New to trout fishing

[Chumba]

Hey so I'm new to trout fishing and had a couple questions.

My GFs family's goes to this Larson lake in Itaska co. Has anyone heard/been there? The state record Splake was taken from there. It is a designated trout lake. So I looked that up, if I buy minnows a head of time and freeze them, does this satisfy the rules?

I just have a small boat I was going to troll out to the deeper water and just see if I can see anything in the electronics. I'm not going to the end of sept, should I be looking shallow at that point?

Sorry for all the naive questions!!

[JBMasterAngler]

Frozen minnows would be legal. But they really won't be necessary. Just troll small spoons or minnow raps. I troll for splake along the shorelines in anywhere from 5 to 15 ft of water in the fall. I'll cast out to deeper water as well and let my spoon sink for 10 to 20 seconds before reeling in also.

[Chumba]

Thanks for the info.

I was wondering if a minnow tipped spoon in the deeper water would be productive. Just Jigging.

But I could def troll too.

[JBMasterAngler]

Honestly, I wouldn't even mess with minnows...or jigging. A half nightcrawler under a bobber (or slip bobber, pending how deep the fish are) is way more productive! I prefer trolling or casting though, just because it's more fun than watching a bobber.

[monstermoose78]

Jigging can be fun way to catch them. I use a 3/16oz jig head and run the hook through the mouth of minnow and out back. These are frozen shinners that I like to use. As JB said with raps and spoons is another good way to turn splake in the fall. My biggest splake came from Tofte Lake near Ely on a crawler that I under a float about 6 feet down. The best fishing I have had for splake is just before ice up when your breaking ice to get the boat out and winter. Good Luck

[Chumba]

Thanks! Crawlers are legal too on a trout lake? Is it just live minnows that are prohibited?

[monstermoose78]

For the most. Some trout lakes have rules against any live bait or special regs on like single hook only. Check the lake in the reg book you plan on fishing.

[JBMasterAngler]

Yes, crawlers are legal. The reason live minnows have always been banned on designated trout waters, is they didn't want people dumping them into the lake and adding undesirable fish that would compete with trout for food.