Lake Trout Fishing Tips.

Lake Trout Fishing Tips.
Unlike other types of fishing, when your after the lake trout that live in the cold water lakes of Alaska, you need to be prepared with as much knowledge as possible in your pursuit of these lunkers of the deep. By taking a few moments and reading through these lake trout fishing tips you can increase your catch ratio without too much difficulty.

Lake Trout remind me of steelhead in the fact that they go from very aggressive eaters to utterly dormant feeders, depending on the weather, time of day or year as well as the current conditions of the lake. By applying the correct tackle and fishing techniques, you can increase your catch ratio considerably.

Tips for Lake Trout Fishing in Alaska.

• When trolling vary your speed between slow and medium, as it will capture the trout's attention.
• When releasing the line get a rhythm going, don't just let the line out until it hits the bottom!
• Troll of retrieve lures slowly, just fast enough for your lure to work and no faster. Lake trout like slow moving pray.
• During summer, Lake Trout hit best in the early mornings, from first light until an hour or so before noon. With lake trout, the earlybird really does get the worm.
• In general, here is a chart to get you satrted on where the fish are
  • As the Ice Retreats; Between 10 feet and the surface
  • Ice Out; About 35 to 45 feet deep
  • Late Spring; About 50 to 65 feet deep
  • Summer; Lake Trout like water around 53°. Why? Because that is where all the small fish are. Lake Trout feed on these small fish which they find in schools suspended within the thermal layers.
  • Fall; Fish are moving closer to shorelines as the waters cool and spawning season nears. Try fishing near reefs or rocky shorelines as the cooler fall season brings Alaska's lake trout back to the shallower waters.

Lures for Lakers

• Note: Natural colors like green, black and blue work well on bright clear days.
• The favorite lure is the J-13 Jointed Rapala. The silver and black and rainbow usually work well in Alaska.
• Both the Reaper Big Joe and the Reaper Peacock Silver Spoons are priceless for Alaska lake trout if you can find them. These are highly covented laker lures by those that have fished them. If you can find them, buy them before they are gone.
• Flatfish also work well in the same collors as the Rapalas mentioned above. Stick with the F7 or F9 in these lures or if you prefer, the K-10 kwikfish also is a strong producer.
• Another lure that I will not leave without is the Panther Martin in both the 3/8 oz. or 1/2 oz. sizes. The blade on these lures revolves readily at slow trolling speed, and the special PM throb is as effective on lake trout as it is on other species. I prefer to remove the treble hook and replave it with a siwash for stronger hookups.

During the heigth of summer I employ the use of downriggers and will often fish a size 2 Luhr Jensen Needlefish at a very slow crawl. This has produced many fish during times when the bite was very slow. Others have had success in jigging with buzz bombs, kastmasters or Crocodiles. I have not actually tried this type of fishing but have witnessed it in action.