lake trout fishing

[Jcross]

im new to trolling and some success with spoons on lakers. what lures had you had the best success with?

[KilliansRed]

In my experience ive found that lake trout will hit almost anything. Most guys will use cowbells with a spin n glow to get them. The last few years Ive been jigging for them with spoons and swimbaits which can be very effective.

[fieromx3]

i am interested as well, i am wanting to target lakers for my first time this year!

[Jcross]

Thanks for the info

[Xxx]

I run cow bells with spin& glows behind the cow bells, get ahold of Gambler on this site, he will hook you up with everything you'll need and to know. We troll slow 1.8mph over water seems to be good fish near the bottom even bouncing your rigger ball on the bottom creates a cloud down there and that's what creates bites. I have made my version of a bottom bouncer with 2 rigger weights. I took 2 pancake type weights and drilled and tapped the weight. Then I went to the hardware store and bought a 4ft piece of 3/8 all thread cut it in half and screwed the all thread into the rigger weight and used a jam nut up against the weight now I have approx. 20"'s of rod sticking below the ball so I can scrape bottom and my lures are 20"s above the bottom. I used this method successfully with out Brian's Riggs I can't wait to use this setup as a whole. Hope this gives you an idea of fishing these beasts!! Good luck Pap

[Jcross]

Thanks I'll have to try that!!!

[KilliansRed]

 Definitely talk to gambler, hes like the lake trout god on here, lol. And like pap said i like to hit bottom with my riggers then bring them up 3 or 4 feet, if nothing happens in 5 minutes or so ill drop them to bottom and repeat. 

[Ohreelyfishing]

What's a good depth to look for Lakers and what temp ??

[GAMBLER]

Big lakers are found on the colder side. 40-45 degrees. 100+ is usually the better depths.

Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United

[Ohreelyfishing]

Thanks gambler for the help

[2lbperch]

Get yourself some copper wire and a Great Lakes, Ace, Bladerunner, #4 chrome spoon and get to the fingerlakes. Hand over hand them into the boat. Lots of fun!

[Ohreelyfishing]

Hey gambler I grabbed some of cowbell spin glo sets how far off the ball should I start with ?

[fishmaster13184]

I usually run them 10' or so

[Ohreelyfishing]

Thanks fishmaster

[GAMBLER]

Hey gambler I grabbed some of cowbell spin glo sets how far off the ball should I start with ?

5-25'.  If you go further back (which is not necessary) they will hang bottom easier. 

[craveman85]

I have my best luck on a pink walleye crawler harness... Just works I guess.

[Sea-IV]

Get yourself some copper wire and a Great Lakes, Ace, Bladerunner, #4 chrome spoon and get to the fingerlakes. Hand over hand them into the boat. Lots of fun!

That's how i learned years ago on Seneca. Straight copper and even though they aren't all huge when they hit boy let me tell you let the fight begin. Still love to do it and also drag Monel wire with flashers as well. There is no feeling then hand to hand with those head shakes.

[2lbperch]

It's great fun fighting them by hand. The big ones will take a run and you have to let wire out hand over hand. Solid copper, not braid, haven't lost my index finger yet. You get stoked if any over 10lbs makes it in the boat. So fun, wish I had a victrola box to wind the wire up. Fish on, can't move your feet or you'll have a mess in the wire. Or if the stink flops around on the wire you tried to coil somewhat orderly on the boat floor, big bummer. I've looked at your profile IV. I'm 36, only a few our age I bet ever pull copper for some stress relief.

[mottman32]

I pull copper also. Been doing it on canandaigua lake since I was 8. It is an art form. My son calls it the secret weapon. I am 35 and plan on passing this tradition down. Great Lake 4 is one of my favorite.

[Sea-IV]

Yah I am 42 and grew up around it. Gramps, my dad and uncles still do it every weekend they are at cottage. I made my own spool for reeling in the copper cause I did the floor thing for a while and linked an awful lot of copper. I have found the Victrolas over at Roy's and once in a while Catherine Valley has a few for sale. If not eBay always has a few up there cause most people don't realize what they are for.

[2lbperch]

I will be checking out Roy's. Ebay one's seem like they need repair or not trustworthy. I'll look into C. Valley also. Sometimes I'm solo and hope the boat goes on course. Thanks for the info. Nice boat you grabbed w/ the twin etecs. Someday for me!

