Jigging for the big Lakers

[fishinnut]

Try a white Bomber Slab spoon.

[Jbarker]

I like using the hammered cleos. biggest ones you can find in silver/green. Start at the bottom jig 5 or 6 times reel in 5 feet and continue. I can't count how many times I have caught lakers 15 feet below the ice. half of our set lines are only down 15 feet. the others have 3 hooks 1 4 feet off bottom 1 15 feet off bottom and 1 20 feet below ice. Hope some of this helps.

[xulgiy]

I agree....After getting a flasher, I've seen more fish mid column or higher than I had ever expected.

[TroutFishingBear]

That still is a mistery to me; a suspending laker. Never seen it here in colorado on my vexilar, and "the green mark coming up to crush it" is a laker watching before deciding to suck it in.

Anyways, I bought some bucktails at sportsmans, and I am definitely eager to try them.  I will tell you how those light hitters like em!

[Poorboy]

My biggest Laker to date (only 4 lbs) was caught on a trap I set up for salmon 3 feet under the ice in 30 ft of water.

[bigredonice]

I dont even fish tip ups for lakers, we use big flutter spoons out here in upstate ny, making sure they glow...we tip the spoons with little minnows, scent, or whatever the lakers spit up.  We caught a ton of lakers last year around here, and all of them were jigging - we never botherd setting out tip ups. we fished anywhere from 70' - 160' - alot of times we could tease the aggressive ones up to just under the ice from over 100' of water...we use heavy line, i use 15lb big game, or 15lb braid - all the time using a 4' flourocarbon leader.  Even with that rig, i hooked a laker last year that i could only move about 5' off of the bottom, and then he went back down, and started head shaking, and my spoon came off.
Our fish averaged around 26" - 6lbs, with quite a few over 10lbs - our biggest was 15lbs - 36"

here's an average fish from last season

[TroutFishingBear]

great laker bigred

This weekend, doing this really worked well.
Drop a 2.5" chartreuse tube jig to the bottom in about 40-50 ft of water with some structure. Make sure the line is tight. Drill a hole about 4-8 ft away from that one and drop down a castmaster. Jig the castmaster very aggressively near the bottom to draw the lakers in, since they don't like something jigging very much, the movement scares them. They run away, and sometimes they see the tube. All the while watch your rod. You will see a slight nudge sometimes, and that is the laker! Go get him! If you don't see a nudge within a couple of minutes of a laker looking at your castmaster, go check the bait. Chances are the laker sucked it off without moving the rod. This helped me get some lakers in midday when they are very nonaggressive.

Hope this helps!

[jigginWiggin]

when I jig for lakers in NH I use a 6 foot ultra light rod wity 6 pound test in Newfound lake it is a killer and at winnepausakee I use a 2 inch silver swedish pimple with the treble and no bait call me crazy but it does work it takes me a while to land a fish but it works extremly well I think between the rod and line it helps to pick up those fussy fish