Lake trout — rolled in cracker meal or cornmeal, fried hard in roiling oil and served with a pile of cottony white bread and a sluice of vinegary hot sauce — is the dish that working-class Baltimore craves, tucked into a brown paper bag and eaten on the go.
Table of Contents
How do you ice fish for big lake trout?
Rig the baits with a 1/0 to 3/0 octopus hook just beneath the dorsal fin so that they remain lively underwater while waiting to be T-boned by a cruising laker. The lures you use while ice fishing for lake trout should also be large and provide a lot of flash and action when jigged.
What is the world record lake trout?
Lake trout are the largest of the chars; the record weighed almost 102 pounds (46 kg) (netted) with a length of 50 inches (130 cm), and 15–40-pound (6.8–18.1-kilogram) fish are not uncommon. The average length is 24–36 inches (61–91 centimetres).
Where can I find lake trout ice fishing?
How deep should I ice fish for lake trout?
Lake Trout are typically found in water that is 60 to 200 feet or deeper. Typically, you will want to fish your lure in depths between 80 and 160 feet. Two of the best tactics to catch lakers are pounding the bottom and playing keep away.
What is the best time of day to ice fish for lake trout?
The best time of day to ice fishing for lake trout is late afternoon right around sunset. Early morning can be really good too but late afternoon seems to be the golden time in the winter for hungry lake trout.
How old is a 36 inch lake trout?
Cory Goldsworthy, Lake Superior area fisheries supervisor for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, said it’s hard to estimate the age of Gotchie’s big lake trout without taking a fin out of it. Trout over 36-inches long caught and aged by researchers in the past have varied from 15 to 30 years old, he said.
What is considered a big lake trout?
While the average lake trout weighs somewhere between 5 and 15lb and measures a length of about 20 to 30 inches, huge specimens can reach a maximum size of 60 to 80lb and 40-50 inches, and the giant lakers of Northern Canada can be even larger than that.
How old is the oldest lake trout?
The oldest estimated age for lake trout is 65 years (NatureServe 2004). Lake trout are the largest freshwater salmonid native to North America, with specimens over 45.4 kg caught by commercial fishermen (NSDAF 2004).
How do you target a large lake trout?
- Use Spoons.
- Work With Bright Jerkbaits.
- Bounce the Bottom.
- Fish The Cooler Waters.
- Know Your Equipment.
- Learn Proper Casting.
- Watch Your Rod.
- Use Depth Finders.
How deep are lake trout in January?
The nice part about fishing with the absence of a thermocline in the cold months is that many fish are not as deep as during the summer months. Anglers can capitalize on catching trout from 10 to 35 feet deep in ice-cold waters during December, January, and February.
What bait is best for lake trout?
Live bait is generally the most consistently effective way to fish for lake trout. Minnows are usually the best option. Other good live bait options are nightcrawlers, salmon eggs, or anything similar to their native prey. One of the best artificial options for deepwater trout is a big bucktail jig.
What are lake trout called?
lake trout, also called Mackinaw Trout, Great Lakes Trout, or Salmon Trout, (Salvelinus namaycush), large, voracious char, family Salmonidae, widely distributed from northern Canada and Alaska, U.S., south to New England and the Great Lakes basin. It is usually found in deep, cool lakes.
Are lake trout good to eat?
Yes! Lake trout are safe to eat. They are also some of the healthiest foods available. The benefits of consuming lake trout are much greater than the risks of contaminant exposure.
Is lake trout really lake trout?
Lake Trout (Salvelinus namaycush) Despite its name, lake trout are not actually true trout but are considered char within the Salmonidae family, with the Arctic char as its closest relative. A char by any other name is still a char, but other names include mackinaw, lake char, grey trout, and togue.
What line do you use for ice fishing on lake trout?
3. SELECT THE RIGHT FISHING LINE & LEADER. When learning how to catch lake trout ice fishing, you can use 10 to 15-pound braided line and 6 to 8-pound fluorocarbon leader. Because braided fishing line has no stretch, it’s a good choice for fishing in deeper water.
What is the best hook for lake trout?
In general, trout hooks that are size 8 to 14 are going to be best. Always use barbless hooks for trout unless you plan to eat what you catch. Smaller hooks are always best for trout because they will see larger hooks if the water is clear enough.
Where do big lake trout hang out?
What is this? Lake trout do best in cold, highly oxygenated water. They thrive in huge, deep lakes and reservoirs for this reason. During the summer, they can be found deep in 60-200+ feet of water where the cold water holds high oxygen load.
Do trout bite at night in ice fishing?
Re: trout at night Though the ice the bite is usually good shallow, morning and evening, deep throughout the day, then typically dying off as darkness falls. A trout’s diet is limited under the ice(depending on location) to mainly minnows, backswimmers, waterboatman, and insect larva.
How cold is too cold for trout fishing?
Trout generally are more active when water temperatures are in their comfort range: 45 to 65 degrees. They can survive in water temperatures as low as 35, but rarely do mountain streams get that cold.
What water temp do lake trout prefer?
Lake trout prefer and require cold water, generally between 40 and 50°F, but they can spend time outside of this range when needed. That said, it’s unlikely to find lake trout in temperatures greater than 59°F.
What is considered a trophy lake trout?
For Brown Trout, the stock length is 8″, quality is 12″, preferred is 16″, memorable is 20″, and trophy is 24″. A trophy Brook Trout is 23 inches. Based on these categories, there are very few Brown Trout and almost no Brook Trout that are “trophies” in Wisconsin’s streams.
How heavy is a 30 inch lake trout?
Weight of Actual Fish: 11 – 13 lbs.
How heavy is a 36 inch lake trout?
Lake Trout have a total length between 20″-36″ (51-91 cm), body height of 4″-7″ (10.2-17.8 cm), and an overall weight in the range of 4-22 lb (1.8-10 kg).
Why is lake trout meat orange?
The reason that most salmonid species (including trout and char) have red- and orange-tinged flesh is because of what they eat. And that is typically food with plenty of carotene. Yep, the same stuff that makes carrots orange.