Lake trout trip

[Guest]

I am looking for some advice for a sure thing Laker trip this winter somewhere in the great white north, staying on the MN side, any thoughts? Can't remember when season closes?

[Steve Foss]

Chiro:

Two other places to post this inquiry on this forum would be the BWCA-Duluth and Grand Rapids areas. The deadly lake trout guys, including some guides, post on these.

They'll steer you right.

[Guest]

Thanks, I'll do that.

[WallEYES]

Chiro
A sure bet for 3-10lb lakers is Burntside lake and my second choice is Snowbank lake around the ely area. I fish lakers every chance I get. I stay at the paddle inn in downtown Ely

[Surface Tension]

I sure bet for lakers, Lake Superior Fish Market in Duluths Canal Park.
Gunflint Lake, park at Hestons and walk out or park at the landing and ride a sled out.

[Steve Foss]

ST, you kill me. You really do.

All last winter I meant to try Burntside. Never got to. I hear they plow roads on the lake just like at URL and LOW. Sounds like a good place for GPS.

[This message has been edited by stfcatfish (edited 10-19-2002).]

[chunkytrout]

chiro, head to the mouth of the Dead River when you get there. 60 ft. Dead stick smelt.

[Steve Foss]

Chunkytrout:

Looked at the map of Burntside again. Does a plowed road get you close to the Dead River? I've got a 4x4 truck but no sled or ATV, so I'm limited to where I can drive and walk. Didn't see a drive-to boat landing where there might be an ice road close to the Dead.

[chunkytrout]

Take the Echo trail to Passi Road (about 5 miles) Take Passi almost to the end and you'll see a launch oyour right. The ice rod goes out from there. Around the bend 1/4 mile and your there.

[Steve Foss]

Chunky, you're the man!

[Guest]

If your willing to venture alittle farther north (Canada) I'd reccomend fishing Whitefish Bay on Lake of the Woods for lake trout. A lot of structure in the 45 to 80 foot range and full of hungry 10 pound lakers. Bonus pike and walleye too. I was up there fishing for walleye and over heard a conversation at a local baitshop about big lakers. I asked about the whereabouts and the next day I was off towards Whitefish Bay. I was fortunate enough to have met a man that lived in the area and he showed me a few hot spots. At the end of the day my group (3 guys) caught about 20 lakers, all from about 5 to 15 pounds. I also got to witness a 20 pounder caught as well by the guy who showed us the spot. Some of the most exciting ice fishing I've ever done. I'm gonna definitely try fishing for lakers again this winter.

Good Fishin, Matt.

[Steve Foss]

Matt:

Seems like you're everywhere.

I've got one fishing buddy from Grand Forks, N.D., who goes to Whitefish Bay for lakers every winter, and met another guy here in Superior last year who goes there for lakers and crappies each winter.

I'd like to go and have had invites before, just never been able to put together the time and money. When I've got the money, no time. When I've got the time, no money.

I've fished open water and caught lots of lakers on Lake Superior, and caught several a few springs ago on Crow (Kakagi) Lake, just down the road from Whitefish Bay.

[chunkytrout]

Gawd i want to go to Whitefish. I've heard stuff but never been there. I'll be hittin you for info when i get there matt!

[Steve Foss]

Can you say GPS coordinates?

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Steve ([email protected])

[Guest]

chunkytrout,
Just let me know and I'll be more then willing to help. I want you to experience what I did, its like nothing I've ever experienced before. But then again, it might be a bad thing. Trips to Whitefish can get expensive and if you go three or four times your gonna spend some cash. Getting hooked might not be a good idea. Wait, what the heck am I saying, GO FOR IT! A chance to battle with the nitorious lake trout is a chance greatly welcomed.

Good Fishin, Matt.

[Guest]

Where is Burntside?

[Steve Foss]

Chiro:

Just north of Ely, Minn.

Log on to http://mapserver.maptech.com/homepage/index.cfm?BPID=MAP0060030900

Then type in Burntside and Minnesota in the search fields. I think it'll then give you a choice of Burntside the populated place or Burntside the lake. Click on lake and there you are. You can zoom in and out, move around and everything. It's a great site, and the lat/long GPS coordinates register in a different box wherever you move your cursor.

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Steve ([email protected])

[chiroeye]

Hello, just a new member on this site, wondering about these winter lake trout excursions to Whitefish Bay. I am there at least twice a year in the summer and last year ventured up to the Nestor Falls area in January and did some ice fishing in Sabaskong Bay on LOTW. I have fished trout on Whitefish in the summer and am very interested in trying for them through the ice, as I will be there in the end of December. Any information on location, depth, tactics would be wonderful. I would also be in favor of discussing some of the spots I have for crappies on LOTW near Nestor Falls. Also, I would like to email chiro and discuss some fishing and chiropractic. My email address can be found under my profile. Thanks for all your help.

