Lake Trout

[crookednose]

Thinking about trying to target Lake Trout in the coming weeks - has anybody had much luck with a fly rod? Having never targetted them before, I know very little - but from what I understand, they typically like to roam in deep, cold water. I figured they may be moving to shallower water with the fall conditions - but this is just a hypothesis.

 

Any advice would be very much appreciated.

[SilverDoctor]

It's been a few seasons now but I have fished lake Minnewanka in the spring when it opens (check you regs it is most likely closed for the season by now) using large white streamers and sinking lines. I know they do come into the shallows at that time of year after ice out, not sure about fall. We would do a countdown to let the sinking line hit different depths. I was using an 8 wt slow action Glass fly rod. We found slow action rods where better for this type of fishing. Once we felt some action we would religiously do that count for the next hour before exploring depths again. A good day seemed to translate into 2 to 3 fish. The window of opportunity usually lasted only a few weeks, till they looked for deeper waters as the top thermoclime warmed. Hoping this helps.

[WoollyBuggered]

They are fall spawners so they will be congregated in the shallows doing just that right now. Find the spawning shoals and you will find them stacked up at or near that location. Once the water hits approx 9 they'll be getting busy. Personally, I choose not to fish for spawners and I think fishing for lakers should be closed during this sensitive period. That said, I'm not trying to tell you what to do just inform you of what is occurring at the moment. Cheers,

 

WB