lake trout

[muskieswen]

Where is the nearest lake trout lake I can trailer to from Lake Vermilion? I want to try a technique I learned up in Saskatchewan(sp?) last year.

[delcecchi]

probably burntside. Up 169, just before you get to Ely.

[Finns]

We are going to Ontario in 3 weeks for lake trout. Care to share the new technique?

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Finns.

[muskieswen]

Finns,

New technique for me, maybe not for you. We located baitfish on the locators and then sent down big 6-8" spoons straight down over the side of the boat (vertical jigging if you will). When the right depth was had you lift the rod up violently and then let the lure sink back down and when tight do it again and one more time. The last time grab the reel handle and reel the lure up as fast as you can back up to the boat if nothing hit or is following let it go back down and try again. Hard on the arms yes, but what a blast we had doing this. You could actually see the fish chasing the spoon vertically. When the hit, it was hard! I just wanted to see if it would work here in the states. I tried it with muskies last year. Although I did not hook up, I did have one follow. Real cool to see a muskie going vertical for a bait. Use real flashy, shinny spoons for the lakers. Give it a try. If nothing else you and your partner can laugh at one another because it looks pretty ridiculous when you see someone doing this. Good luck on your trip.

[stick]

We used to do similar things with Heddon Sonars. We'd simply drop them to bottom and reel up as fast as possible and hold on tight if they hit. We started doing this after realizing how many fish we caught when reeling up to try the next spot. The laker in my avatar is from Sioux Narrows while reeling up fast. 20 feet under the boat in 125 feet of water. It doesn't get much better than feeling a trout hammer the fast moving bait.

[Finns]

We have done the jigging but not the fast reeling. Will have to try that. Thanks.

Finns.

[Steve Foss]

One of the best lures for that vertical ripping is the buzzbomb. It's a piece of diamond-shaped painted lead the slips up and down the line to a treble tied on the end. Used a lot in Canada but harder to get in the states.

[Eyewitness]

or try 1-1/2 to 2oz Hammered Silver Hopkins spoons. You can even dress em' up a bit with some refective tape to give em' a little pizzaz....Worked wonders for me up in Canada doing the vertical thing. What a riot it was too!