Large and Small Lakers

[captstevepc]

Was hoping for some advice. I have not been laker fishing much but would like to do more next year but i really want to try and target bigger fish.  The couple times i have done it we caught a lot of fish in the 16-20 inch range… MY question is do bigger lake trout often mix in with the smaller ones or to catch a bigger fish is it better to try different spots when you run into a lot of fish in the same size class? Most recently was fishing in a big cove on Moosehead lake in Maine  where most of the surrounding water was in the 35-42 foot range.  I had a similar experience a few years ago fishing on Lake Winnepasaukee in NH.   fishing in a simiar spot. Any advice from laker guys would be appreciated. I also know that using large baits could be the key as both times i fished we used live smelts on tip ups.. I did have a couple of suckers out last time  but no action on them,

Thanks.

[Fillet]

I would say it depends on what the lakers are feeding on. In the lakes I fish the small fish have a different diet than the big fish so they are found and caught (with exceptions of course) in different areas and have different patterns. If the same food is on the minds of both big and small fish, they will be using the same areas. My thoughts may not help you much without knowing the main forage available. And even then, the giants may have even found a food source different from the main source which is why they often get so big!

It always about the food!

[Eaglecrg]

I don't consider myself to be an expert, but here's my belief.  Large lakers feed on large forage.  In lakes that have both smelt and cisco/whitefish, the smaller lake trout will feed on the smelt and the larger trout on the cisco/whitefish.  I have seen Lake Trout with 21 inch ciscos in them.  I believe that the lakers reach a certain size (@ 24 - 26 inches IMO) where they start focusing on the larger bait.  In one lake I fish, some people catch the cisco and use them for bait, dead or alive.  They are pretty successful at hooking the larger lakers.

[captstevepc]

THANKS GUYS FOR THE RESPONSES. I DEFINITLY THINK USING BIGGER BAIT WILL HELP IN THE QUIEST FOR THE BIGGER FISH.  I AM JUST WONDERING IF THERE ARE ALOT OF BIGGER FISH IN THE SAME AREAS WHERE YOU ARE CATCHINGT THE SMALLER ONES OR IF YOU SHOULD BE LOOKING IN COMPLETELY DIFFERNT SPOTS.

[Arctic Addict]

On Winni, I have had good results fishing big baits.  If jigging i like big tube baits tipped some smaller fish caught from the same lake.  Sometimes a nice big hunk of sucker or perch on the bottom is too much of an easy meal for them to resist.