[Sk8man]

The original spoons were the Pfleuger Record #4 and 5, then there was a Hong Kong version, and then there was the Ace 4 and 5 "substitutes" made from steel with a poorly done brushed finish but they woirked pretty good, and more recently  the Bladerunner and Great Lakes #4. The Great Lakes #4 is the closest in finish to the original Pfleuger and I think may even be a bit shinier and is the best "replica" of it.. There are also some other good ones such as the Hopkins 388 and the Crippled Alewife spoon among others. Sutton also had most of its spoons in a copper jerking flutter weight spoon usually used on a mono leader and with a sinker.

 

From left to right first pic:

 

original Pfleuger Record #4,

Great Lakes #4,

Ace #4,

original Pfleuger Record #5 (actually larger than the size #4's but the angle of the pic doesn't portray this well)

Hopkins Hammered Brass #338

Crippled Alewife spoon

 

Right compartment in box  - Sutton flutter spoon weight copper jerking spoons

Edited August 5, 2016 by Sk8man

[2lbperch]

Thanks for the info Sk8. Can someone still find the vintage spoons? I almost get sick when I loose one of my gpas vintage ones. Been using great lakes, I only have 2 hammered chrome ones left with no mark I can find. I little longer than a #4, but very thin. Any help from you is never forgotten. Side note sk8, learned today @ a farm thing, Wisconsin makes the dairy farms get soil samples to see nitrogen holding capacity of the fields soil. They need to contact the DNR "DEC in NY lingo" with a prescription for a field, & post public notice 21 days before they spread it. The public can inquire about the effects of the spread and get involvement from the state. The Dairy has twice as many cows than people in the county. The most cows per square mile in the country.

[Sk8man]

I imagine that if searched high and low you might be able to come up with some of the old spoons but they are getting VERY hard to find in good condition especially. My suggestion would be to get a bunch of the Great lakes #4's from Jason (Great lakes Lure Maker on here) they are excellent quality fairly priced and durable. My hunch is that they will become the new "classic" spoon when the old stuff becomes totally unavailable. I don't know which Great Lakes spoons you refer to as "thin" as the great lakes #4's I have I have are nearly double the wall thickness as the original Pfleugers(and they work just as well) or did you mean Suttons? The flutter weight spoons are very thin on purpose to give the fluttering action. One of the draw backs to them is that the actual silver finish tarnishes readily even while sitting in storage if not kept in their original tissue packaging and they are not nearly as durable as the Great lakes #4 type spoon as originally used they weren't specifically designed to bump bottom but were run on a leader above and behind a sinker that was the thing that was bounced on bottom stirring things up as contrasted with the #4 and 5 spoons that were heavier, thicker and designed to make direct contact with the bottom by themselves and stir things up by bouncing around down there and attracting the lakers feeding near or on bottom. The flutter weight spoons could be used on the copper by themselves but they are difficult to"feel" on bottom by themselves especially when the bottom is soft. Both types do however have the inverted heavy duty hook on them so that it helps prevent snagging up on bottom. Many of the old timers substituted a the larger  hook size from the #5 and put them on the #4's  for better hookups. By the way you can feel bottom better with them (critical to success) if you tie the copper wire directly to the spoon without a swivel snap using the haywire twist type connection and one of the most important things is boat speed (fairly slow) while letting out copper  and maintaining that intermittent contact with the bottom structure (hard cobble, gravel,and rock the easiest to feel while sand or muck the most difficult)., It truly is an art form when done right and it requires a lot of patience, focused attention to detail,  and the correct jerking technique to do it successfully but there is no sensation like hooking into a big one on bottom and feeling that telltale head shake and feeling that wire go tight in your hands.

Edited August 5, 2016 by Sk8man

[2lbperch]

Thanks, I'll get some more great lake # 4's from elmira. They catch fish. I do a haywire directly to the spoon and skip off the bottom. I usually thrust almost straight up with my stern finger from my belt to my collar and let it fall back to bottom. The thin hammered are as you described, longer than a pfluger, wider, inverted big hook. I looked, no maker, it's OK. Don't dig out all your gear. I'll wait till you announce your garage sale! I go painfully slow, that ='s hits. Just so relaxing and satisfying to fish that way now and then. Thank you for all your knowledge that you freely share to guys like me that have 1/10th of a clue on how fish without a hawk or dipsy.