niemiw Loc: Troy, NY

I've never caught a lake trout. Seeking suggestions here in upstate NY. Bill N.

Doug Lemmon Loc: Rochester Mills, PA

Hey Bill, Welcome Aboard!! Most Lakers I've caught have been tight to the bottom. They seem to like the colder waters. Typically the 50F to 57F Range... Optimum range would be 55F. Trolling speed should be 1.5 to 2.5

Hope this helps you.

niemiw Loc: Troy, NY

Thanks.
Bill

fishyaker Loc: NW Michigan (Lower Peninsula)

Jigging can be a great way to catch them, and as long as you are able to hover over a spot reasonably well...low wind conditions or a "spot lock" mode for an electric trolling motor. The tackle is simple and effective, as all you need is a stout rod and a choice of jigs. I would use a braid line and tip it with 5 or 10 feet of monofiliment for a leader to the lure. That way you get less line stretch when in deep water for a more direct connection to strikes. They quite often "take" the jig as you reach the top of your rising pull. Other times it is just as the drop starts. I like to raise my jig up and down by about 2 feet. Pause 10 seconds or so between "jigging" motions. Change it up now and then if action is slow.

If you want to troll, then downriggers, Dipsey Divers and leadcore line set ups can get you down deep and cover a lot more water. Depending on the depth you are targeting, a general case for the cannonball weight would be a 12 pounder. The heavier the ball, the less "swing back" you'll get from your forward speed. An electric downrigger is super handy, and saves a lot of hand cranking! Try to run your lures about 5' "above" where you mark fish. Their vision has them looking slightly upwards, and not always on the level. Be sure to factor in the swing back angle of your downrigger cable when choosing a deployment depth. The cable swingback takes away from your actual depth on the rigger counter by a modest amount, depending on depth and speed at the cannonball.

Dipsey divers (a brand name from Luhr Jensen) are merely a cleverly designed plastic diving plate with some offset lead weight in it that will take a lure down deep without the need for a downrigger and heavy ball. You do need a special rod to deploy them because the process will put a great deal of stress and strain on the rod itself while it is being pulled. Not uncommon for a dipsey to get as deep as 90'. The attainable depth is a factor of trolling speed and the amount of line out.

In an ideal situation, a classic arrangement on a mid sized boat can be to deploy 2 downriggers and 2 dipsey rods...uniformly spaced off the transom region or sides of the boat in a symmetric way via both the port and starboard sides.

Leadcore lines will sink a lure down deep with just the line itself. They "pull" easily while trolling but depending on your desired depth they may be out behind your boat by as much as 300'. That can be a lot of line to have in the water, so a short cut is to add a lightweight diving device known by brand (Luhr Jensen again) as a Jet Diver. They come in models that can quickly add 10, 20, 30 and 40' to a line depth...thereby requiring less leadcore line to be deployed. If you are able to run leadcore "in addition" to a downrigger and dipsey set up, then do so by adding an "inline" planer board to the leadcore line that will allow your line to be trolled a comfortable distance away from both sides of the boat, thereby trolling a much wider swath of water. Resist the temptation to run all that gear near the same depth. Think of a symmetric depth where a downrigger is the deepest, followed by the dipsey, and then finally the leadcore. This will help avoid line tangles when a fish strike any of the lines. You can run the same pattern on each side of the boat.

I use all of the above methods and catch a lot of lake trout with ease. Posted below are a few snapshots of some "go to" lures and set ups I use. Lake trout are not finicky, and will strike almost anything if it gets in front of them. They are easily hypnotized and mesmerized by a trolled lure, and may follow it for quite some distance before striking. It depends on their mood. If the action on the bite is slow, try releasing your lures from the downrigger from time to time...or partially retrieving the dipsey or leadcore set ups. The rising change of attitude from your lure very often will trigger the strike! I have caught many limits of lakers just by doing this little trick. Another thing to do, when running cannonballs, is to occasionally allow the ball to plunge into the lake bed and stir up debris for a short time...perhaps 20' or so...then raise it back up to the trolling position. This can attract nearby fish to come over for a peek. Be very sure that you know what the lake bottom consists of. If there are large rocks and woody debris, then I would NOT do this. The last thing you need is for a cannonball to get snagged on bottom and cause damage or safety issues with you and your craft! Have a good pair of cable snip/cutters on board in case this ever happens! All of these approaches work best when the fish are close to the bottom. If they are suspended, then some of these ideas will not be fruitful.

This is a very brief handful of suggestions. An entire book could easily be written about these and other tips...and they could apply to many species...but they will definitely work for you on lake trout in your native waters. A final comment, regarding time of season, is that in the Springtime, most lake trout will spend a month or so combing shallower waters for food. You may disregard all of the above ideas and simply "long line" troll for them in 10 to 30 feet of water. Good luck, and we'd like to see your smiling face with a story on here someday with a catch!

Some of my favorite jigs. The Swedish Pimple (Bay DeNoc Tackle Co.) is also a great one. Essentially, any heavy jig with a linear design works well. Even gumball jigs with rubber tails can work.


Flashers, dodgers and "cowbells" are a great way to deploy lures when trolling. Run these attracter items about 2' to 3' ahead of your lure. I like flies, Spin-n-Glows and traditional flutter type wafer spoons for the lure portion.


If you are allowed to fish for lakers during ice season, they can be great fun on light weight rods! Sometimes I tip a jig with a minnow, but most of the time just bare.


Plastic flashers that rotate and force a lure to "wallow" and swash along behind...lake trout love 'em!

niemiw Loc: Troy, NY

Thanks. You should write a book on Lake fishing.
Bill Niemi

Santa Don

Geneva on the north shore of Seneca Lake says it's the Lake Trout capital of the world. Somebody there probably knows something.

niemiw Loc: Troy, NY

Good to know. I think my problem was that I fished for lake trout midsummer on vacations when they were deep. I'm retired now and also now have a down rigger. Driven through Geneva many times, never fished Seneca.

Santa Don

I've never fished there but have driven through. I'd check the bait shops for what you need to know. Lots of luck and hope you get some.

PKutscera Loc: Bayside, NY 11361

Besides the Finger lakes, are there any Lakes East of there where I can score some lakers, Right at this time of year? Don't have a boat so I will have to get a guide.

Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, guys!