Lake trout lures

Post by **at last** » Sun Mar 18, 2007 9:32 pm

Going (lake) trout fishing in mid-may, any suggestion on lures, or maybe some strategies??( I could see the jokes flying now)
Will be trolling & casting.
Had many hit & miss over the years, but mostly miss.
Thx

Post by **scuro** » Sun Mar 18, 2007 9:44 pm

I've heard about many different lures being used for laketrout. Generally I have found small spinners and small rapellas work.

Post by **jsdx** » Sun Mar 18, 2007 10:58 pm

spoons work well.. williams wobbler, little cleo. krocodile.

small rapalas work - yep - shallow flat lined but also a little deeper with cranks like shad raps.

in spring ... jigging works too... twister tail ... add a salted minnow if legal. white tubes work great too dragged down from 20-40 or more foot transitions...

Post by **almontefisher** » Mon Mar 19, 2007 6:59 am

My favorite last year...and that is important to me cause every year seems to be different, but I used a Silver Williams wobbler attached to 3ft of mono attached to a 10" small blade gang troll attached to 30lbs lead core line. Also caught some on a black nymph dry fly with lead core..what a shock that was.

Post by **Scum Frog** » Mon Mar 19, 2007 9:58 am

Rapala Jointed J11 - Blue

Post by **fishboch** » Mon Mar 19, 2007 10:20 am

Well we've been going to the same lake for the past 20 years now I think and for the first 13 I never caught a lake trout. I always said I wasn't going for the fish.

I was doing everything exactly the same as everyone else whether it was leadcore or downriggers or gang trolls or minnows but I just couldn't catch a fish. Finally the curse was broken and I started catching them. I use the same technique and now I almost ( not always ) but most times I can catch them. As stated by a number of people above, for me it's the Williams Wobbler. Down about 15, 20 feet in the spring and that seems to work best for me. I've read some articles on casting or trolling in the shallows but it hasn't worked yet for me. One buddy did manage an 11 pounder years ago in about 10 FOW.

Good Luck.

Post by **almontefisher** » Mon Mar 19, 2007 12:59 pm

Another good choice I like is the Ripplin Redfin in silver and black...with the large silver/gold gang troll ( 4fter) and lead core line down about 3 1/2 colours.

Post by **jsdx** » Mon Mar 19, 2007 3:03 pm

Another thing...

We got off a lake last year and the people getting off before us had a boat (canoe) load of lakers.

Their secret ? worm harness spinners. the kind you'd use for walleye... on bottom bouncers and those snagless lindy weights... slow trolled behind a canoe... I plan to add that to my laker technique this april.

Also, i found that you cannot make predictions like "its gonna be great" or "this is a good spot" or "last year we caught ..." the fish gods are listening and they will punish you for your bold words.

Post by **almontefisher** » Mon Mar 19, 2007 3:49 pm

JSDX: You sure said it...A few years ago I could pull a laker out of the water every outing on my lake and the next year I said to a buddy..." I guarantee you will catch one"...well it took another year and a half to catch my next one. Jinxed myself good on that one...My buddy still doesn't let me live that one down... My gaurantee was dishes for the rest of the year...Anybody got some dish gloves

Post by **Swamp-Donkey** » Mon Mar 19, 2007 5:58 pm

Forget the trolling, forget the leadcore, the gang trolls, downriggers and all that other cumbersome crap! A white tube jig, vertically jigged at whatever depth/location the fish are holding will ALWAYS get'em. This technique has worked for me on every body of water I've ever fished for Lake trout, even in Lake Ontario. The key to this set-up is, a properly rigged tube bait. You must use an actual jig head designed for "tubes". This causes the bait to spiral on the drop.I always use a 3/8-7/8oz. jig-head, depending on depth,current,wind etc. and a 3-4inch tube.(always white. YUM makes a nice one.).Tied directly to this jig is approx 24-36"inches of "Seagar" florocarbon 8-12lbs./ test line which is then tied to a small, good quality(this is very critical) ball bearing swivel. This swivel is then tied directly to my main line. Usually I go with 30lb power pro braided line.(this is the diameter of 10lbs mono line.).The rod and reel of choice would be, a seven foot, medium/fast action matched with a quality spinning reel.(gotta have instant anti-reverse). That's the set-up.

The technique is easy, simply let the jig fall directly to the bottom, and simply lift and drop. Try to maintain as close to a vertical presentation as possible. I always maintain a tight-line contact with the bottom. My belief is, even though Lake trout do suspend....The biggest Lakers stay on or near bottom the majority of the time. This is also a segment of the water column that most trollers can't really fish effectivaly. Let me tell ya, when you start catching Lakers with this set up, you'll never troll again!

Post by **at last** » Mon Mar 19, 2007 6:20 pm

So it's good to know that I'm not the only one who get's "skunked" once or twice a year.
Thanks everyone for the feed-back, very helpful.

Post by **gussser** » Mon Mar 19, 2007 6:28 pm

Could try this----Johnson silver minnow with large night crawler attached. Proper amount of weight about 3' up line. Jig SLOWLY straight up off botton. Make bottom contact on each drop. SLOWLY--SLOWLY---SLOWLY This seems to work well in summer in water over 75' deep. If it doesn't work at least you got good exercise.

Post by **YakAttack** » Tue Mar 20, 2007 3:03 pm

Swamp-Donkey wrote:Forget the trolling, forget the leadcore, the gang trolls, downriggers and all that other cumbersome crap! A white tube jig, vertically jigged at whatever depth/location the fish are holding will ALWAYS get'em.

This article backs you up SD: http://www.gordellis.com/articles/trout_05.htm

This article has actually inspired me to try lake trout fishing this summer.

Quoted from article:

"Jigs of an ounce or two with slightly banana-shaped heads are the mainstays. Airplane jigs are also good choices, but are more tiring to pull all day. Generally, big jigs come with a 2/0 or 3/0 hook, and some have a No. 4 treble stinger attached to the body with wire. "

"The jig-colour rule for lake trout is simple. Use anything as long as it's white. The majority of a lake trout's summer forage is some shade of white or silver. For added appeal, I tip white bucktail jigs with a 4-inch white twister grub. Tube jigs and shad bodies are also good. You can use sucker meat or other real bait, but it's not really necessary. Summer lakers will hammer a big jig with or without meat. "

Post by **wolfe** » Tue Mar 20, 2007 4:46 pm

Pretty sure the correct name for the lure my brother and I had luck with in the past is called a CRIPPLED MINNOW. They're nice, heavy spoons and will help get you down quickly.

While fishing for pike and casting to shore, I pulled out a decent laker on a white spinnerbait.

So who really knows what'll turn them on?

W.

Post by **Crusty** » Tue Mar 20, 2007 4:47 pm

chicken breast strips

Thats all I'm saying