Lake Trout

[pro190]

I'm planning to fish for lake trout for the first time and was hoping someone could give me pointers on locating lake trout in the spring. From what I've found on the web so far, they will be fairly shallow but beyond that I can't seem to find anything telling me what I should look for as a likely area (structure/habitat). I'm planning on going to Lake Ontario and trolling for them. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks.

[johnnyb]

Hmmm...I definitely don't have any experience catching lakers in Lake O...maybe someone can comment on that for you, but what I do know about springtime lakers is that you want sloping, gravelly shorelines, with access to deeper water nearby. Spinners and spoons are great....as for trolling you can still use spoons, or bodybaits....not much for you, but hopefully a start?

My best experience so far has been casting in 10-15FOW with a gold panther martin, in the spring, water temp about 52-54 degrees.

[turtle]

My experience for lakers is in the Haliburton area, not lake O. I try mostly the north shore of lakes where it warms up first and the usual points and drops into deep water from shallow, also creek mouths with inflow. I fish mostly by trolling shorelines close to shore because the fish are scattered, both long line and down to 15-25 ft. Mostly spoons in spring, minnow baits later on.

[Fang]

On Lake O the springtime laker (greaser) bite starts on the south shore about now and last's right through May. Even at this time you'll find them more bottom oriented not up top. Spring Lakers up north rise up in the water column with the bait but not so much down here. A real hot spot is the Niagara Bar area now but be careful as I here some time very soon they will be letting the ice boom in Erie go if not already. Makes the river and bar area a little treacherous for a few days dodging all those big chunks of ice.

 

Great springtime bait here is a dodger and peanut (small wobbling plug). If you do a search on Lake Trout South Shore Lake Ontario you'll get some more info.

 

Next few weeks I'll dust the cobwebs off my boat and start getting it ready. You'll need riggers or wire to get down to the lakers, they won't be up top and pick up a few bullfrog dodgers. As the spring chinook bite gets going down around St Catherines the laker fishing also gets pretty good. Watch the sonar and you'll see fish on or close to the bottom in 60-150 fow. Thats the greasers, chinooks will be much higher in the water column.

[fishboy]

My experience for lakers is in the Haliburton area, not lake O. I try mostly the north shore of lakes where it warms up first and the usual points and drops into deep water from shallow, also creek mouths with inflow. I fish mostly by trolling shorelines close to shore because the fish are scattered, both long line and down to 15-25 ft. Mostly spoons in spring, minnow baits later on.

 

 

I do the same but I've also had good success with a simple minnow on a slip sinker.