lake trout

[bigbrown46]

was just wondering other peoples tips on laker's for me it is 2 in tube jigs greens ,whites browns etc. either sitting on the bottum or getting jiggy with it.

[iceintheveins]

Well since I live in Colorado like you, lake trout are almost glued to the bottom. I find that smaller tubes tipped with sucker or anchovy, about a 2.5" tube in white or chartreuse, outproduces about anything. I usually jig very subtly as lakers need to be finessed. I will do a slow lift/fall once every 45 seconds. Mostly I let the jig sit still and just wave the tentacles. Sometimes when a laker appears on screen, and comes up to it but won't hit, playing keep away with the fish will cause a hit. Pulling the jig up away, and if the laker follows one or more times, he will probably suck the jig in.
Aggressive jigging in Colorado has for me always sent the lakers running. We don't have any suspending baitfish in Colorado, so lake trout will almost always be near the bottom or right on it and will hit extremely light. Oftentimes if a laker appears on sonar but doesn't hit, let your tube fall back to the bottom and let it sit directly on the bottom. Then slowly lift the lure up and feel for added weight. Any added weight, line going slack, or if you don't feel the weight of your jig, set the hook hard.

Tyler

[Pasquatch]

I use a large Swedish Pimple with cut bait jigged 6" off the bottom. It works phenomenally

[iceintheveins]

Yeah Pasquatch has a point, spoons can be really good too. My brother caught the heck out of them last trip on a buckshot rattle spoon tipped with anchovy. No big ones though but he hooked a couple.

Tyler

[coboy]

Any suggestions if you can't get any sucker or anchovies?Will nightcrawler or a few
waxworms work at all?

[Pasquatch]

Any suggestions if you can't get any sucker or anchovies?Will nightcrawler or a few
waxworms work at all?

Crawler maybe, not the waxworms. Lakers eat fish mainly, you should try to get them...

[Pasquatch]

Any suggestions if you can't get any sucker or anchovies?Will nightcrawler or a few
waxworms work at all?

Crawler maybe, not the waxworms.

Definitely try waxworms.   I have caught plenty of lakers tipping jigs with waxworms, mousies, and spikes. 

Now that surprises me, but hey, I guess it works... Slipbob, is this an acciedntal perch thing, or do you target lakers with spikes?

[bigredonice]

well my tip will catch you at least 50% more fish - get a flasher!

[Pasquatch]

well my tip will catch you at least 50% more fish - get a flasher!

[TroutFishingBear]

I don't see a flasher catching you 50% more, but it does help you know if one of those finicky lakers is looking at your jig. Then you know not to jig it and just twitch it a bit. Jigging sends lakers running.

And as for the waxworm thing, yeah it works. Lakers eat primarily mysis shrimp in my lakes, and in all lakes in my area. Waxworms work well to tip, but not quite as well as sucker, anchovie, or smelt.

[coboy]

Thanks for the feedback guys.I was able to locate some suckers so I'll try them
Sunday.I''ll be getting frozen which I obviously have to thaw.One of the reasons
I gave up on pike was the sucker would sort of dissolve in the water.Have you had this problem or are you able to get fresh?

[bigredonice]

I don't see a flasher catching you 50% more,

actually on lake george, you will literally catch 10x as many or more lake trout if you have the aid of a flasher

[UPSTATE ICEMASTER]

I don't see a flasher catching you 50% more,

actually on lake george, you will literally catch 10x as many or more lake trout if you have the aid of a flasher

  THATS THE TRUTH 100% I FISHED MY A** OFF WITHOUT A FALSHER THEN BIGRED LET ME US HIS AND BAM I WAS GETTING INTO THEM HEAVILY... FALSHERS ARE THE WAY TO GO

[coboy]

This may seem like a lame question,but how big a piece of sucker to tip a jig?
I know what size cutbait for cats but not sure with lakers.Thin strips,square
chunks? Does it matter much if you leave some of the fins on or tail? Set the hook
somewhere behind the spine or a little more loose for a better hookset?
                                                                               

[Pasquatch]

This may seem like a lame question,but how big a piece of sucker to tip a jig?
I know what size cutbait for cats but not sure with lakers.Thin strips,square
chunks? Does it matter much if you leave some of the fins on or tail? Set the hook
somewhere behind the spine or a little more loose for a better hookset?
                                                                               

Not a bad question at all..
If you are tipping a jig, I use usually half of a 4-5" minnow. Just take them and you can split them in half with your fingers, and I always keep the fins on. Just hook it so it hangs vertically off the jig, lakers aren't that picky...usually

[coboy]

Thanks Pasquatch,coboy.

[Pasquatch]

Thanks Pasquatch,coboy.

No problem, got a question, just ask, one of us will have the answer...

