Is ist still worth fishing courthouse lake?

[bigreddog]

I'm just wondering if it is still worth fishing courthouse lake in Chaska this late in the season.

[JustinG]

Why wouldn't it be?

[bigreddog]

I have been fishing it the last three weeks and have caught two rainbows. I think this is kinda lousey. What should I be using? I'm kinda new at trout fishing. I have been using some small panfish jigs with rubber legs with wax worms. I have tried anywhere from 5 to 40 feet of water. People tell me it gets fished out and is no longer worth fishing. Some tips on trout fishing would be highly appreciated (bait, hook size, etc.).

[JustinG]

Are you seeing fish looking at your jig? By that, I mean physically with your eyes and not the Vexilar.

You should be using a very small panfish jig-the smaller, the better. I like white or yellow. Tip it with a waxie and use light line. Trout have amazing vision. How much pressure is on the lake you are fishing?

Justin

[bigreddog]

Thanks for the tip. I have seen none with the naked eye, but have seen a few on the vexilar. They come up, sit even with the bait, and then shoot back down. I have tried leaving it sit there, and have tried jigging it but they won't bite. The lake is only twenty acres or so and gets hammered during the beginning of the season and slows down towards the end. The last few times I have been out there has been only one or two people on the lake. On opener there is a couple hundred.

[HossFisher]

I was down there last week for a couple of hours. Only one other house on the lake. Had many lookers come in and look at the waxworms, but wouldn't bite it. Found fish in almost every hole i drilled. I'm pretty sure most of them were sunfish because i did manag to hook one of the million finger sized sunfish in the lake. I would say that it is not going to be very productive the rest of the hardwater season. Some days might be decent if you can get lucky and find a hole with a school of rainbows in it.

[bigreddog]

Thanks for the info bassboy6109

[CapnJack]

The reason your catching the sunfish is that your fishing too close to the bottom and or fishing for anything that stays on your flasher for more than a second or so. I was out on Saturday and kept 3 rainbows. One 4 feet down in 50 fow and 2, 3 feet down in 7 fow. If you're in shallow water and see stuff on the flasher near bottom that just stays there or slowly rises towards your bait it is sunfish. Trout always look like a quick blur on the screen when they come through. When I'm in shallow water I only fish near the bottom when I observe what I know are trout. Even in very deep water I catch most of my rainbows within the top 7 feet or so, sometimes just under the ice. Ratsos or rat finkies with 2 euro larvae works for me. Experiment with colors...last year it was black. I think because of the milky looking water it might have showed up better in sillouette. This year glow green and orange bodys have worked better. Has anyone here used an underwater camera to see if the water clarity changes below the top layer?

Hope this helps.

[bigreddog]

CapnJack, are you jigging or leaving it sit there? I had plenty of trout come up to my bait, but none would bite. What depth would you recommend fishing? Are there lakers in Courthouse?

[HossFisher]

Ya, there are lakers in Courthouse i haven't caught any yet, but my friend caught a pair last fall.

[CapnJack]

I'm usualy lifting and dropping the jig several feet just to get one to come in. Then it's a matter of finding out if they want it slowly rising or falling while jigging in small increments. I also use a spring bobber. some of the hits are so light the tip barely moves.

[Krazyk]

Hi all,

I'm new to this site and pretty new to winter trout fishing. I am thinking of heading out to courthouse later on this week, has anyone been out there recently and had any luck? Has anyone caught a laker out of courthouse and is there any size to them?

Thanks for any help

-Carl

[HossFisher]

Not sure if anybody has been catching the lakers but if you down there i'm sure you'll have the lake to yourself. Drove by today and nobody out there. If your going to try for lakers the deepest part of the lake is out and to the left of the fishing pier. Good Luck!

FYI: The season closes Mar. 15 next thursday

[mattkimk]

Are there lake trout in Courthouse?

[HossFisher]

yah, it says it on the dnr HSOforum and i have seen them caught.

[gundy89]

Krazyk,

I've been out a little, but not to much success. Seems the ones I find are 4-6 feet under the ice. Be very quiet as they'll spoke easy. 3 waxies and a small ice fly are what has been working for me, but I'd switch it up if you can't get them to bite. There's a good couple inches of water on top of the ice to make it nice and sloppy!!!

[Krazyk]

Alright, I'll give that a try. 4-6 ft under the ice but how deep is the water you were in, if it matters?

-Carl

[mattkimk]

is this courthouse lake in Chaska? I just checked the DNR lakefinder and it does not list Lake Trout.

[HossFisher]

Yes this is Courthouse Lake in Chaska. Are you sure you didn't read it wrong? If you go to the list of designated trout lakes it says all the species of trout in there and it includes Lake Trout. I can verify this because i have seen them caught in there.

[son_of_fishlein]

I was on the lake Wednesday and didn't catch anything (4th time this year, no fish . . .), but I saw a few including what was either a large brown or laker swim right under me about a foot under the ice. He circled twice and nudged the bait, but didn't seem interested. I think he might have brushed against my line and got spooked. Either way, it was a beautiful fish and would be worth going back for. I was deeper then I wanted to be, 15-20 ft. I have noticed a lot of people actually fishing out there lately seem to be right on the edge of the lake lately, probably 8ft or less of water. I hope to get back once before the 15th!

[bigreddog]

What part of the lake seems to be the best? I have seen a few people back towards the shore opposite the courthouse but have never tried it. The only place I have caught them is in the bay.