Getting Laker Lookers to Become Takers?

[Chucker]

Alaskan Dreams and I fished Lake George yesterday, and the lakers drove us batty.  The Vex was invaluable to tell us what was going on, but we were missing the last little trick to get them to bite.  We had tons of fish come up from bottom to check things out on the drop, a bunch more follow it up when we were switching baits, but only one hit all day on the rods.  We tried pimples, tubes, airplanes, fireballs, whistlers, bladebaits, bucktails....  all tipped with emerald shiners or medium shiners.

Can anyone help us with the last little trick?

[Pasquatch]

Lake George, lakers, biting, now? Good Luck with that, lol. The lakers are about the hardest fish to catch this time of year...its not easy.

[sunup]

Had the same problem on Lake Superior yesterday.  Worked through all the good laker lures before I put on a white Do-Jigger with a glow lightning bolt with a small cut bait.  Got 3 in a row in 10 minutes.  Don't know if it was the spoon or did the fish just get active then, but I left happy. 

[TroutFishingBear]

Well, lakers are about the most finicky fish to catch that there is. Since you were fishing lake george, I am assuming you are used to this wierd type of aggressive laker, but you aren't used to them being finicky like they are 100% of the time around here. You were probably doing the following wrong:
1) using too big of a tube or spoon. 1/8 oz to 1/4 oz spoons are big enough, and 2.5" tube is premium
2) not tipping lures. Lakers, especially finicky ones, will NOT take untipped lures
3) the big one. Jigging TOO AGGRESSIVELY! You want to give the jig tiny little hops and jiggles, with many long pauses. A laker bite is VERY light, you just may not have noticed it. If the jig felt wierd or just a teeny bit heavier than usual, that was a laker bite. Oftentimes a finicky laker will look at it for anywhere from 5-10 minutes before taking. Every now and then a 2 ft. lift fall may make the laker believe the bait is leaving and take it, but don't do this until it is a last resort.
Now you people fishing lake george are having some problems I see. Here we can catch our finicky lakers all year. Ya just have to adjust, your lakers are very crazy, but I'm sure this will help out.

[iceintheveins]

Sometimes reeling the bait above the fish and playing "keep away" with them triggers a bite. If they keep following it up, they often will strike. I have had them follow it up a long way and not strike though.
I would try mostly unaggressive jigging moves. They seem to just be shutting down this time of year. Is the bite here at first ice far better than now? It seems you guys were catching lots earlier there this year.

Tyler

[Pasquatch]

There's no comparison between first ice and now...

[coboy]

Yesterday I started out with 3.5" tubes and worked down to 1" tubes with a strip
of sucker about the size of a mealworm.Used the scissors on my Swiss Army knife
to cut them as my knife didn't do it nearly as well.Took me half the day to try it
but wished I would have done it sooner.Used a 1/16 oz.jighead.Caught a lot more
fish.I actually jigged more aggressively than usual.I know this is the time of year
when things may slow down.Also I'm in Colorado as compared to Lake George.It
seemed that if I played "keep away" and messed with them a little bit more I would get more hits.Having a flasher is a definite plus though.Earlier in the day I was using too big a tube and too big a piece of sucker.What worked two just two weeks ago didn't work yesterday.Also two weeks ago I could get 6 or more hits
at one hole.Yesterday it was about two.But all I had to do was move another
10'-15' and I would get the same action as the previous hole,two hits,maybe
two fish and it would die.You could still see the fish but nothing would trigger a
response.

[iceintheveins]

I notice the same thing a lot with lakers. Though TFB will disagree with me, often it seems there is a definate "hot hole". The action will die in the hole, and you will go looking in other holes nearby and get a couple bites or a mack or two, then it slows down again. After a bit, if you return to the original hot hole, the action will be good there again.
Generally snowy weather is best fishing, though our fishing at Blue Mesa was terrible and it was snowing all day. So I guess it just depends.

Tyler

[bigredonice]

i never beleived in the hot hole thing with lakers till saturday.  A friend of mine caught like 18 fish, while the rest of us struggled to get a few.  I spent a few minutes watching his vex in his shanty, and the thing was he just had fish under him - alot more than the rest of us.

[AD]

I would have sworn we tried just about everything, from lure size and selection, to jigging motion and speed, even put down the smallest pimple that is made, after watching it fall to the bottom over a period of several minutes sure enough I got a rise out of one (the same as most of the other lures) the fish just stared at it.     The one that I lost jigging, I was jigging rapidly with a large Swedish pimple and the laker grabbed it on its way back down, had it on for a few seconds but lost it, heh to top it off that pole ended up busting (the tip fell off).    We tried jigging fast, slow, deadsticking the lure, from large jigging motions to small short ones.     We must have been missing something, (or just weren't having good luck).   Oh well we did Ice one short, rather fat one, one off of a tip-up and had a great time overall.   Not catching a lot of fish just makes me want to head back up there again and try again.         Maybe next year.

