Lake Trout Tactics?

[Homer Is King]

On the first weekend in June I am heading to Lake Kennisis with a couple of buddies and our families. We are planning a "Rock Bass Derby" for the kids which should be a blast!

 

We plan to get out for a little "adult" fishing. Since bass is still closed we are going to try for some lakers. None of use has ever targeted soft water trout and we are hoping to hook into our first. I've been researching tactics but I was hoping you guys could give me a little advice. I'm not looking for "honey holes" but more techniques and what kind of structure / depths to look for this time of year. We have access to a couple of boats but no downriggers. Here's what I'm planning to try:

 

Flat lining - I'm hoping with the late spring they will still be in shallow. I'm going to try and flat line spoons. I plan to pick up a planner board so I can move the lure away from the motor noise. Can anyone recommend a good style that attaches right to the line for use with a small boats?

 

At what water temp do they move deeper?

 

Dipsy Diver – If they are too deep for flat lining I'm going to use a Dipsy Diver. This way I can get the lure down and out. I've never used one but I have read the Luhr Jensen tech report on how to use them. Anyone have any advice.

 

http://www.luhrjense...2DipsyDiver.pdf

As far as location I'm going to work the standard spots. (Points into deep water, sharp drop offs, shallow flats close to deep water).

FYI

Lure Jensen also has a couple of other good articles on trout fishing

 

Thin Blade Spoons for Trout

http://www.luhrjense...llThinBlade.pdf

 

Trolling Spoons for Freshwater Trout

http://www.luhrjense...waterSalmon.pdf

 

Spoon Jigging for Trout in Lakes

http://www.luhrjense...ingForTrout.pdf

[Twocoda]

speed is of essence...1-2.2 MPH use a gps to determine your speed not your boat speedo...you may get them off the flatline at dusk and dawn but they will more then likely be on the bottom during the bright sunny days

 

Dipsy divers will get you down to them or lead core...if your running a thermometer target 50 degrees and it should put you in the zone for them to rise to your bait...if they dont rise...then drop your dipsy right into the bottom and stir things up...ONLY if its a sand bottom..you dont want to hook into rocks...if you do choose to run Dipsys make sure you have 30+ pound line as it get expensive replacing everything due to a break off...

 

Good Luck

[MuskieWannabe]

If you want to keep it simple I wuold flat-line some cranksbaits rather than spoons as spoons will not get down deep enough without the help of a dipsy or something like that. Depending on how cold/warm the water is they may be within reach of jut flatlining cranks. I would start in and around 40FOW and troll and see if you are marking any, if yuo are than it is just a matter of time to find out how deep your cranks are and if yuo can get them deep enough. If you aren't seeing anything I wuold move out deeper until you do start seeing them on the fishfinder and adjust accordingly.

 

Last week they were in 30FOW and we were catching them on Berkley Flicker Shads, but as the water warms they will probably be heading deeper, but that is where I wuold start.

 

To see how we caught them on the weekend check out my website

 

Ontario Outdoors

Edited May 4, 2011 by MuskieWannabe

[trapshooter]

I have an article in the 2011 Fishing Annual issue of Ontario OUT OF DOORS that talks all about flatlines, planer boards and dipsey divers for lake trout. First week in June will be excellent timing for these trolling tactics. As mentioned above, depth is key, both for how deep you are trolling over and how deep your baits are. A trout that is 20' below a spoon/plug passing over head can cover that distance in seconds to slam your bait. Watch for marks on the graph and try to keep baits above the fish when trolling. Dipsey divers are very effective but it really helps to have a line counter reel so you know how deep your bait is at at all times. Spoons and plugs are great off Dipseys, I like plugs (esp. jointed rapalas) behind boards and flatline you can't beat a cleo or a small inline spinner. U can add weight up the line to get them down a bit deeper too. Pretty much the name of the game is covering water and trying different baits at different depths until you find some fish. Good luck and have fun!!

[chessy]

when I did creel census with the mnr on many lakes up north there was one guy that caught lake trout every time he was out all summer long . all he used was a small minnow and a small spit shot and still fished it just off the bottom . he caught fish every day and was only out till about 9am. he used this pattern on drag lake. and he at that time held the biggest fish for that lake as well.

[irishfield]

With the ice late coming off I suspect shallow 'till the 3rd week of June this year. Generally we flat line or run no deeper than 20 feet up until the 2nd week in June on Temagami. With ice still on our bay as of today, I'm betting it will last 'till the 3rd week of June before the Lakers head out of the (30 to 40 FOW) bay for the deeper waters of the lake... not that I'm gonna get to test that theory this year!

 

Linquest brother Cisco spoons... Len Thompson spoons.. Ripplin Redfins.. etc. Remember a 3 way.. a lipped bait on one line and a spoon on another double your chances per line! You're allowed 4 hooks... doesn't matter where they are!

Edited May 4, 2011 by irishfield

[turtle]

I have a cottage on the lake. Recommend trolling (slowly/stop-start/change direction)pulling 3-4 inch minnow baits (bombers etc. in realistic minnow colours)or 3-4 silver/gold/1/2 & 1/2 spoons like williams whitefish, wabler, thinfish, sutton river flutter spoons.

