Fishing for Lake Trout in the Boundary Waters

[Srobocop]

Hey guys.

I'm used to fishing for Walleyes, but I'm not used to fishing for Lake Trout. I'm doing the Frost River Loop and looking at most of the lakes it seems most of them have Lake Trout in them... Any tips? It would be mostly Little Saganaga and the lake around it. I'm doing Cross Lake to Round Lake Loop for 8 days. Any tips appreciated.

 

[BWCA66]

When are you going? What is your route to Round? I have caught a lot of lake trout in that area either in May or Sept.

 

[Jatfomike]

I am faaaar from an expert, but have been fortunate to fish a few times with a buddy that was pretty knowledgable.....a few things I learned from him that have helped me over the years:

- Unless your in a hurry, throw out a line when on unfamiliar water and troll. Look for variations in water color which may indicate a reef below...always a great spot to fish a around for Lakers and walleye!
- Irregardless of how deep the Lakers are, they will come up 25-30' to chase a bait....I have actually experienced this first hand....we were marking the fish at about 60' and I was trolling at about 25' and catching them...
- For trolling you may need a heavier rod and definitely do not use monofilament! Too much stretch and too large a diameter...use a good braid with a fluorocarbon leader...much thinner diameter will allow your bait to get deeper and stay there...more importantly, no stretch....
- Look for choke points and drop offs at the mouth of bays
- look for cliffs facing into the wind...baitfish will get pushed up against the cliffs by the wind/waves and make a great feeding station for Lakers
- I have had luck with Rapala deep divers in silver/black and Firetiger that are rated for 25'.....spoons in purple or blue with as much as an oz. of weight ahead of them to help get the bait down.
- When you find any of the geographic features noted above, troll around it a few times, if no luck, stop and try some vertical jigging at various depths with jigs and/or spoons.
- On Frost Lake, there is a huge rock sticking up out of the water towards the W end of the lake (can't miss it!) with an underwater shelf surrounding it....troll around the shelf drop off...... Also look to the SE end of the lake for the cliff faces (facing W) and the reefs in front of them.....
Good Luck! That's a great route!

Mike

 

[BWCA66]

If you are going in the spring they may well be in shallow. Jerk baits and bright spoons and spinners work well. Have been in Frost twice in the fall with no luck but it looks like a great lake for trout, yes you can't miss the big rock. One year we were slaying the lake trout in Cherokee but had no luck in Frost. My 2 favorite lakes for lake trout are Gillis and Tuscarora - you will probably go through one of them. Fish the rocky points and islands just of the deep water. Both those lakes tend to be very crowded in May, one of the few places that sees a lot of May pressure. Other small lakes around Gillis have lake trout, also look for where water is coming in to the lake. These are thoughts for early in the year or late in the all. I have never had much luck pulling them up in the warmer weather when they head down deep but Mikes thoughts look good.

Greg

 

[Srobocop]

Thanks for the Tips guys. I'll definitely look for that rock in Frost Lake. We're not sure on our route out yet. Probably go from Mora to lil Sag, and then out heading east, really not sure what lakes going that way, lots of options. Since we're doing 8 days we'll have time to figure it out I guess. But we'll be coming out Memorial weekend so I'm sure it'll be busy. We're going in the weekend before (next week). Sounds like the fish could possibly be shallow still. I guess we'll find out!

 

[MacCamper]

Maybe I'll see you up there Srobo. I depart Sawbill midday Friday for a ten day solo through Cherokee, Frost, Littke Sag then one of a number of loops back through Malberg and home on the louse River. Weather dependent of course and a day visit on Little Sag with another solo whom I met in Alaska last year, may slow me down. Happy happy noting.

 

[Jim Dodd]

I'm SOO jealous ! I'm stuck here getting ready to move. I'm really Jonsen for some Wilderness !

Have fun !

Are you taking the stripper ?

 

[Srobocop]

Maybe I'll see you up there Srobo. I depart Sawbill midday Friday for a ten day solo through Cherokee, Frost, Littke Sag then one of a number of loops back through Malberg and home on the louse River. Weather dependent of course and a day visit on Little Sag with another solo whom I met in Alaska last year, may slow me down. Happy happy noting.

If everything goes to plan we'll be staying on Frost Lake Sunday Night and maybe Monday too (weather dependent, if it looks like it'll rain for a few days we may push through to Afton or Mora on Monday, then spend a day or two on Lil Sag, and then work our way back to round, making it 8 days) If you see a 16 ft Green Nova Craft feel free to say Hi.

 

[BWCA66]

Just got back last night from going in at Sawbill and heading over Alton way. Lots of snow, little sun, lots of wind(usually blowing the wrong way), rain, not a leaf out yet and the water is still very cold so the lake trout should be shallow. Ah but the sun came out and the wind was at our back on the way to the landing in Sawbill yesterday. Can't wait to back!

 

[Srobocop]

I appreciate the update BWCA66, I hope you at least enjoyed yourself. I'm sure you did! Did you just go to Alton for an overnighter?

 

[BWCA66]

Spent 3 nights on Alton. Half the group fished and half of us did day trips wandering around other lakes. Weather sucked but hey it was better than not going!

 

[VernAK]

For fishing Lake Trout while canoing, I keep a rod/reel loaded with 10# thin line; 2-3 feet of FC leader and a Buzz Bomb. Jig a bit at each point or structure change. The Buzz Bomb is heavy and sinks rapidly.