Probably the most common lure to use when trolling for lake trout, spoons are a great option for both large and small lake trout. After many years fo trolling for lake trout among our community of fishermen, we’ve cataloged what trolling speeds get the most hookups for lake trout. The natural weight of the rig normally gets the lure into the 10-foot depth range when trolling at 3 to 4 mph. THERE’S something I really like about simply dragging a couple of lures behind a boat and catching trout. In murky water the trout have to work extra hard to locate your baits. 2020 WATERFOWL SEASON !!!! Choosing the speed between 2 mph and 3 mph really depends on what depth the lake trout are at. Eight to ten brown trout per session with the best of them nudging 1.5kg – good fish for Dart. If lead-core line is used, connect 75 to 100 feet of monofilament or fluorocarbon leader. 0 CommentsLake Michigan Lake Trout Fishing, 0 CommentsLake Michigan Charter Fishing for Salmon and Lake Trout. The best dodger trolling speed for lake trout is between 1.5 mph and 2 mph. When lake trout feed, these predatory fish are feeding machines. If an angler has a lure that resembles these favored forage fish, success is likely. Ideally the downrigger ball should make contact with bottom every few feet while trolling, stirring up sediment that simulates trout feeding on the bottom. In many freshwater lakes, lake trout are the largest fish you can fish for and have a healthy appetite during the summer months. They are native to Canada and Alaska but have been introduced to most large bodies of water throughout the United States. Sometimes cool season lake trout readily strike lures trolled as much as 3.0 mph … For single-bladed dodgers, you can troll up to 2 mph for the desired action. Also, it’s important to keep your trout trolling lures very close to bottom when using this technique. We’re partial to using artificial lures for lake trout, but some of the lake trout fishermen in our network swear by using corn as bait or worms. A former professional fly tyer and fishing shop owner for more than a decade, John is a member of the NYS Outdoor Writers Association and is determined to share an acquired lifetime of knowledge to help everyone become proficient hunters and anglers. You want to entice them to bite without having to expend very much energy. Deep water fish are easy to find with the help of sonar and nothing catches more lake trout than a classic fishing set up known as the attractor rig. Slide Divers on Wire Rod? Trolling speed with a dodger. Let me tell you that fishing for lake trout from the shore with lures is not something you want to do regularly, but it can work. Instead, flatlining can connect with the lake trout up high, and lead-core line easily reaches the trout that are 15 to 30 feet deep. For low visibility days or when fishing in deeper water, we like to use chrome, chartreuse, pink, and white lures. The largest recorded lake trout recorded weighed over 102 lbs! You’ll be rewarded with a bent rod—and a net full of lake trout. I have had many days that I had to pick up my speed to 2.5 to 3 mph before I would get any attention. Weighted Lines . Combining blue and silver and green and silver colors has produced great results. Questions About Trout & Salmon Trolling? They are native to Canada and Alaska but have been introduced to most large bodies of water throughout the United States. Look for areas where fish flies or mayflies are near the surface as fish will often be nearby. Try and keep your boat between 2.5 mph and 3 mph when using spoons. Television This means that having a side imaging fish finder is crucial to trolling with swimbaits. VanderLaan Started Thursday at 01:18 AM. Lighter line results in better, more lifelike lure movement. We would be remiss if not sharing the following techniques! It is common practice to troll for lake trout at a speed of 1.5 mph. As low as 2 mph or even slower. Because the desired action changes depending on the type of, you’re using and how deep of water you’re trolling in. Given our propensity for keeping diary notes, we realised late in the trip that 75% of fish had come from one particular lure – a yellow Tassie Devil with a red throat and black stripes across its bum. Trolling or drift socks or a trolling plate can help achieve this. The main factor in catching more fish is the ability to fish deeper and cover more water. You’re not fishing for a, Choosing the speed between 2 mph and 3 mph really depends on what depth the lake trout are at. Many lake trout anglers adhere to this slow lure speed as gospel. Because lakers favor water colder than 50° they are often found on or near bottom in deep water. In fact, this is actually an effective trolling speed for lakers, when the fish are in deep water. Anything above 3 mph is too fast! Lake trout are dark green in color with pale yellow spots. This is the most common mistake amateur lake trout fishermen make. #sportfishmichigan #getoutgetbit #verticaljigging #hookedinthemouth #theydobitethesethings #laketrout #lakemichigan #lighttackle #upnorth #northernmichigan #feelthebite #catchandrelease #puremichigan, A post shared by Sport Fish Michigan (@sportfishmichigan) on Jul 9, 2020 at 5:13pm PDT. Podcast . Granted, your choice of main line, trolling speed, and what lures you are using will still affect your final depths, but it is better than with a lead weight alone. For lure choice, smaller, slimmer silver spoons and stick baits in the 3- to 5-inch range are quite effective. Since the lake trout will be able to see your lures from far away, you want to focus on convincing them that your lure is something they want to eat. Trolling speed for salmon will also impact the depth at which your gear will be running. Lake trout have acquired the reputation of being slow-moving fish. A weight to maintain depth -- probably two or three ounces, depending on your speed and the season since lake trout typically swim deeper in warmer months A light lure or trolling spoon shaped like a small minnow, or a live minnow, hooked through the lips so that it can still move Recent Topics. Calendar, Privacy Policy If the water temperature is adequately cool, lakers follow smelt and other forage fish wherever they go, including shallow water near shore. It’s best to keep your speed at or below two miles per hour, and ideally between 1.7-2 MPH. HOT Topics. Hey guys, this is a great little video that shows some simple ways to troll your lures or spoons so you can can more and bigger fish. From July through the middle of fall, lake trout and salmon often congregate together