Hi all,

I was reading a post about lake trout from camp. Shock mentions "soak a sucker on a slip sinker set up". I have never used this method for lake trout, but I have used slip sinkers for catfish closer to home.

Is the sucker a dead bait? Is it a live minnow?

Anyone have a diagram to share or link to for this technique?

Thanks,
rdg

If you choose dead bait, a smelt would be much better. But a live sucker or big shiner works also. I’d rather use a slip bobber, as you’re sure to lose lots of rigs fishing on the bottom.

If you choose a slip sinker with bait on the bottom, expect mostly fatalities as the hook will be swallowed before you notice the fish.

bobbernumber3: "If you choose a slip sinker with bait on the bottom, expect mostly fatalities as the hook will be swallowed before you notice the fish."

I agree with you there.

When I use the slip sinker for catfish, I use a circle hook that greatly reduces fatalities because it hooks the corner of the mouth after the fish swims away with the bait. In my experience with catfish, when hooked with a circle hook they have always been in the corner of the mouth.

Do you know if people have success with circle hooks when using live bait to target lake trout?

Shouldn't be any different. People use them for walleyes also.

RDGbwca , i see you know who's comments to follow (wink wink)
i'll run everything down for you ,
this set up can be used all year long but excellent success in the spring (up to 3 weeks after ice is prime time. this natural occurance happens on any lake in minnesota (pic) fish like sunnies-perch-crappies-baitfish) get stuck in the ice and die , when the thaw comes ice melts and they sink to the bottom, fish like lake trout know this and cruise shoreline in the spring looking for these easy meals ALSO pike , after the pike spawn those big females want a easy meal. we have caught some walleyes on this rig too but not a lot , but probably more of a timing thing as we mainly do opener trips in the BWCA.
the set up is extremely easy (pic) and i always bring a rod/reel just for this camp set up , so when i'm back at camp after a cruise in the canoe i grab that set up cast out and now i'm fishing again. my motto on this site is keep your line wet and good things will happen. once you cast out your DEADBAIT , you can do 1 of 2 things , either open your bail and put a small rock on your line or (my preference) if you have a nice smooth reel , turn the drag all the way down and you'll hear that drag go any where from camp , once a fish hits, open your bail and turn up your drag , close bail and set up FISH ON. as far as fish mortality goes , having the bail closed is better as you can here when a fish strikes and waste no time setting the hook.
one thing that is very important is your using a heavy enough slip sinker , AS the wind will blows , your line towards shore and then you get hung up in the rocks and it's your sinker that usually gets hung up not your hook so if needed use 2-3 oz egg sinkers when it's windy(or double up on some 1ozer dont need to purchase actual 3oz sinkers) , i use a baby split shot to hold the sinker up from the hook about 18" is super easy and the fish in the bwca dont feel that. or if preferred a swivel.
BAIT , yes deadbait i prefer suckers in the 4"-6" range , i've read articles on the Europeans fishing for big pike and some even dye there deadbait (i've never tryed this yet, also about people opening the stomach cavity and putting a packing peanut in it , to float it up above the bottom a little bit (havent tryed that yet either.
i use suckers over smelt and ciscoes for a few reasons #1 it's harder to find ciscoes with the new bait laws #2 ciscoes and smelt turn to mush so fast they dont stay o a hook after a few recast , the suckers on the otherhand your put the hook right through the skull and nay stay on your hook for a few fish not just a recast. believe you dont need smelt or ciscoes yes they are more oily but using suckers gave never hurt our group for shore fishing. what i do is get the sucker minnows and i freeze them like 4-6 in a ziplock (pic) with a little water then after their frozen layer them in a little 6-pack cooler and freeze again and you'll have bait for 5-7 days and a 6-pack cooler will fit nicely under your canoe seat without taking up added space.
if you ever catch a sucker save it and just cut chunks out of it for the same purpose ;)
a pic of two nice lakers caught on this set up from shore on seagull lake.
if using mono line i generally no less than #12 test as your line is going in and out of rocks and retie often.this comment was bit long winded but i hope this gives you a clearer pic and best of luck , if anybody has other questions feel free to email or post right here.
(pic) of set up too.