[icefizzlemachizzle]

Not to start a problem, but why bother posting to someone's question if you are going to taunt them with the fact that you are catching fish and they are not, instead of offering assistance?  Iceshanty should be a community where people help each other out and share through experience, not a place to flaunt egos and harbor superiority complexes. JMO

[Chucker]

Not to worry.  If I feel personally insulted by slipbob, I shall slap a LoJack on the Walleye Wagon.

[bigredonice]

, not a place to flaunt egos and harbor superiority complexes. JMO

as soon as he put up this post, i shot chucker a pm and let him in on some little tricks that slip and i (EDIT** add camo_fish) have been working on that will definetly help him on his next trip up to the king   The only egos here are the ones that the damn lakers have that dont want to bite!!

**hey camo, you were the one on THE day, and kicked the brains outta them lakers!

[camo_fish]

, not a place to flaunt egos and harbor superiority complexes. JMO

as soon as he put up this post, i shot chucker a pm and let him in on some little tricks that slip and i have been working on that will definetly help him on his next trip up to the king   The only egos here are the ones that the d**n lakers have that dont want to bite!!

   

[Pasquatch]

Not to start a problem, but why bother posting to someone's question if you are going to taunt them with the fact that you are catching fish and they are not, instead of offering assistance?  Iceshanty should be a community where people help each other out and share through experience, not a place to flaunt egos and harbor superiority complexes. JMO

Slipbob is just trying to add a little humor to a tough situation, and they were happy to shoot a PM to tell Chucker, not the world, what they do to catch lakers.

Hey, who else thinks that the reason that the lakers are being tough now is that they are moving into shallower waters and staging for the runs on the smelt in the next month or so. I'm guessing that the smelt stage on the same flats near the feeder creeks, and start minor runs into those streams earlier than most people think. My guess is that the lakers are starting to move towards those streams slowly now, they aren't really in a feeding move, more of a moving mode.
Who else thinks that the hot first ice is because that the lakers are just moving back to their feeding grounds and gorging after they spawned in Oct-Nov, where they weren't eating forever really.

<*(((((}-<   JMHO  <*(((((}-<

[/shadow]Wes

[TroutFishingBear]

The hot hole thing only ever has proven true once for me. I got a bunch of lakers out of one hole once, and nobody else on the whole lake was getting a darn thing! I would drop down to the bottom, and another laker would be sitting on it. Usually though, I prefer to catch fish out of a hole until it slows down, and then just drill a new hole along the same structure and catch a few more in a hole.

Now, as for you lake george fisherman that have your fishing slow down, it is that way in some lakes and isn't in others. Our laker fishing, at ruedi anyway, just gradually speeds up after first ice forms. Taylor reservoir though, you can catch a bunch at early ice and then never again until right before ice off. Taylor reservoir, you usually have 1 or 2 lakers looking at a jig at any one time, but taylor reservoir lakers are the king of light hitters and finickyness. just find a new lake if they won't hit or STOP JIGGING SO AGGRESSIVELY WITH SUCH MONSTROUS LURES! lol I'm just kidding there

Slipbob and I had some problems early on at mff last year, but generally I found out he just jokes a lot and it is sometimes hard to notice on the internet. Generally, except for his secret walleye lure/bait >:(TELLME!!! he'll help you out a good deal. By accident he helped me improve my walleye catch many fold by telling me to snap jig spoons.

[Chucker]

Hey, who else thinks that the reason that the lakers are being tough now is that they are moving into shallower waters and staging for the runs on the smelt in the next month or so. I'm guessing that the smelt stage on the same flats near the feeder creeks, and start minor runs into those streams earlier than most people think. My guess is that the lakers are starting to move towards those streams slowly now, they aren't really in a feeding move, more of a moving mode.
Who else thinks that the hot first ice is because that the lakers are just moving back to their feeding grounds and gorging after they spawned in Oct-Nov, where they weren't eating forever really.

<*(((((}-<   JMHO  <*(((((}-<

[/shadow]Wes

For those familiar with Rogers Rock, we were about 150 yards south of Juniper Rock.  We had tipups from 42' to 92'.  The only flags came on those around 44-48'.  We marked fish in jigging holes from 44-72'. 

[camo_fish]

Not to worry.  If I feel personally insulted by slipbob, I shall slap a LoJack on the Walleye Wagon.

LOL! 

Well I'm glad you realize I'm not trying to insult you or anybody but people have to realize this isn't the place to publicly post a lure, technique or fishing spot that you worked very hard for years to uncover or someone has showed you and has brought you great success.  PM's are there for a reason if you feel you want to share something with another member privately that may help them catch more fish and I think Chucker will now have a much better chance at bagging lots of lakers the next time he goes thanks to bigred's PM.  I seem to learn something new about catching lake trout everytime I go.

Totally, totally agree. To say we're getting them on pink tubejigs in 80 FOW out in front of turtle island wouldn't be nice and fair to all the hard work that we all have put into finding Mr. Laker. 
Good luck and hope you find them, can't wait to hook up with the BigRed fishing machine. 

