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The author’s wife Mari caught this very nice Lake
Trout “aka Gray” while jig fishing
on Grand Traverse Bay.
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By
Mark Romanack
I marvel at
all the different names popular fish species get saddled with. The lake trout
is no exception and this unique species goes by some pretty colorful names
including denizen of the deep, mackinaw, siscowet, lake char, touladi and my
favorite the gray trout.
The gray
trout or just gray for short inhabits clear, cold and deep water lakes all
across the Northern United States and Canada. Grays can be found in all the
Great Lakes and a surprisingly large number of inland lakes that feature deep,
cold and clear waters.
Compared to
other trout and char species the lake trout grows much larger. Fish in the 20
pound class are fairly common and every year anglers boat fish in the 30, 40
and sometimes even 50 pound class!
TROLLING BOTTOM
Well known
as a structure or bottom loving species, one of the most effective ways to
target grays is to troll near bottom with the help of a downrigger. Spoons,
plugs and spinners will all catch grays, but hands down the most deadly bottom
rig for trolling up these fish is a rig known as the dodger and Spin-n-Glo. The
dodger is an attractor that is rigged about 18-24 inches in front of a Yakima
Bait (www.yakimabait.com)
No. 2 or 0 size Spin-n-Glo body. The Spin-n-Glo is threaded onto a 20 to 40
pound test leader, a bead or two is added to make it easier for the Spin-n-Glo
to rotate and the rig is completed with either a No. 2/0 single hook or a No. 2
treble hook.
This rig is
set behind the boat about 10 to 15 feet and the line is connected to the
downrigger line release. The whole set up is lowered to bottom and set so the
downrigger ball just skips along churning up a clouds of sediment on the
bottom.
The cloud
of sediment simulates lake trout naturally feeding on the bottom. The trailing
dodger and Spin-n-Glo rig closes the deal. This simple set up has literally
produced countless lake trout anywhere they are found feeding on or near the
bottom.
The top
trout colors on the Spin-n-Glo are the Clown, Pearl Clown, Lime Chartreuse
Tiger, Lime Chartreuse and Double Trouble UV Green. On the dodger most anglers
favor a silver, brushed stainless steel, chartreuse or green/chartreuse colors.
The
Spin-n-Glo can be purchased pre-rigged and ready to fish, but most anglers
prefer to buy the bodies in packages of 12 and rig their own using fluorocarbon
leader material. The Spin-n-Glo comes with white, black, glow, chartreuse,
silver and pink wings creating literally hundreds of color combinations to experiment
with.
JIGGING UP TROUT
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The gray trout isn’t a trout at all, but rather a
member of the char family. These impressive fish
grow to exceptional size and may live for decades.
This 30+ pounder was caught by the author’s
nephew Jason Romanck while trolling a
Yakima Spin n Glo behind a dodger. The Spin n Glo
is considered trout candy by everyone who has fished them.
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For those
who don’t own the gear it takes to troll for trout in deep water, jig fishing
is another option. To jig up grays in deep water an angler will need a medium
to medium heavy action spinning rod and reel combo set up with 10 to 15 pound
test super braid terminated to a fluorocarbon leader in the 12 to 15 pound test
range.
An eight
strand braid is recommended because this line spools onto a fishing reel much
like monofilament. Other braids and fused lines are so soft and without body,
the line tends to bunch up on the spool preventing the reel drag from
functioning smoothly.
A
functioning drag is essential when a lake trout is hooked up. These fish are
stubborn fighters and typically about half way to the surface they make a power
run and streak back to bottom!
Depending
on the water depth, jigs in the 1/2, 5/8, 3/4, 1, 1.5, 2 and even 3 ounce range
may be required. White or white and red bucktails are popular with trout jig
fishermen, but a five inch soft plastic paddle tail is another good option.
Many anglers tip their jigs with a small live sucker minnow to further entice
trout into biting.
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The gray trout or lake trout is abundant throughout
it’s range and a strong fighting fish. The biggest
disadvantage to targeting these fish is they
are often found in very deep water.
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ANCHOR ON THOSE FISH
Most
anglers who fish for lake trout simply drift and keep their jigs near bottom.
If your boat is equipped with an electric motor it’s often better to drift
until a fish is hooked, then use the electric motor to hover over top of the
school.
The
MotorGuide Xi5 (www.MotorGuide.com)
mounted to the bow of my boat has a “Anchor” feature that when engaged
literally hovers the boat in one spot leaving my hands free to fish. Much
better than trying to hover with a traditional electric motor or worse yet
anchoring in deep water, this piece of equipment is invaluable for jig fishing
applications.
With the
help of quality sonar, I can literally spot the fish near bottom, put the boat
in “Anchor” mode and drop my jig right down to specific fish. I call this “see
fish...catch fish” because it’s amazing how often I can spot an individual fish
and then catch that fish with the help of sonar and an auto-pilot style
electric motor!!
SUMMING IT UP
Grays are
one of those fish you can only catch in the north. These fish require cold,
pristine waters and Ontario’s Algoma Country is at the top of the list when it
comes to destinations teaming with hungry trout.