Heck,

I was soaking a Dead Sucker on a slip Bobber and a 9.1 LB. Walleye took it.
Ya never know. Good Luck to ALL. Catch a Record Fish. Happy Holiday's
and A very Prosperous New Year to ALL.

shock: "RDGbwca , i see you know who's comments to follow (wink wink)
i'll run everything down for you ,
"

Shock,

Thanks for all the details. I appreciate the explanation of when and why this set up works.

I was wondering why you chose suckers because I know a lot of lake trout lakes have cisco as well. Your reasoning makes sense to me.

Do you usually buy the sucker minnows from a bait shop?

When you say freeze again in the six pack cooler, do you add even more water to make a block of ice? Or do you just put the cooler with the ziploc bags into the freezer?

I've asked an outfitter to freeze a steak the night before a trip. Have you ever asked them to store your dead bait in the freezer?

Based on your description of the reel, I would use a baitrunner reel that I already have for catfish. This reel is designed with two drags that allow you to throw a lever and engage the fighting drag once the fish has started swimming away with the bait.

Thanks,
rdg

your more than welcome ,,yes basically a block of ice , carrying a little cooler that can give you bait for a week is not a big deal to me , some dont want to do that. and i didnt mention this but i use filter water from the store , those bulk water things , tap water is very porous , filter water freeze more clear and last much longer than tap water. and as you use your bait add a junk of ice to your cocktail ;)
yes i get the minnows a week or 2 before my trip from my local bait store. sometimes at the end of ice fishing.
and yes that reel should be prefect for this application.
when i do a brook trout trip i basically use the same type of set up but instead of deadbait i use a whole crawler on a phelps floater and a little air with much success too .

Love the idea of just using a small splitshot to hold the egg sinker up the line. I've always used a swivel but I'm going to try this. Nothing better than ways to simplify your rig.

I use that same reel, RDG. Those bait-feeders are excellent for soaking shiners ice fishing for walleyes as well, used in conjunction with a finnicky fooler or ifishpro.

I caught my personal best brown trout using this same setup from my boat a few years back.

Shock,

Your details on how to "SOAK A SUCKER" are excellent. I've never called it this before, but your technique works great for catfishing in Ohio! Shad are a nice dead bait around Ohio, but they too get soft quicky and I resort to a stash of frozen suckers in the freezer.

Thanks,
Dave

^^^^^ Thank you Dave , nice to hear you liked the write up.
A few more comments ,
you being a catfish guy , you understand the importance of having the correct weight so line/bait stays where it should . generally in the BW i'm using 1oz.
as Wallyworld brought up putting deadbait under a float works too ,
i stick with a sinker/bottom set up. slip bobbers are awesome when it's calm or at night with a lighted bobber , cool watching it take off and slide under the surface. But when it's windy & it usually is in the BW (go figure) but with a bobber you will be doing a lot of recasting.
now this is illegal in minnesota , not sure about Canada , but walleye belly meat works very good to.
when you catfish have you ever use Chicken ? when i'm able to do a brook trout trip i'm going to bring some chicken skin with. FUNNY story here , my buddy was up in Gogebic & they brought some chicken to cook up. when they were prepping the chicken they tossed the fatty parts into the lake (((Gogebic about 80acres?)
when they caught some brook trout some had the chicken fat in their stomach.

Do you know QueticoMike who's on this site , he lives in Ohio , and definitely 1 of the more knowledgeable guys on here. and is always fishing the Miami river.

GG if you ever want to venture out to Waconia for a day of ice fishing your always welcome. always a fun time ;)

shock: "GG if you ever want to venture out to Waconia for a day of ice fishing your always welcome. always a fun time ;) "

I would really like that, gotta make it happen one of these days. I actually "quit" ice fishing last year and sold all my junk, but I'd be down to drink some beers and watch tip-ups. I'll shoot you a message after the new year if the weather gets a bit milder. Have a good Christmas!

thegildedgopher: "

shock: "GG if you ever want to venture out to Waconia for a day of ice fishing your always welcome. always a fun time ;) "

I would really like that, gotta make it happen one of these days. I actually "quit" ice fishing last year and sold all my junk, but I'd be down to drink some beers and watch tip-ups. I'll shoot you a message after the new year if the weather gets a bit milder. Have a good Christmas!"

Damn straight , we should have the shack out by then & i'll have all the gear we need .

1 more thing , if you do catch a laker you want to release and it is gut swallowed . being a single hook cut your line as close as possible to the hook and make sure it is upright in the water before letting go of the fish.