[toguebuster]

here in maine i have used, airplanes ,stingers,from northland ,swedish pimples other ,lures like deadly dicks ,spro,yozuri hydrometal. lakers have shut me down this year! our best lake here is declining in numbers ,and the fish are getting hard to find in normal places like humps and shoals ,this lake has some 300ft water and is 25,000 acres ,we thought maybe they were staging for smelt in shallower water,near inlets .but still no luck!we hada tounament this weekend on the lake ,25,000 lines a day and i think only 400 fish caught per day ,three hogs on 22lb,0ne 21,lb,16lb the biggest being 31years old. the lake had some spots where guys caught over ten a day ,but that was isolated. so i look to my laker friends in the west for some tips and lures i may use to increase my odds ,i have been jigging and fishing lakers for 15 yrs so not new to this. looking for an edge that i may not havefound!any help would be appreciated ,BIGRED,bigredonice, anybody pm me !

[TroutFishingBear]

Toguebuster, what I have posted in previous threads will help you catch any laker you can see on the sonar, or at least to get most of them to hit. The most aggressive my lakers get is still much less aggressive than the least aggressive lake george lakers get. Use small tubes, 2.5" is premium. Best colors are white or chartreuse. Taylor reservoir lakers rarely bite on white tubes, but love chartreuse. Most lakers prefer white though. coboy has been ripping some lip at turquoise using 1-1.5" crappie tube jigs as well, and he also hooked them much better. My dad did the same thing at ruedi last time which helped a lot. For other lures, white bucktails in 1/8 oz to 1/6 oz work well. Also, buckshot rattlespoons in 1/8 oz is the best. Tip ALL lures with sucker/smelt/anchovie. THIS IS A MUST!!!

Fish very nonaggressively. Long pauses, short lift falls, small jiggles, long pauses. Be careful, lakers hit EXTREMELY LIGHT!!!! Oftentimes, especially on better size fish, you won't feel anything until you start lifting up, when your jig will just feel heavier.

[iceintheveins]

TFB,


Lakers here are totally different from lakers elsewhere. These lakes have baitfish and the patterns are totally different. So I believe people when they say that lakers elsewhere will suspend and hit hard. I think it's a mistake to assume that lakers act the same way all over, because ours are totally different from ones in Lake George.
That being said, TFB does make a great point. Whenever the fish are this finicky, downsizing is a must usually. Fish them non aggressively with a piece of fresh or frozen baitfish. The fresher and oilier, the better though.

Tyler

[toguebuster]

thanks ,but i have to saywe have agreesive lakers the hit with a vengence most of the time,the slow technique is something i have always used on lakers especially , stinger bucktails,small 1-3 lifts,bottom bouncing,small little circle swims. and a big lift of 4-5 fett every so often with a paus and drop action on the way back down.i do agree that the can hit light for i have felt them just breathe on it and the jig get heavy,and wack them ! but most hit hard on the drop or lift, the only thing i jig faster is swedish pimp,some guys use a 11n with a 8 in filet and bang even liitle fish.i lift fast about one fott let fall pause ,shimmer lift ,jerk right or left fall pause.............. have you guys used glo pimps or stingers[bionic bucktails]. glo is a great color . tubes i have never tried but will give them a try,and particular brand or tail type? thanks shawn

[TroutFishingBear]

Brand doesn't really matter. Gitzet works fine I guess.

[BillB]

Do you upgrade the tube jigs to a type that uses premium hooks?

[bigredonice]

i like these for lakershttp://www.hookerztackle.com/pgtubejigprices.html

bass pro has some good ones too
http://www.basspro.com/servlet/catalog.TextId?hvarTextId=51874&hvarDept=100&hvarEvent=&hvarClassCode=10&hvarSubCode=6&hvarTarget=browse

[BillB]

BigRed: Reason I asked was that I use tube jig (minus the tube....I fish 6" Slug-go's on them) when fishing for stripers. I've tried quite a few brands. Few can stand up to the abuse that a big fish will dish out. I've tried the Bass Pro type that you mentioned. I've found them to be of decent quality. I bet you've noticed that the large gap hook has increased your hook up rates, yes?

[bigredonice]

the widegap is the way to go!

[TroutFishingBear]

the widegap is the way to go!

I also put a stinger hook below the main hook. I use a #8 gamakatsu treble and I put on one o-ring, then the hook, then another o-ring. It definitely has increased my hookup and catching of lakers. Kind of an unrelated tip but I hope it helps!

[bigredonice]

gotta have the stinger hook on the tube...i attach mine to the bend of the hook (of the jighead) using 15lb superbraid, and i usually crimp the barbs down on the stinger to reduce injury to the fish.

[TroutFishingBear]

gotta have the stinger hook on the tube...

agreed. It definitely helps tremendously. I don't like to put a stinger on a bucktail though, when I did it on my bucktail the fish wouldn't ever hit the bucktail, then I would take the stinger off and get the same fish on my sonar to hit. Don't use a stinger with a bucktail, I have experience that it turns off fish!