Lake Trout Fishing Guide

When to Fish for Lake Trout?

• Lake Trout are a major game fish and can be fished year-round. The very best time of day to fish for Lake Trout is early morning from dawn until 2 hours following sunrise. The second best time of day to catch Lake Trout is late in the afternoon 3 hours before sunset all the way until dusk.

Where to Fish for Lake Trout?

• Lake Trout can be found in shallow waters during the cooler months. In the summer Lake Trout will move out to deeper waters.
• In cooler temperatures, if the water temperature is below 50 degrees try trolling lures to catch Lake Trout such as: crankbaits, stickbaits,jigging buck-tail jigs or spoons around shoreline structure, reefs and islands.
• You can also catch Lake Trout by casting using streamer flies, minnows, or lures.
• As you head into summertime Lake Trout will migrate to deep waters, these same baits must be fished off downriggers, or attached to wire or lead core lines using minnows or copper, white, or silver lures or spoons in order to reach the depths where the Lake Trout will now be. Have a great fish finder will really help to locate Lake Trout.
• In late June, July, and August you'll typically catch Lake Trout at depths below 45 feet.
• Lake trout can be caught and be quite productive in water depths between 10 and 100 feet using jigging spoons or by smelt, shiners, suckers, or silver, white, or copper jigs.