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Lake Trout fishing on the Indian Lake Chain

On the Indian Lake Chain there are plenty of trout holes throughout. Watch on the ride down to Boulder as the Musky and Walleye shore structure turns into large drop offs, cliffs and banks. Average size lake trout are in the 4 to 6 lb. range.

When you do tie into one, be ready for a great fight as you real them in from 30 to 60 feet of water.

Not only can you find them on the chain, you can cross a quick portage from the chain to one of our boat caches on Augite where it is stuffed with trout of all sizes.

Spring fishing for Lake Trout on the Indian Lake Chain

Lake Trout are a true cold-water species. Their preferred temperature range is between 40-55 degrees Early spring just after ice out, is traditionally the best time to plan a trip for trout fishing. In the spring they are on the prowl for food, they exploit any abundant food sources in any depth of water at this time. That means they can be just about anywhere. The lake trout can be found right out front of our lodge in shallow water. You can troll large spoons all over to tie into one of these beasts. As the water warms up they move down the chain into the deeper cooler water into the furthest lakes down the chain.

Summer fishing for Lake Trout

During the summer downriggers are often used to reach the depths these fish are at or you can use heavy jigs to get down to the 40 to 60' range. These deep holes are found on the last few lakes down the Indian Lake Chain during the summer months. Be prepared for a long and fierce fight if you hook into a lake trout as they are all muscle and don't like to come to the surface.

Fall fishing for Lake Trout

Lake Trout are fall spawners, unlike pike, walleyes, bass, and panfish that all spawn in spring. During the pre-spawn, the lake trout are focused heavily on feeding in preparation for the spawn. They will cruise the shallows searching mainly for schools of bait fish to feed on. The peak of their feeding activity usually occurs during the morning and then again in the late afternoon and evening. This shallow water activity can change from day to day, depending on the weather. During cloudy windy days, lake trout will be found mainly in the shallows. During sunny calm days, they may hold in adjacent deeper water, moving into shallow water periodically throughout the day.

Generally the best baits for lake trout are spoons, especially those in bright colors, such as chartreuse and orange. Both silver and gold spoons can be effective as well.

Other baits to consider include heavy jigs, crankbaits and live bait. Minnow imitation crankbaits are especially effective. When fishing with jigs, start with a pink or white jig head weighing 1/8-ounce or larger. Whites and natural color bodies tend to work best.

Lake trout are great to eat. You can bake, pickle, pan fry or even steak them to give you lots of flavour.

Light Tackle 3-Way Swivel Technique for Deep Summer Lake Trout

Not many people fish for Lake Trout because many think you need heavy equipment to get deep. Traditionally people used downriggers or steel line with heavy Tuna rods to get deep. These methods are OK for giant lakes like the Great Lakes but in smaller inland lakes where the depth and structure is constantly changing these methods are not practical and not effective.

With 6-pound test line, a 3-way swivel, a Walleye or Musky rod, a 2-oz weight and a light flutter lure you can easily back-troll 50 to 60 feet deep. The secret is to be in a boat with a smaller motor and back-troll as slow as you can. You want to troll just fast enough for your lure to wobble. With 6-pound test line there is less friction with the water so your rig goes almost straight down resulting in not having much line out. This way you can feel the trout hit your lure and then set the hook.

You do not cast this rig or just let it sink down to the bottom quickly because it will get all tangled. You need to switch off the anti-reverse on your reel and slowly reel backwards until your sinker hits the bottom. Then reel up a foot and just wait. The reason this rig is so good in smaller lakes is because you can keep testing to see where the bottom is and stay close to the bottom. You must remember to turn your anti-reverse back on when you have your rig at the desired depth.

Generally in smaller inland lakes the Lake Trout will be around 50 feet deep during the summer. There will be trout deeper but once you go past the 50-foot depth the amount of oxygen decreases and the trout are less active. Sometimes in the middle of the summer Lake Trout will swim right up into shallow warm water for brief periods of time to hunt minnows but that is rare. I have seen Lake Trout caught in the end of July in a couple of feet of water while casting for Smallmouth Bass. Lake Trout will also come shallower in the evening. If you are on a lake where your depth finder is seeing schools of bait fish 30 to 40 feet down then the Lake Trout will come shallower in the evening to feed. This is when you want to troll suspended 30 to 40 feet down and have your rig around these bait fish.