First Time Ice Fishing For Lake Trout

[minnesotamusky]

I will be making my first trip up north for lake trout. My question is, where can I find a good rod to handle these fish? What would be a good length to buy? Thanks for the help.

[koeps]

Are you going to Canada for lakers or staying here in Minnesota for smaller trout? If going for lakers than give me a call or email me-I use to run the Outdoorsmans Headquarters in International Falls-which is the main stopping store for folks heading north for lakers-rods can vary and some neat lures like large tubes can make it the best. anyways give me a shout and i can help you more--Bill

[Cliff Wagenbach]

I always use my med. walleye rods for lakers. 24" to 30".

Spool with 12# or 14# test mono or heavier if you are going to a lake with known lunkers. I prefer Trilene XT.

Make sure your reel has a good reliable drag system or better yet use a bait casting reel.

Most of your walleye spoons and jigs will also catch trout.

Good Fishing!

Cliff

[minnesotamusky]

Hey Bill, I think we are going to Burntside Lake or some other lakes in the BWCA. I'm going with my cousin who lives in Chisholm, so it's kind of up to him where we go. I've never gone ice fishing for lake trout, so I'm looking for advice on rods, reels, lures and any tips. My email is [email protected]. Thanks again.

[Steve Foss]

Wolf, I fish Bside for lakers all the time, open water and hard.

Look on the BWCAW-Duluth-Ely-Range board under the Burntside Bash thread, and you'll find some good advice. You can also use the search feature on this site and punch in the words "lake trout," "lakers" and "ice" and you should come up with a good batch of how-to. On the BWCAW-Duluth board, this is a pretty consistently hot topic, and a fellow probably won't need to know any more to get started hitting lakers under ice than to look through those old and new threads.

Good luck, and you're certainly invited, as all anglers are, to the fourth annual Burntside Bash!

[Captain B.R.K]

The Duluth forum is exactly where I got my information on Icing Lake Trout!

This year unfortunately I won't be able to go, but the last 3 years my buddies and I have been going to Canada after those bruts and we have a BLAST doing it.

I spent a little more money on a rod, knowing I could use it for lake trout fishing for years to come PLUS I could use it for walleye and northern pike. I picked up The Professional - Spinning Rod made by Thorne Bros. in the 36" Graphite model. I take my summer reel (Shimano Sahara 2500), tape it on the rod and I'm ready to tackle those species of fish!

All my buddies after the first year went to that rod and were real happy they spent the extra $$$ on the rod.