocodile spoons all can cast a country mile and work great for shore fishing.

"been ice fish training , Sir"
Camp-- one that drops off but not into the abyss like 25'-30' is nice
Time/date-- i'm always up on opener but if your within 3 weeks of ice out ,a person should do good on deadbait from shore for all species actually,,,definitely will get more lakers but some years we run into walleyes, pike are there every year too.
Casting from shore-- really whatever is your bread & butter , yes i like spoons ! K.O. wobbler will cut any wind ! jig/spinner/twistertail 1/2oz,, chrome black rattl'n raps are great, so are rapapla CD9 a nice subtle wiggle for cold water fish.
slip sinker set up-- i like to keep things simple , sometimes simplicity is the best , I use #2 or #4 eagle claw hook , or others have mentioned the circle hooks for better CPR. an egg sinker from 1/2oz calm day to 2oz on a windy day maybe even more. dont need to bring in all sizes of weights just add more , it's your sinkers that get hung up and the wind will push your line into rocks if not heavy enough. and his the simple part i use a baby split shot to hold the sinker up 18" or so from the hook , go ahead tie 3 knots i dont care ;)
i usually run a minimum of #12 line , your going in and out of a lot of rocks.
Da BAIT - forget the ciscoes to hard to find and turn to mush so fast and fall off the hook , if you like relaxing at camp and still fishing , bring in some sucker minnows 3"-6" 6 to a ziplock freeze them , then layer them in a 6-pack type cooler , believe it's nothing to bring in , tuck under a seat and you got deadbait for shore fishing for 5+ days ! put the hook right through the Skull will stay on for many recast ;)
i either open my bail and set a small rock on the line and watch or with a nice reel , close your bail abd turn your drag down all the way , then you can hear when a line goes , you just have to adjust your drag before setting the hook.
Bobber Fishing-- if it isnt calm a lot of casting and recasting deadbait on bottom just stays where it's at (with enough weight)
i think thats all i got ;)

now i've never tryed this but i've heard of adding a packing peanut to the gut of the minnow to get it to float a little off the bottom.
also seen article of Europeans dyeing (color) deadbait for big pike .

lindylair: "We will be on Long Island and possibly a couple more trout lakes in late May this year. We will be doing some trolling(advice welcome, depth and lures) but I enjoy fishing from the campsite when it is feasible, If by chance we get one of those campsites, what would be my best bet for casting from shore and the possibility of hooking into one or two?

I have read a few reports of folks having luck from camp for LT and from what I have read they may still be relatively shallow that time of year. I have never caught a Lake Trout, don't go to that kind of water too often(because it often means no eyes or smallies) so this year might be my best chance.

If you happen to know of a lake or a campsite or a method that might put me on a few fish it would be much appreciated. Give me a walleye lake or a smallie lake and I WILL find the fish. Lake Trout are a whole new thing to me. "

I'll email you some specifics on LT for Long Island.