First time Jigging Lakers

[BassMan11]

Hey Folks,

 

I am headed up to Round lake (near Pembroke) this weekend for a little R&R with the girlfriend and of course some fishing. I will be fine catching bass and pike but I wouldn't mind trying my hand at jigging some Lakers. So where do I start? Its a deep lake that has some really deep holes (180') and I just don't have a clue what to look for on picking a location. Deep drop offs, a certain depth, structure? I have a quality sonar unit with DSI along with Navionics so that should help some. Any help would be appreciated.

 

Don

[BillM]

Find some water in the 70-90ft range that drops off into the deeper stuff. Should have no problems finding lakers.

[Sinker]

I like mid lake hunps myself.

 

Find some good sructure on your map, cruise over it slow looking for fish. When you find them, get jigging.

 

You'll want a good bowmount or an anchor with lots of rope to stay on em.

 

S.

[limeyangler]

Jigging for Lakers is one of my favoutrite things to do. Like sinker says.....good trolling motor or anchor are importantl for jigging lakers. preferably a trolling motor with spot lock (love my i-Pilot).

 

You can try structure, but i also cruise the deeper parts of the lake looking for schools of bait fish then anchor up quick and jig. Sometimes i just move around the deep looking for actual fish arches, as soon as you see one...send the jig down and more often than not.....WHAM!

 

If you get a calm(ish) day use your fishfinder like you would on the ice....drop the jig below the transducer and watch the action live! VERY ADDICTIVE WAY OF FISHING LAKERS.....BE WARNED!

 

I use a good braid with 6' flurocarbon leader, as they can be spooky when straight jigging, attached by a micro swivel so it can get through the guides when you are trying to land it.

 

Use of your electronics as described above will really help you to decide on what you attach to the business end of your line, as you will be able to watch how the fish react to whatever presentation you use, but jigs and minnows, 4" white tube jigs, jigging raps and spoons would be good to have on hand.....basically everything i would use on the ice is with me when straight jigging lakers.

 

 

And my secret weapon.....brown color 1/2oz pill style led head jigs with a medium minnow......dunno what it is about the brown....but it kills them when all esle is struggling on numerous lakes we fish up here.

[BassMan11]

Thanks for the responses guys. I am really banking on a calm day / evening to try this. Its a big lake and I am not in a very big boat. So any rough water will put an end to my experiment. It sounds like if you can find them, you've got a pretty good chance of hooking up. And yes I have seen the "video game" on the fish finder... looks very cool!! Bob Izumi does an entire show on this technique.

[BillM]

Lakers aren't overly picky... If you find them you should be able to boat a couple.

[4x4bassin]

I would find the deepest part of the lake and start there , try and find a drop off or some structure around that deep water area say in the 40-60 foot mark or just cruise around the area

and watch your finder .When you see the hooks drop your jig down right on top of them , if they are hungry they will come up and grab your jig . Don't forget that they love to chase and follow

so if they don't move on the initial drop start reeling up slowly and if they chase speed up your retrieve and that's when they will hit ! I have had lake trout fly up off of bottom for 40 feet to hit a jig

(they have good eyesight) In my lake I don't bother with the hooks on bottom , I wait until I see one suspended or even better 2 or 3 suspended off bottom . Those fish are feeding and when there

is more then one they are a little more aggressive ! My go to jigs are 1 oz trimmed white bucktails with a gulp minnow trailer , don't forget a stinger on those jigs they always hit short .

 

This is what I am talking about , 2 lakers together and one that really wanted my jig

 

 

This is a couple of my favorite jigs , bottom one is beat up pretty good !

 

 

As well use a flouro leader like others have said and good braid . Good luck Like to see a report when you get back .

[fishindevil]

If you are launching out of round lake center or bonechere prov park head to the north east of the lake there is 2 small islands and the deepest spot is out from there there is a big shoal and troll or jig parallel to those 2 islands I have done well there the trout will push the baitfish up to the shoal and feed there !! I have not jigged there I was running dipsey divers and a half & half size 60 Williams wabbler. !! Because round lake is a deep basin lake it has a very pronounced thermocline if you have a decent graph you will see it no problem usually around the 30ft mark !!! And it does blow up pretty good and others than those 2 islands there is nowhere to get out of the wind so if you have a small boat just a heads -up good luck and let us know how you did !!! Check regs there is a slot size there as well !!! Cheers

[BassMan11]

Yes I will be launching out of Round lake Center. I am staying at a nice little spot on the west side of the lake so the trek across will have to be on a nice day. I like the look of those bucktails.. I have some but not 1 oncers... I will be heading to sail this afternoon. I see the spot you are talking about with the 2 small islands, I will start there and see what happens. Hopefully I will come back with a successful report. Thanks again guys!

[4x4bassin]

If you are going to buy some jigs/bucktails try and find 1oz. They may seem big and heavy but it is important to be vertical all the time and the

big jigs get down fast when you are hunting lakers on the finder .