Secret Weapons

Depth Control

Depth is doubly important in winter. Early in the ice fishing season, lake trout can be caught in a variety of depths—typically from 20 feet to 60 feet—but often into water approaching and exceeding 100 feet deep.

As winter progresses, though, usually in February, a midseason lull begins. Have the trout vanished or stopped feeding? Hardly. To be sure, on some popular waters, the trout population has been skimmed off, but the fish also appear to make subtle shifts in location. Most likely, these movements are in response to changes in the forage fish community.

Many biologists speculate that a combination of ever thickening ice and added layers of snow combine to block sunlight penetration and darken deeper waters. In response, the phytoplankton and zooplankton—tiny plants and animals that provide the foundation for life—float higher in the water column as they follow the last rays of life-sustaining light. Baitfish similarly follow the plankton higher, with trout in hot pursuit.

How deep light penetrates and how high plankton and baitfish migrate depend on a whole host of factors including water clarity, ice thickness, and snow depth. So experiment and keep your eyes on your sonar.

Finally, never neglect confined open water adjacent to trout structure. Like crappies—but even more so—lake trout love to prowl over deep open water adjacent to structure. To the first-time or nonobservant trout angler, the trout appear to be cruising randomly out in the middle of nowhere. But they leave little to chance. Most often, they’re using the same depth they used when they were scouting the structure. Sometimes that’s the top, but usually it’s the depth the forage fish are using.

Controlled Erraticism

Location is the hardest part of the lake trout ice fishing puzzle. Presentation, by comparison, is easy, so long as you keep a few things in mind.

Whether you use tube jigs, Jigging Rapalas, airplane jigs, or spoons, lake trout love movement. And the erratic action that simulates a dead or dying cisco, smelt, or perch is usually the best. But you must develop a cadence. That’s because in the clear waters where lake trout roam, they’re accustomed to spotting a baitfish (or your lure) at a great distance, lining it up, and then demolishing it at a predetermined spot, just as a trap or skeet shooter leads his target. So if you throw in a zig at the last moment, when you previously zagged, you could feel a trout slap your lure and miss it.

Make it easy for the fish by developing a systematic rhythm. I find that my lakers key on country music, so I like to jig to the beat of Garth Brooks, Vince Gill, or Shania. Your trout may prefer heavy metal, rap, or even the three tenors. Just be sure to sing the tune silently, in your head, if you’re fishing with friends.

By the way, this is a good time to reinforce two highly peculiar lake trout traits. First, lakers rarely travel alone, usually swimming in loose aggregations of two, three, or more fish. So expect double and triple headers. That means when your partner catches a fish, move immediately into his hole as soon as he lands the trout. At the very least, move to the nearest vacant hole. If you’re fishing alone, on the other hand, and you catch a trout, watch your second line for a strike, and get your lure back into the water as quickly as possible.