Lake Trout

[IcemanMN]

Anyone know of any good lakes to catch lake trout through the ice? (I can't find my reg. book I think lake trout are open during hardwater season, correct me if I'm wrong.)

What do you usually use when you all go trout fishing through the ice?

[Northlander]

Lake Superior by Ashland and Bayfield. Crow Lake Canada. Burntside lake Ely. Just to name a few. There are a lot of Laker Lakes in the Ely area.

[IcemanMN]

Cool, I've heard that lakers through the ice is a blast, always wanted to try it. I'll check it out. Thanks

[lookin4fish]

along with northlanders suggestions, just head up the gunflint trail out of ely, and most of the lakes have lake trout. if you have a question, just go to the dnr HSOforum and look at "lake finder". that tells you what species are in the lake and also gives lake maps. i have done a handfull of trips up there and it can be really fun, but really slow too--just like any fishing. i use tube jigs 5 inch on larger airplain jigs. u usually are fishing pretty deep-40-80 feet so you need the heavery jig to get it down quicker. white is my favorite color. if your lookin for something different than the standard game fish, it is worth a try. haveing a graph (vex/marcum) will help a lot. most often they are suspended. the added bonus is that lake trout season goes later than walleye and northern so you can extend you ice season for big game fish.

good luck!

[IcemanMN]

Alright, I'll defiently try it out this year, My cabin is about an hour south of Superior, WI. So I might try Lake Superior (Have to check my reg. book first).

[Jim Hudson]

Iceman

Keep an eye out in the WI forums this winter. I will keep updates on ice conditions and fishing reports out here on the big lake for all species, including lakers.

Definately a must do. Fishing inland and out here is a bit different in terms of depth of water and gear used...

[IcemanMN]

Awesome, my cabin is about a 3 hour drive from the big lake and was defiently planning to fish the Bayfield area for lakers. I'll keep my eye on that forum. Thanks

[Philo]

Does any one know of any guide services for lake trout in the Duluth area? I would like to try lakers, but I have no idea where to go. Thoughts?

[toughguy]

I've been up near the BWCA on the gunflint for lakers. We just took our time and learned as we went until we figured them out. Electronics are a must for lakers. Without a flasher you will catch a fraction of the fish as you would with one. Keep moving, use white tube baits, and look for sharp drop offs from 20-60 feet or more. We used portables and pulled them with snowmobiles to get to some remote areas. Its sooo cool catching some of the hardest fighting fish you will ever find on a lake with no development that you have all to yourself without a sound to be heard when it's -10 degrees with no wind. Absolutely Awesome!! I can't wait to get back on 'em again this winter. I've already got the trip booked for Pres. Day weekend. If gas prices keep dropping I might get up there twice this year.

[Northlander]

Lake Superior by Duluth/Superior very very very seldom freezes enough to chase lakers. We go down and fish with Jim Hudson and Hudsons on the spot guide service out of Bayfield. Jim knows the area very well and knows what baits etc. you need. I highly recomend his services if you want to hunt big lakers on Superior.

Like Jim said above the gear is way different than inland. Heavy poles, big reels, heavy Power Pro with a flouro leader and jigs up to 4Oz. are the norm on the big lake.

You can fish shallow for all types of fish out of Bayfield and Ashland. Coho, smallmouth, pike, eyes, perch, rainbows etc. all hang out in that area.

Its a must do at least once in your life.

[Holaey]

icemanmn,

there is a well educated canadian that goes buy the name Hemlock that runs the canadian thread on mn.

give him a shout... he will put you on then like stink on

[IcemanMN]

Thank you, I'll get in touch with Hemlock. What type of equipment should a guy buy for trout? rod, reel, and line?

[IcemanMN]

Anyone know where I can get a topo map of the Bayfield area of Superior?

[Captain B.R.K]

I would highly recommend the Thorne Bros Professional Rod . I would take a look at the 42" graphite rod. Though if you are looking to primarly fish in a house, then maybe the 32" or 36" is what you should go with. Great action rods-used it several years for chasing lakers through the ice. Also great rod for fishing walleyes

What is nice with the longer rod is that you get some leverage on the fish when setting the hook.

However if you feel that is a little to extreme, I know that there are rods the Ganders, Sportsmans, Scheels, etc. carry that are medium to medium action rods. I think a medium action rod will be just fine. What is important in a rod for laker fishing is that you have some backbone in teh rod to fight em'. They will definately do a number of head shakes before they get the hole!

For line I will spool on 10# or heavier Berkley Fireline and then at the end of the line tie on a 3-4ft piece of flurocarbon line in 10lb test. Trout have great vision in the water and not having the line tied right to the line gives your lure look life like IMO

However with Fireline or Powerpro, it will hold water and if you are fishing in very cold weather prepare to take your fingers out of your gloves to be pulling the ice off the line Nothing you can do about it but I find that mono stretches to much in the those typical depths you fish in.

The only lure I go on the ice with now for lakers is a tube jig. No I am not bass fishing I buy any type of salted white tube and then thread in a 1/2 to 3/8oz jig head into the tube. When you put it in the water and jig it a couple of times it darts around, very similar to a wounded bait fish. I'm a HUGE fan of this lure and like I said, don't fish with anything else. I do bring a few tinglers or flashy jigging spoons, but haven't used them in years.

Good Luck!