where they can be targeted with repeated trolling passes. Since dodgers put a lot more drag tension on your tackle, we recommend slowing down your lake trout trolling speed. However, lake trout aren’t in the extreme water depths year-round. Swimbaits can be a great option in the spring and fall when lake trout tend to feed in shallower waters. Lake trout are definitely a deep-water species, and reside in the depths because they prefer cold water. If you can, check with the local lake bait shop to see what has been working for people. It definitely results in more hook-ups. Glad you asked! With a surface water temperature that’s tuned into their comfort zone, these predators prowl for forage fish near the surface. Big bodies of water like Lake Michigan are slow to warm after a frigid winter. Finn Questions About Trout & Salmon Trolling? For more information We also recommend using a fishing scent such as Mikes Glo Scent to hide any foreign smells you may have imparted when rigging up your setup. This near surface activity of the lake trout allows the angler to ignore the cannonball downriggers. Your trolling speed needs to adjust to the conditions. How could you not love jigging up a giant Lake Michigan lake trout? Lake Ontario Fishing ; Questions About Trout & Salmon Trolling? Get out of the habit of prolonged periods of straight trolling. Zinger11 Started Tuesday at 05:28 PM. If the water temperature is cool enough, you can even get away with not using a downrigger! Another popular technique for trolling for lake trout is to use a dodger or flasher. Geneva, New York is the self-proclaimed “lake trout capital” of the world and has an annual lake trout fishing derby. If you’re using a multi-bladed dodger, you should try and keep your speed closer to 1.5 mph to prevent loading your tackle up with too much tension. As you know, I spend a large amount of time fishing from the shore. Unlike in clear water when we troll a variety of speeds with pulses and intervals, I find it more productive to troll at a continuous speed. The best trolling speed for lake trout is between 1.5 mph and 3 mph. Contact Us, Magazine Deep water lake trout move slightly slower so trolling speeds around 1.7 mph are great in 80 feet or more of water. The proximity of the lake trout to the lake surface varies, but it is not uncommon to see lake trout just a few feet deep during the early morning. Because the desired action changes depending on the type of lake trout lure you’re using and how deep of water you’re trolling in. Slide Divers on Wire Rod? Today we're out here in Lake Ontario flat-line trolling for lake trout. Since dodgers put a lot more drag tension on your tackle, we recommend slowing down your lake trout trolling speed. If you are trolling too fast your dodger will start rotating which will twist up your line and you will lose the ideal motion on your lure. 0. Lake trout are also a long-living fish with some Canadian lake trout living over 40 years old. Lake Michigan anglers have had success with some gaudy dodger colors, yet the standard silver and gold color is quite effective, especially with the wobbler. I like to run the flies 130-'150' behind the side planers and this time of the year, right on the surface at 2.5-3.0 mph. Flasher/fly trolling speed? Speed do you run flashers Recent Topics. Best Lures For Lake Trout From Shore. Speed: Controlling your speed is important with these techniques. Let’s jump in! We’ve already covered the best lake trout lures for each season, but what is the best trolling speed for lake trout? These are insights we’ve learned after trolling for many hours and learning from our collective fishing community. This cold water is favorable for the comfort of lake trout, but the deep water contributes to slow movement of the lake trout due to increased water pressure. Additionally, Finn’s Fishing Tips participates in various other affiliate programs, and we sometimes get a commission through purchases made via our links. For days with average visibility (partly cloudy) or when fishing in the middle of the water column, we like to use green, striped, and blue colored lures for lake trout. You’ll most likely have a pond or lake full of hungry brook trout all to yourself! This means that having a, that was introduced to North America many years ago. longspurs Started August 16. Trolling Speed for Lake Trout: Pump the Brakes! Attach a 12- to 24-inch leader to the snap at the terminal end of the cowbell. Compared to other species of char, lake trout grow much larger. For sunny days or when trolling in the top 20 feet, we recommend using natural colored lures such as brown or silver. There’s nothing like getting the inside scoop on what worked for fishermen that were just out on the water. The deeper the water, the more water pressure and density increases. Use monofilament in the 6- to 10-pound-test range for near surface trolling. Larger spoons, deep divers, big crankbaits and larger Rapala's will all produce big fish if trolled at the right depth and speed. Big spoons trolled slowly from a boat are another all time classic lake trout lure. Awesome day on the water for Justin and crew. Catching lake trout with the iconic dodger and Spin-n-Glo rig requires maintaining a very specific trolling speed that ranges from 1.7 to 2.0 MPH. Secondly, the trolling speed for trout seems to be a key factor. Lake trout are the quintessential Canadian fish. The common belief is that to successfully catch lake trout you need a slow lure speed—very slow. About Us Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc., or its affiliates. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Flashers can be run at spoon speed. Predator 20/21. In general, you’ll want to troll slower in deeper water and faster in shallower water. We also recommend using a fishing scent such as Mikes Glo Scent to hide any foreign smells you may have imparted when rigging up your setup. The largest recorded lake trout recorded weighed over 102 lbs! They are native to cold oxygenated waters of North America, Canada, and Alaska. Once cool water opens up the rest of the water column, their aggression turns up a notch. Spoons. Look for areas where. * Save $24.95 off the 10-issue newsstand rate, My Account Since most swimbaits require a certain level of speed to dive deep enough, the best trolling speed for lake trout when trolling swimbaits is is between 2 mph and 3 mph. Once you get bit, blanket that area by trolling back and forth. This is the most common mistake amateur lake trout fishermen make. 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