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Just a simple question - can you catch Lake Trout (in deep lakes) with this sort of bait?
seems to be highly effective for all other trout..

I've never tried those baits but that doesn't stop me from having an opinion ...

I'm gonna go with no just because I thought those kinds of baits are all about mimicking eggs or the trout food used in hatcheries so trying them deep down on native lake trout seems unlikely but hey, you never know. I've seen lakers caught on rubber crayfish and bass lures so worth a try.

Depending on where you're going - I'd try white tube jig or white twister on a jig. If you want to troll, any of the classics - williams wabler -- I like silver or silver and blue. I like little cleos too -- downriggers or if in a canoe or small boat - a snap-weight or three-way rig trolled slow to get the depth.

How about vertical jigging with a small lure like a Mepps Syclops,..just a few inches off the bottom?

They might work, however, there are much better baits available. Although small lake trout feed on daphnia etc, most lake trout > 4lb are primarily piscivorous.
For that reason, minnow or shad imitation baits such as silver spoons, white tubes or jointed rapalas tend to be on the end of my line when hunting lakers.

Out4trout wrote:They might work, however, there are much better baits available. Although small lake trout feed on daphnia etc, most lake trout > 4lb are primarily piscivorous.
For that reason, minnow or shad imitation baits such as silver spoons, white tubes or jointed rapalas tend to be on the end of my line when hunting lakers.

Berkley Gulp Alive 2.5" minnow, shad color? Those work well for just about any fish..
I have a 17' long sea kayak.. not really meant for fishing.. How can I fish lake-trout out of that?

ChrisCool wrote:Berkley Gulp Alive 2.5" minnow, shad color? Those work well for just about any fish..
I have a 17' long sea kayak.. not really meant for fishing.. How can I fish lake-trout out of that?

Good choice, or upsize to 3.5" Gulps. Go out during flat water, a slight wind is fine, you can cover more area without paddling. A drift sock would also help slow your drift.

Stick the Gulp Alive nose onto a drop shot hook, and a 1/2 oz drop weight 2-3' below that. Use a medium action rod with 6-8lb test line, with an equivalent flourocarbon leader above and below the D/S hook. Locate the lakers on the finder, drop the bait 10' above them, (with sensitivity up, you will see the bait on your finder) then a slow lift and drop. Many times the trout will rise up to your bait before you can get it 10' above them, if you see them rising during the drop, start winding up slowly.... then hang on for the hit.

Another option out of your kayak is to troll with lead core in the early mornings or evenings... Lakers will be deeper in the summer (below thermocline)...but will be actively feeding higher up in the water column during those times. Troll lead core , 3-6 colours , paddling just fast enough to get your spoon/rapala to have proper action. Aim for water depths anywhere between 40-60 feet. Wide turns with occasional stop/drop.

Vertical jigging is the way to go for lakers in summer, IMO. Good tips up above regarding staying over the fish found on the sonar (I've used drift sock with good results) and using your sonar's sensitivity to see your lure/bait and the lakers ascending for it. I don't think a Mepps Cyclops would be a good option for jigging. Too light, would take too long to get down to the 40-80 feet you need to be in to catch lakers this time of year. Best lures in my experience are Five of Diamonds spoons tipped with a minnow head or tail, a white 1/2 oz jig tipped with minnow or a jig tipped with one of those Gulp Alive minnows (3.5 emerald shiner or shad). Oh and don't forget to put a stinger hook on there for a little something extra!

How about a worm sitting on the bottom?
(casting a line out from shore into deep water, and let it stay a few inches off the bottom) Are lake trout likely to bite?

Minnow off the bottom would work better. Caught a few like this in the winter on my still line. I would stick with minnow presentations. I've never caught one on a worm but doesn't mean it can't be done. Like most on here say they primarily eat smaller fish so figure out the baitfish in the lake, whether smelt, ciscos, herring etc and use something that mimics that. They like to chase so dropping and reeling works good. Even better if you have a finder that can mark your jig and see how the fish are reacting to your presentation. If using swim baits try and feed them onto the jig as straight as possible. Test beside boat first to see if set up drops straight down or if it spirals. If it spirals down I'll rebait my hook until it is on good and straight.

I have tried a bunch of those nugget baits for big fish, small fish, ice-fishing, etc. They basically sit in my tackle box for "in case of emergency" situations. Probably had them in there for 3-4 years.

At this point never caught anything other than sunfish on them.

ChrisCool wrote:How about a worm sitting on the bottom?
(casting a line out from shore into deep water, and let it stay a few inches off the bottom) Are lake trout likely to bite?

If you want Lakers from shore, first you need access to deeper water within casting distance. Best bait would be whole Cisco( herring), large Smelt, large suckers, or possibly even smaller Mackerel from the grocery store. The best rig I've used is those gorge hook outfits with the dual hook, steel leader and a baiting needle. Thread it through the mouth and out the tail meat. These have worked well for us off the dock on Pemichangan until the middle of June when the water is warming up and they move to deeper water. If you were to find a nice point sticking into deeper water they would still work fine. Lakers tend to pick it up and run a bit first, then drop it and take it head first, so your best bet is to set the hook on the second run.




Cheers

smitty55 wrote:

ChrisCool wrote:How about a worm sitting on the bottom?
(casting a line out from shore into deep water, and let it stay a few inches off the bottom) Are lake trout likely to bite?

If you want Lakers from shore, first you need access to deeper water within casting distance. Best bait would be whole Cisco( herring), large Smelt, large suckers, or possibly even smaller Mackerel from the grocery store. The best rig I've used is those gorge hook outfits with the dual hook, steel leader and a baiting needle. Thread it through the mouth and out the tail meat. These have worked well for us off the dock on Pemichangan until the middle of June when the water is warming up and they move to deeper water. If you were to find a nice point sticking into deeper water they would still work fine. Lakers tend to pick it up and run a bit first, then drop it and take it head first, so your best bet is to set the hook on the second run.




Cheers

Do you use a slip bobber with those?

scarkner wrote: Do you use a slip bobber with those?

Nope, strictly bottom fishing. If you have a boat you can also use multiple rigs on the same line as well.Thread 2 of them on the line through the loop and hook one to a swivel on the end of the line like normal. With someone holding the rod on shore venture out with the boat. Drop the first bait on the surface at lets say 45 feet, the second slider at 60 feet, and then the last one at the end of your line at 80 feet. Then let go of the line and all three will drop together at their designated depth. Go back to shore, have a seat and relax. Of course the same thing can be done with just the single bait to bring it to the exact spot you want if it's not within casting range. It used to be a quite common method for early Laker fishing on the Quebec side. The channel on Pemich was very well known for this until those cottage/homes were built. Now most just anchor in the channel. It can be quite busy opening weekends for sure.

Cheers

I am pretty sure those dough baits work mostly for stocked fish. Not sure if I would use that still fishing for Lake Trout though. However, Lakers will chase anything.