[chris.brock]

I like Chessy's idea, for a new laker fisherman, hopefully one of you guys has a decent sonar, cruise around in the boat first, I'd look at depths of 50 to 90 feet (even though spring is late), and look for fish just off bottom, when you think you have an area with some fish cruising around, vertical jig a spoon and send down a minnow (shiner) and split shot

 

let us know how you do

[chris.brock]

Chessy, did you work for the MNR in Minden? If so, when?

[Homer Is King]

Awesome guys, that's some dynamite advice!

 

I'm taking my little tinny. It's not much but it has rod holders and a color fish finder. Trolling slow should be no problem!! I've read that comment several times.

 

I like the spoon / lipped bait idea! I will have to give that a try. Do you give them the same leader length off of the 3-way swivel or do you make one longer?

 

Good old live bait! Hard to beat! You must have to use heavy split shot to get a minnow down 50ft when floating in a boat? Have you ever tried a drop shop set up to get the baits down faster? Anyone know of a bait shop near Lake Kennisis?

 

Again, thanks for all the pointers. As soon as I land the first fish I'll share this with my buddies!! I promise a full report when I return (hopefully with fish!).

[singingdog]

There is a small bait shop in Carnarvon. I believe the next closest one is in Minden.

[4x4bassin]

I like Chessy's idea, for a new laker fisherman, hopefully one of you guys has a decent sonar, cruise around in the boat first, I'd look at depths of 50 to 90 feet (even though spring is late), and look for fish just off bottom, when you think you have an area with some fish cruising around, vertical jig a spoon and send down a minnow (shiner) and split shot

 

let us know how you do

I agree with this as well , I did this for the first time last year with great results. The key is a good sonar and just slowly drive around the lake until

you see them on the screen and stop ,reverse back to the spot and drop a heavy jig out . I use a 3/4 oz white/silver/black bucktail or a gulp minnow on a darter head jig .Lake trout are not shy and if they are hungry they will come up off bottom and chase your bait from 10-20 feet down no problem .The key word here as well is chase , they love to chase the bait up from the depths so if one is interested in your bait start reeling up and most of the time they will smash it !

I found the 40-60 foot depths the most productive.

Good luck !

[Homer Is King]

4x4bassin, thanks for the tips. Sounds like the same idea as ice fishing lakers. Make'em chase it!!

[4x4bassin]

4x4bassin, thanks for the tips. Sounds like the same idea as ice fishing lakers. Make'em chase it!!

Exactly , it's just a bit harder to stay on top of them !

[dave524]

parents had a place in Haliburton, fished most of the well known laker lakes and some not so well known, the most consistent producer was always a fairly large gang troll with a large minnow/chub off the back on a 2 foot or so leader , rig it with a baiting needle with a treble near it's tail and up thru the body and sew lips shut, a slight bend to the body so it does a slow roll, outfished any other technique. I would take my salmon boat up in June for lakers, doing a temp check of the lakes they set up with a very sharp thermocline, over a degree per foot, fish the fish just below the thermocline rather than the bottom they are most active.

[Homer Is King]

Thanks again for all the pointers!

 

I've been slowly stocking up on trout spoons and lures!! Only three weekends and counting!!

 

I figured I needed a line counter reel and a rod that can handle the dipsy divers so I picked up a Okuma Convector CV-30D Line Counter Reel and put it on a 9ft medium fast Shimano TDR. It might be a bit over kill for haliburton lakers but we'll see. I also have 7 ft one-peice medium St. Croix coming with a Abu Garcia 5500LC on it. It is probably a little more reaonable for the smaller lake trout.

[irishfield]

I only have one counter reel in the boat. Pull the line off a reel and measure how much (how many feet of line) it takes to make a trip across the spool. Then it's easy to just count "wraps" to be consistant.

[Homer Is King]

I was doing some more research and Google took me to this OFC post! A thread with lots of information on this topic.

 

Lake Trout Fishing Methods - Without a downrigger

 

Irishfield - good tip! Easy way to get a consistent amount of line out!

 

Only 2 more sleeps....

[Leecher]

Homer...

 

I'm also a newbie as far as targetting Lakers but one technique that produce well for us last Sunday was simply to locate points, drop off, submerged structure such as: tree stumps, rocks and cast to the shoreline a 3" power tube in white tipped with half a worm, let the tube go down a bit, retrieve by raising the rod quickly, reel in the slack and let it go down again, repeat, etc...

 

 

The lakers I caught all took the tube on the way down and basically smashed it. Another technique that we used was to work the shore line by casting a Mepps Black Furry #5 orange dots on the blade, treble dressed.... That thing was the number one lure and lakers literally smashed it.... Ask my friend Paul and he'll tell ya

 

Paul's boat is equiped with an electric trolling motor at the front which he use to position the boat and let us drift in specific areas on the lake along the shore.

 

We also worked underwater flats with tubes and buckshots jigging vertically while drifting or being anchored.

 

Hope this makes sense and helps you out.

Good luck with your laker quest!!!

Leechman

 

Edited to say: Lakers seemed to keyin on white from what I observed on the lake we targetted.

Edited June 1, 2011 by Leechman