Fishing for lake trout with down riggers is fun, but I would never turn down the opportunity to catch lake trout while holding on to the rod. With the advent of trolling motor orientation systems like spot lock or anchor mode, fishing below the boat in deep water with vertical presentations has become more popular and effective for lake trout. Through much of the open water season, we can expect lake trout to be relatively deep. There is a time, however, when lake trout can be targeted in much shallower water where these fish become more accessible for anglers not using down riggers. Late fall is prime time for lake trout, especially if you don’t have down riggers.
Lake trout spawn in the fall and as water temperatures drop, lake trout will continue to push shallower. From past experiences, lake trout on many lakes will spawn on primary points and reefs with large boulders. Areas near these spawning locations often fire up. Depending on latitude and water temperatures, many of these fish will push up into less than twenty feet of water as we get into late October and early November.
In the past, we have done fall lake trout trips to northern Manitoba and Fort Peck Reservoir in eastern Montana. The fishing only seemed to get better as the fall progressed. When you do find lake trout in less than twenty feet of water, the presentations or tactics you can use to catch trout expands dramatically.
Trolling
Big locations can often be broken down quickly by simply flat line trolling spoons or crankbaits. Several crankbaits and spoons seem to work to catch trout. Typically, we had the best luck with smelt or shad profiled crankbaits that were four to seven inches long. Lures like Bagley Bang O Jerk Baits, Rapala Tail Dancers, Reef Runners, Bomber Long A and Salmo Free Divers are great lake trout lures in the fall. Productive spoon options include Little Cleos, Williams KO Wobblers and Mepps Cyclops. On many fisheries, white or silver color patterns are productive.
Trolling can excel for not only covering water and fishing through big locations but also simply learning the water. When we don’t have a lot of information as we approach a new fishery, we often troll just to look over as much water as possible. Productive trolling speeds for lake trout typically range between three and three and a half miles per hour.
Vertical Jigging
Long lining lures or spoons behind the boat is fun, but I personally love to vertically jig or cast for lake trout if possible. Like mentioned in the first paragraph, spot lock or anchor modes on trolling motors today have greatly enhanced an angler’s ability to position over structure and makes fishing vertically much easier. In my opinion, the location dictates the presentation. Smaller compact spots like the tip of a reef or point are perfect for spot locking and fishing vertical. Live sonar like Active Target or Live Scope can enhance the experience, but we could also often watch our lure and watch fish with 2D sonar.
What I enjoy the most about jigging for lake trout is the fact that this is hands on fishing. The strikes are often simply slack line or violent. Top jigging lures for lake trout include classic tube jigs or jigs with flukes or paddle tails. I like jigs to have a wide gap and stout hook that won’t bend out on a lake trout. Many of the jigs I prefer were actually designed for salt water. Rattle baits like Rapala Ripping Raps and Northland Ripping Shads are also deadly. Again, with rattle baits, you might have to replace the split rings and treble hooks as many of these lures are intended for walleye or bass. Typically, you can get away with either a medium heavy to heavy action spinning or bait casting rod for jigging lake trout. A simple seven foot flipping rod you would use for bass fishing that is six and a half inches to seven feet works fine. Make sure your reel is large enough to hold enough line to handle the horsepower of a lake trout. We often use twenty-pound Power Pro and use a six-foot twenty-pound fluorocarbon leader, but the leader isn’t always necessary.
Casting
As fun as jigging for lake trout can be, if there is anything better… that would be the opportunity to cast for lake trout. Typically, casting becomes a viable presentation when trout push up into less than twenty feet of water. Many of the same lures we use for jigging also work well for casting. Lipless cranks or rattle baits cast well and can be depth controlled. Tubes and soft plastic swimbaits options can be worked by either swimming or rip jigged back to the boat.
Fall is a Prime-Time Window for Targeting Lake Trout in Shallow Water
Some of my most memorable lake trout fishing has occurred into the fall. On many lake trout fisheries, the very tail end of October and early November is a prime-time window for finding concentrated and aggressive fish in relatively shallow water. When water temps do dip below fifty degrees, you will find that lake trout can expand their range considerably and show up in areas where you don’t traditionally see trout but many of the fish seem to concentrate in the same general areas where they spend the summer… just much shallower on available rock structure.
On Fort Peck Reservoir for example, we often key on the areas near the Fort Peck Dam, York Island, Haxby Point and in front of Duck Creek. Look for distinct main lake points that have big rocks and drop off into deep water. You will typically see baitfish and bigger marks indicating predators like lake trout when you look over these locations with sonar. The opportunities to target these hard fighting fish in the fall not only makes these fish more accessible for anglers who don’t have down riggers, but this is also fun!
