Lake Trout?

[Xxx]

What is your go to Lake Trout set up, spoons, cowbells ect. My uncle wants to catch a wall hanger to go with his 13.75# walleye and his 50 inch pike and now he wants a big laker to go with his collection, any input would be nice, PAP.

[Gill-T]

Niagara County in April.  Fish 50-100' FOW.  Brainless stupid easy fishing.  Spoons, dodgers/flies, flasher/flies, cowbells, jig and minnow etc.....it doesn't matter just go slow.

Edited February 20, 2013 by Gill-T

[Don Supon]

Accurate answer.I've been trying for the same for 2 years. LT numbers are usually easy, trophys are rare. 20 lb + fish don't come often, look at LOC results for consistent results. Mid to high teens are fairly consistent on the Western end of Lake O, mid 20's or more happen much less.

[sszoldra]

Troll slow,on the bottom, and anything white.  I use Michigan Stinger Glow Ghost's.

[Xxx]

Thanks guys, stupid&slow that sounds like my kind of fishing,I also heard of bumping the bottom triggers strikes for lakers, So glow white and on the bottom Gottcha. PAP

[GAMBLER]

Cowbells and spin n glows or peanuts trolled from .7 - 1.7 mph on the bottom.  If you are catching small ones, you are fishing too shallow. 

[bandrus1]

I have always had luck with cowbells and peanuts

 

most posts I have read in the past on here people kill them on green and white Spin DRS

[Xxx]

Thanks again guys, going to give it a go PAP

[DJ 17]

I have had very good luck with the Dirty White Boy.  They don't glow, but if you need to catch a laker, its hard to beat behind in line flashers.

[Outcast189]

hammerhead silver/blue 5/0 bells, with husky jerk blue glass minnow or clown, best combination i have ever used.

[Turfwrench]

You may also want to try the good old Magnum Northport nailers, the 5.25" ones, trolled just up off the bottom.  Some days they like them just a bit faster and we know they are gluttons for a big easy meal.

[bluewater]

I play around with Lake trout a lot when the early trout die down and the kings are not hitting good yet and I mostly just use my salmon gear.  NBK spoons, white flasher and flies,  and I do well with gold colors on them as well.  Last year I had 8 on in one day on a greasy chicken spinny with goby live fly.  Slow is the key,  green and silver spoons work well also.  I usually fish them when the water starts to warm up and they are on the bottom between 80 and 100 fow.  There are times when you can find them all over the water colum early season.

[Sk8man]

Its pretty much all been covered here (in terms of spoons, techniques etc.) but I figured I'd add my two cents as well. Lake trout are "opportunists" as are most of the trout family. They will basically feed on anything and everything and in the Spring the big ones even compete with large Northern Pike in the shallows without fear of predation. I have even found small perch and sunfish in their stomachs as well as a juvenile lake trout over the years. The key to fishing them is to create something resembling a weak, damaged, or otherwise "vulnerable" target. This can be done in all of the ways previously mentioned. Although colors size, shape etc. MAY be important the main thing is that the presentation takes advantage of ACTION related factors. They are for much of the year "bottom huggers" and aside from the early Spring and Late Fall are usually found near there. The use of cowbell flashers, dragging copper along the bottom. and running "secret weapon" rigs (section of lead core attached to downtrigger line to slope toward bottom) take advantage of this by stirring up things on bottom, creating a commotion to pique their curiosity, and presenting the appearance of a "wounded" prey. Slow trolling assists Lakers in making a decison to strrike the weak target or not as they try to conserve energy in the cold water most of the year and in large part prefer cooler temps (48-50 degrees) than the rest of the "tribe". Once you understand these things and transfer what the other folks have mentioned you will be successful in catching them.