[camo_fish]

This may seem like a lame question,but how big a piece of sucker to tip a jig?
I know what size cutbait for cats but not sure with lakers.Thin strips,square
chunks? Does it matter much if you leave some of the fins on or tail? Set the hook
somewhere behind the spine or a little more loose for a better hookset?
                                                                               

Not a bad question at all..
If you are tipping a jig, I use usually half of a 4-5" minnow. Just take them and you can split them in half with your fingers, and I always keep the fins on. Just hook it so it hangs vertically off the jig, lakers aren't that picky...usually

all my lakers are caught on a 1/2 icicle hooked on the bottom hook of the spoon right thru where I break them in half. and these fish just go crazy over it. 

[TroutFishingBear]

coboy, I have many other tips for you. DON'T WATCH THE INFISHERMAN LAKE TROUT VIDEO!!! ITS THE WORST THING YOU CAN DO FOR LAKE TROUT SUCCESS!!! They talk about all this balogna about suspending lakers, lakers hitting hard, and lakers being in very shallow water. (if any of you northeasterners have lakers that act like this, the power to you, go catch em!) Since you are from colorado like me, you find 99% of lakers within a few feet of bottom, and the bigger the laker, the lighter it hits. The bigger ones are just like added weight, no hit whatsoever with them. Jig very slowly, use a smaller tube, and let the tube just sit and jiggle a bit quite a lot. Lakers hate aggressive jigging, and they are very finicky and picky, often looking at your bait several minutes before deciding to take it. (of course, that is variable based on the day, sometimes they only look at it for a bit before taking). Don't tip with a huge chunk, anything sizeable and the lakers won't take it in as far, just kind of nudge it. (called shortstriking, which plagued me yesterday because I was using too big of a tube, 3.5". I would hook them and lost 14 of them right below the ice. Should've been using the 2.5", with which I have had the most success. Hope this helps you land some lakers, I know you are gone to turquoise today, hope you don't use the infisherman tactics. Good luck coboy, and let me know how you did.

[camo_fish]

coboy, I have many other tips for you. DON'T WATCH THE INFISHERMAN LAKE TROUT VIDEO!!! ITS THE WORST THING YOU CAN DO FOR LAKE TROUT SUCCESS!!! They talk about all this balogna about suspending lakers, lakers hitting hard, and lakers being in very shallow water. (if any of you northeasterners have lakers that act like this, the power to you, go catch em!) Since you are from colorado like me, you find 99% of lakers within a few feet of bottom, and the bigger the laker, the lighter it hits. The bigger ones are just like added weight, no hit whatsoever with them. Jig very slowly, use a smaller tube, and let the tube just sit and jiggle a bit quite a lot. Lakers hate aggressive jigging, and they are very finicky and picky, often looking at your bait several minutes before deciding to take it. (of course, that is variable based on the day, sometimes they only look at it for a bit before taking). Don't tip with a huge chunk, anything sizeable and the lakers won't take it in as far, just kind of nudge it. (called shortstriking, which plagued me yesterday because I was using too big of a tube, 3.5". I would hook them and lost 14 of them right below the ice. Should've been using the 2.5", with which I have had the most success. Hope this helps you land some lakers, I know you are gone to turquoise today, hope you don't use the infisherman tactics. Good luck coboy, and let me know how you did.

yes in the northeast, I get some lakers off bottom, and some suspended and all of my hits are hard hitting.  8) I've had lakers come off the bottom over 70+ FOW and hit the lure 10'-15' under the ice. It is out-of-this-world, and can only be done with a sonar, too. they are amazing, and a must if your after lakers and want a bunch of hook-ups.
coboy, TFBear would know more about your location, if you come to NY or Canada, you'll really know and see what its all about. But, for now, it sounds like you need to finesse your lakers on the bottom bite, my friend.
Good luck. 

[Pasquatch]

 It is out-of-this-world, and can only be done with a sonar, too. 
coboy, Good luck. 

That's why we're getting a Vex this week!

[coboy]

Thanks for all the input guys! I did try lakers for the first time and had some success.Even though I didn't catch anything over 16",wow what an experience!
I know everyone has their preference for gear and I been catching a lot of fat rainbows on Thorne Bros.Sweetheart + perch rods.So I got a medium wt.walleye
rod and heck if I could set the hook on a third of the fish Sunday! 37' to 57' is where I saw fish and with a vex they are 99% right on the bottom.We're talkin'
the first foot.I read that TFB was missing them with 2-1/2" tubes.Same size I was
getting all the hits from.Tried a smaller marabou,smaller tubes:just looks. I'm using
6# P-line floroclear.Sharp hooks-2/0?,not sure.If I were to gauge the size to what
I've been catching the bows on I would say they are way too big.We're not talkin'
big fish here especially by laker standards.Do lakers have that tough of a mouth
compared to a rainbow? I'm not targeting small lakers by any means I just mention
this because comparatively speaking if I have a bow' hooked as long as I did these
small lakers at least 90% would be iced.But if I let up on the tension just a little
so I can reach down and get my tranducer out,the fish would be gone.I would even yank sharply on the rod two or three times like I would a cat to set the hook as I was playing it and still lose it.I don't really know if this line stretches too much? Maybe this is just a taste of what laker fishing is.If that is the case,I can't
wait to do it again.

