In-Land Laker Takers
By: Tyler Dunn

Relatively big in size, hard fighting and great tasting lake trout can be fairly simple fish for any angler to catch. Many different lure options can be used for lakers through the ice. The following lure tips include my 4 favourite offerings for winter in-land lake trout.

Jigs
There is a vast variety of jigs used for lake trout around Ontario. Most popular would be the famous tube jig. Anyone who has ice fished lake trout has probably seen a tube. The reason for that is because they work extremely well in almost all lakes. Bottom is where I generally start with the tube but I quickly begin to reel up in increments of ten to fifteen feet up to within ten feet below the ice. The speed in which I jig with is usually matched to the weight of the jig head. With heavier jigs I tend to jig more aggressively, banging and ripping the bait off bottom looking for some attention. The lighter heads tend to make you fish with more finesse, coaxing the fish into biting sometimes. Usually in white, tubes can be fished effectively in the whole water column at any speed. Chartreuse, green and pink are all other colours that have been effective. Another popular jig is hair jigs. Hair jigs also come in a very high variety of profiles, sizes and colours. Generally ¼ - 1 ounce will give you a great selection of weight. As far as colours are concerned either hand tied or store bought the colour options are endless. The most important part of using a jig for lake trout is to attach a stinger hook. Stingers are intended for short strikes. These can either be store bought or tied on by hand. It is a very simple procedure. When I tie my own I tend to stick with monofilament line somewhere in between 10-14 pound test. Tie a uni-knot on one end of the line and slip it on the shank of the hook. Pull firmly to tighten and then complete the stinger by attaching a small treble about 2-3 inches below. Short striking lake trout can become very frustrating for ice anglers and a simple stinger is the solution to increase your odds for a solid hook- up.

Swimming Lures
An effective lure that should be in anyone’s tackle arsenal. These lures dart around in every direction and mimic a live minnow extremely well. Many different companies such as Rapala, Lindy, Storm and Northland all offer variations of swimming minnows. A white jigging shad rap tipped with the head of a medium shiner through the bottom of the jaw then up through the skull is my most productive swim lure. Another classic option would be an airplane jig. The name says it all, it literally flies around. This is also usually tipped with some kind of baitfish for scent but don’t be afraid to fish either shad rap or airplane jig bare either.

Live Bait Rig
I was first introduced to the slip sinker rig for lake trout while fishing a local tournament with a number of current and former guides. I was extremely excited as this was my first ever tournament. Although I had big expectations for myself I never won the tournament, nor did I even place. What I did gain from the weekend was the ultimate tip-up rig for a live shiner. The rig consists of a simple egg sinker on your mainline which is then tied to one end of a barrel swivel. Next take a 2-5 foot piece of fluorocarbon line and attach it to the other end of the barrel swivel. Tie on a number 6 or 8 octopus style hook and then skin hook a lively shiner. When the sinker is placed on bottom with slack line the shiner will begin to swim and struggle with very little resistance. Remember to always use a shiner with this live bait setup because a dace minnow does not have the same effect. Dace just lie on bottom and do not swim around at all. When I was first told about the shiner only deal, I was sceptical and actually dropped my aqua-view down to have a look. They weren’t lying......

Dead Bait Rig
When I fish a dead smelt or even a big shiner under a tip-up the most effective hook set-up is definitely a quick strike. The hook up percentage with the quick strike rig is almost 100% and I have yet to see another set-up on a tip up have such a high hook up rate. I tie them only using 8 pound fluorocarbon line but 8-15 pound would be just fine. The biggest problem I ran into when using big dead bait is trying to get the bait to sit horizontal in a natural position. An easy solution is to slip a small nail into the baits mouth down its throat or slipped into the stomach area from the back side. Another option instead of a nail is to use a small bullet or egg sinker. The only problem I have found when using a quick strike for lake trout is they almost always become gut hooked. So, be prepared to either keep the fish or possibly cut the line leaving the hooks in the fish depending on how deep the hooks actually are. If you can’t see them, I highly recommend keeping the fish.