The Ultimate Lake Trout Fishing Quiz

According to freshwater-fishing-canada.com, the largest lake trout weighed in at 102 pounds (46.2 kilograms). This fish put up an incredible fight before it was finally in the boat.

You can fish for lake trout throughout most of the year, depending on how icy your area lakes get. In some areas, people even go ice fishing when the ice gets thick enough.

Think about what your game fish prefers to eat before you bait a hook or choose a lure. In the case of lake trout, the best choice is small minnows.

Lake trout have many names and you may have already fished them by another name. They are also called lakers, Mackinaw, Siscowet, Namaycush, humper, char, gray trout, paperbelly, or landlocked salmon.

Smaller lake trout typically prefer to eat crayfish and insects. Smaller trout will also go for worms, but they prefer manure worms and do not care for night crawlers.

You can find lake trout mainly in cooler northern waters. They live throughout the Great Lakes region and Canada, Alaska, Washington, Idaho, Wyoming, and much of New England.

Lake trout prefer relatively deep waters to a depth of about 100 feet (30.4 meters), although their depth varies greatly by season and lake size. You can expect to fish lake trout from a boat rather than from shore.

In the Great Lakes lake trout are being killed by sea lamprey that invaded from the ocean via canals. The lamprey uses a suction-cup mouth to attach itself to the skin of a lake trout and grinds away tissue with sharp teeth and a probing tongue.

Lake trout respond to warmer weather by going deeper in the lake. They are not trying to escape the sunshine, but rather they are following the baitfish that seek cooler temperatures.

Because lake trout stay deep, it is wise to research the underwater topography of your lake. You should know where major underwater barriers are, as you will always find more game fish near underwater sandbars, rocks, docks, shoals, wrecks, etc.

Lake trout are hungry in the early spring, so they are not very discriminating about when or where they feed. If the lake has only recently lost a covering of ice, lake trout may be just below the surface.

Late in spring lake trout tend to hang out around 45 feet (13 meters) below the surface.

The wind blows warm surface water, which does not hold enough oxygen for trout. Fish the side of the lake where the wind is coming from and cast with the wind for best results.

A jig or bucktail is a lure with a weighted body and one or two triple hooks. Jigging gets its name from a characteristic jumping, bobbing and fluttering motion that makes the lure mimic a wounded baitfish.

At a leisurely pace, you raise and lower the rod, or wave it from side to side. Vary the height and the timing to give the jig a genuinely erratic movement to help the lure mimic a wounded baitfish.

Lake trout typically go for light lures, so try a spoon jig, also known as a wobbler. You can try attaching a live minnow to your jig, as it is a lake trout's favorite meal.

Jigging tends to work best at either end of the lake trout season. Use a jig in the early spring or late fall for best results, as other methods are better when the water is warm.

Troll fishing is slowly dragging a line through deep water; it is the second most preferred method for fishing lake trout. Use a boat whose motor has been quieted so as not to frighten the fish away.

Not every state allows motorized trolling, so before you troll for lake trout make sure you are permitted to do so. If you are not permitted to motor troll, you could try stroll-and-troll by dragging your line while walking along the shore.

Use a three-way swivel to attach a weight to your line and leave your lure free to move. The weight should hang about four feet below the swivel.