[iceintheveins]

Yeah the vexilars are awesome, I would say that they probably increase your laker catch by about 50% most days.
I notice the same thing too coboy. The lakers seem to get off a lot. They do have tough mouths, and often they spit. I have probably about 1/3 of mine spit the hook. I have reached into the water to get my ducer out and they get off. Putting too much pressure on them will cause them to spit too. Just make sure to keep the rodtip bent at all times and the slack out of the line. Lakers have a very tough mouth and you need to set pretty fast and hard. Even then, I land probably 85 - 90% of the rainbows I hook through the ice. With lakers about 65%. Maybe a more flexible rod would keep them hooked better, but without a stiff rod you can't feel the almost imperceptable tap of a laker and have the backbone to hammer the hook home. Not like I'm using a poolcue either, I'm using a medium heavy, 34" frabill ultra ice rod. Very sensitive and strong rod and it does have good measured give, it just takes some force to straigten it out.
Maybe would switching to a longer rod help keep them hooked better, say a 44" or so? Who knows.
Colorado has a lot of big macks, but not as many as before thanks to the drought and the antics of the CDOW. Blue Mesa has more 10 pound plus fish than anywhere else, but I hear even there you need about 50 hours of fishing time to hook a 10 plus pounder. At other lakes it's far longer.

Tyler

[TroutFishingBear]

coboy, think elevenmile tactics jigging wise for lakers. They hate aggressive jigging! 16" and below... those ones probably weren't added weight, probably a slight tap, or a series of tiny taps, as is common with a dink mack. Lets see, yesterday I hooked appx. 30 lakers and iced only 6... not a good percent to say the least. But I was using too large of a tube, 3.5", and they were short-striking it. Coboy, try putting a stinger hook on the tube... that should help some. The lakers get away when they start spinning and twirling like a brown. That pfloroclear is good stuff, I use the 8 lb. variety myself and actually I land I higher percentage of my fish with that than with mono. Be prepared for the long, tedious journey of getting a 20 lb. laker. It used to happen all the time in this state, but with the drought and DOW encouraging people to keep large lakers... needless to say the population of large ones has suffered greatly. 2 is the limit at turquoise if I'm not mistaken... should be 10 for a few years, with only one larger than 20" allowed. Turquoise is the worst in overpopulation...ruedi probably second. But ruedi has a lot of bigger fish than turquoise (actually, ruedi has the second-most large lakers in the state), probably because of a higher mysis shrimp content and more wild rainbow and cutthroat reproduction for laker food.

Coboy, another good tip. Use two rods, each about 5-10 ft. apart. Jig one a foot or so, set it down, and go jig the other one a foot or so. Repeat process. This sometimes helps. Also, let the tube sit on the bottom for a bit, like 30 seconds to a minute before doing anything. Last year, some guy at taylor let me see through his aquaview, and the lakers would just slowly swim over to investigate what was there. They would look at it for a few minutes usually before taking. Sometimes, after you are bringing it up off of the bottom, be prepared for the added weight of a nice laker hit! At turqouise, I would suggest buying a topo map and fishing other areas other people don't fish as much. Look for stream channels, underwater humps, or dropoffs. Look for water anywhere from 30-80 feet will commonly hold macks with 40-50 premium. I don't have the luctury of a topo map ever being made at ruedi, so I am out of luck.

Good luck in your search of lakers coboy!

[AirManCam]

Hey bigredonice I too fish lake george a couple times a week, and I love to jig lakers. I  caught my biggest one so far this year (5-6lbs). Could you take a picture of the setup your using? Are you using a swedishpimple, or a tubejig? Thanks.

[Pasquatch]

Most of us use Swedish Pimples and Krocodiles, and tubes sometimes...

[TroutFishingBear]

pasquatch, doesn't slipbob get them on bucktails? He was saying something about that during the summer, and I tried bucktails this winter. Glad I did! they work well!

[Pasquatch]

Oh, maybe, I just noticed that alot of the ones guys get on here get them on Pimples, Krocs and tubes...

[TroutFishingBear]

Oh, maybe, I just noticed that alot of the ones guys get on here get them on Pimples, Krocs and tubes...

Pretty standard is a 2.5" white or chartreuse tube jig. 3.5" was too big last weekend, the lakers would shortstrike it and I lost many, many below the ice because they weren't hooked well. White works everywhere better than chartreuse except one lake, taylor reservoir, where white barely works at all and chartreuse tubes get you all sorts of action. 1/8 and 1/4 spoons are farely standard laker fare as well, I really like the buckshot rattlespoons.

[bigredonice]

to be honest with you, this year, i have caught lakers on everything that i have tried...its just a matter of catching their eye, and shaking it just right to get them to slam it   i have found various jigging spoons and tubes are pretty reliable