Lakers

[fishinJohn]

I have never caught a lake trout or even seen one but they sound fun to fish for. Where do you find them? What is the most southern body of water where you have caught one? I want to try for them near Ashland once this winter but if some place closer has them I might get a couple chances. Do they taste as good as the trout from a stream? Thanks.

[stick]

They are an AWESOME fish to catch especially through the ice. You feel the hit right down through your toes. I have fished for them quite a bit on Lake Of the Woods around Sioux Narrows. Mostly in the summer, but sure enjoyed them. As for eating them, they can be wonderful if properly cared for. We always took good care of them by keeping the smaller ones (3-8 lbs) and cleaned them before they die so that they don't die and have the oils leach into their flesh. We also made sure to remove the dark oily part along the lateral line on the skin side of the flesh. We fried them like walleyes and also boiled them, blackened them, baked them, grilled them, etc.

By all means go after them and enjoy the hunt and hopefully you'll connect with some.

[Powerstroke]

They are fantastic table fare in many ways. So far my favorite has been baked in foil over the campfire in the BWCA.

I've only caught them in the BWCA and the Ely area because I haven't tried anywhere else. If you're looking for some real hands on help come to the Burntside Bash this Jan. Its a great get-together for everyone and lots of fish are caught too.

[toughguy]

WARNING BE VERY CAREFULL. If you thought icefishing was addictive lakers can take over your life. It's like icefishing on steroids. I started 2 years ago and we made one 5 day trip each year up the gunflint trail. These guys hit like nothing else and fight all the way up the hole. This year I plan to go at least twice. I have since added a snowmobile to my icefishing arsenal to get across the area lakes easier and faster. They say trout don't live in ugly places and that couldn't be more true. You can find lakes where you won't see another angler all day(on a weekday). I think there are some lakers in the brainerd area and that is as far south as they go. I have only gone to the gunflint for them. There are bays of superior in WI that freeze each winter that are popular too. Read online and in magazines as much as possible to find out how and where to catch them. It is a blast to say the least. My favorite trip of the year hands down. The DNR lake info will help a bunch. There are lakes that hold lakers that won’t get very big. Look for the lakes with high populations of large fish (usually larger lakes) and start there. White tube jigs, spoons, and heavy combos are a must. Tip ups also work well too. Don’t bother going without a vex either. When you are fishing in 100 fow and lakers can be at any depth your success rate is much much lower without one.

[Kyle Sandberg]

Big Trout lake on the Whitefish Chaing of Lakes north of Brainerd holds them. Kinda tuff to get them but a whole lot closer than LOW.

[fishinJohn]

Looks like I might be in for a few long drives. And some research. Hopefully sore arms too.

[Finns]

Might want to check the BWCA-Duluth-Ely-Range forum. Lots of info there on lakers and the annual Burntside Bash!

Finns.

[dirtking]

Keep an eye on the Canada forum as there are pictures posted and good fishing reports from Crow and LOTW.

[Nelson380]

Looking at some of your other posts, it appears you live in the Madison, WI area. If so, Green Lake 60 miles to your NE has lakers. However, the warm winters the last few years has limited ice fishing opportunities.

[thirtysomething]

We go to Gunflint every mid February. Sometimes we get them, sometimes we don't, but everyone is right, they hit and hit hard. It's a blast pulling a fish up from the deep water. Previous posts offer good advise. Electronics make it a lot easier. The bottom lock on a Vex is nice, my main rational behind the Marcum years ago was the movable zoom. It's helped when I go for suspended fish. A few years back we saw one zoom fast on the Vex, it hit my buddy's lure, when he set the hook, it snapped his rod right in half! That's a hit.

We eat some right away, smoke the rest. The smoked ones are AWESOME!!