[Guest]

chiroeye,

Whitefish Bay is full of deep basins and islands that have some sharp drop-offs. Not uncommon to find those lakes hanging off the deep edges. The lakers will drive the baitfish towards the steep wall and trap them there so they can feed. Fish the side of the island facing deeper water and fish the flat on the upside (flat that extends immediately off the origonal drop-off, shouldn't be the deepest flat but the one just above that, 60 feet of water). Fish about 10 to 15 feet up off the bottom. Most lakers will suspend off the bottom searching for roaming baitfish. I know there are some rockpiles or humps surrounding the islands that will produce as well. When I fished Whitefish I concentrated on the deep edges (and the rockpiles in 45-50 feet of water). It may take punching a few holes before you find the right structure. Get a lake map and find areas that look promising. A lot of the rockpiles aren't on some of the maps so don't be afraid to try something new. I found a pretty decent size hump (20 feet in size) that produced a few lakers that wasn't on any map that I had.

Once I found the lakers I used Northland airplane jigs tipped with the backside of a shiner or medium sized minnow. Since most of the time the bait is always moving the need for live bait isn't a factor. I also used larger Swedish Pimples and Kastmasters tipped with minnow heads. The airplane jig worked the best though. A jig that should work well too is the Flyer (I think it is by System's Tackle, same brand as the Genz Worm, Fatboy, etc). Tip this lure with the backside of a minnow as well. Make sure that you have a reel that is working properly, lakers tend to run a lot and your reels will be delt some pressure. Get a rod with a strong backbone, but one that isn't too stiff because if you set the hook too hard with a stiff rod the fish will roll over causing some slack in the line that could result in a lost fish (and some cryin).

Lakers typically swim in schools and if you find a school you are in for a real treat. Catching lakers was like nothing I've ever caught before. They fight the whole way up and most of the time your talking about a fish of atleast five pounds. I'm heading up to LOW during february to do some crappie/walleye fishing and I plan on taking a day to fish Whitefish Bay for lakers again.

Alright, enough with the lakers. Where do you fish for crappies on LOW? I've fished Lobstick Bay and Yellow Girl in the past with decent results. Nothing consistant but some nice size fish. When we got into a school of crappies it only lasted about fifteen minutes and then they moved. Good thing about it though is that the average size is around 3/4 to 1 pound with a few approaching 2 pounds. Small 1 1/2 inch jigging spoons tipped with maggots was the preferred presentation last year when I was up there. Small teardrops tipped with minnows came in a close second.

I'm going to be around Baudette in late December to do some crappie fishing on LOW. Any advice?

How about perch? You do any perch fishing up on LOW? I hear that you can get into some nice perch if you find them. Never caught a perch ice fishing LOW before, caught a few open water fishing up there but nothing during hard water. I'd be willing to try though.

Soon enough ice will be here and then the fun begins.

Good Fishin, Matt.

[chiroeye]

Thanks for the reply Matt, why dont you give me your email so we can get more into the specifics and I had a few other questions I wanted to ask you as well about ice fishing in the Nestor Falls area. All the ideas you presented so far sound dead on, cant wait to get on the ice. Thanks for the help.

Blake

[WallEYES]

MJ5
You can't use live bait in whitefish bay for lake trout, it's forbidden, just dead/frozen baits, spoons, Berkely power baits ect. If you posses any bait(frozen) you must carry the reciept of the baitshop in Canada where purchased. I fish whitefish at least once in the winter, but hard to get to prime areas if a lot of snow is on the lake. I fish Crow(Kagaki) for lakers and sometimes take a 30 minute snow machine ride to Rowan Lake for lakers. We stay at a resort mentioned by GISSERT in an earlier post. Crappies around the hay island area in Stevens Bay, have private access to the landing and a 6 mile ride by vehicle out to prime areas. If you fish in town, which I don't like to do, fish around cylone point in Sabaskong Bay. If you want to have some good fun at early ice, go to a lake called Caliper Lake for pike in the 12-20+ range with frozen ciscos on quick strike rigs. Go to the central part of the lake and drill holes, you should be in 7- 11 feet of water on a weed flat. Last year I left early, but friends of mine caught and released an estimated 400 lbs of pike in one afternoon with tip ups...biggest fish was 28lbs released. There are all kinds of other lakes of the beaten path up there for walleyes also, but that is a different day.

[Guest]

chiroeye,
I'd be more then willing to help out. Drop me an e-mail.
([email protected])

WallEYES,
I don't use live bait. Only backends of minnows and minnow heads are brought along. Most of which are frozen to start with. Most of the time I'll bring my own bait across the border freezer packed and pre-cut. All of my bait is Canadian packed. My group got checked two years ago and we had to unwrap everything and show the border police. Once they saw the bait they let us go. Only live bait I use is when I fished Yellow Girl or Lobstick for crappies.

Good Fishin, Matt.

[Gissert]

Chiroeye -

I cannot vouch for the winter lakers on Whitefish, but Crow Lake has been good to us, which is right across the road from Sabaskong Bay. The fish are not huge, but are great tasting.

We stay at Muskie Bay Resort on Crow, and that will get you access to Crow through the resort, and to a private access on Sabaskong Bay.

[Guest]

Chiroeye,
Drop me a line @ [email protected]

[chiroeye]

WallEYES,

If you did have to pick a few of your favorite walleye spots around Nestor Falls, what would they be? Do spots that produce in the summer work through the ice as well? Also, when is the prime time of year for ice walleyes? Is late December, early January too late? Just looking for a little wisdom from a seasoned veteran.