Going after the lakers

MAXUM · 03-24-2010, 09:32 AM

Since it's no secret that the Salmon population in Winni is not in very good shape based on the fall netting results, I'm thinking that maybe I'd lay off the salmon this year a bit and try a stab at going for the lakers instead. The thing is I have caught some lakers while trolling for Salmon in the past but I've never really concentrated on going for them exclusively. So I'm looking for some guidance. I've been told that jigging for them is best, but I can't imagine that is necessary or maybe even productive in the early season, seems like that's be more of a tactic to take up once the thermoclines set up. Plus seeing that trolling for them can lead to success seems like that'll work too.

So I'm primarily looking for two pieces of advice. If I troll for them, what's the best bait to use, spoons and colors. Since I don't have down riggers I'm stuck using trolling rods with leadcore. What's the best leader to use? Finally trolling speed.

If I go jigging for them, what's the best jig to use and how deep to go or do you just go right off the bottom? Just confirming too, best to jig off underwater rock piles and or dropoffs?

Any information would be really helpful. Hope to be successful in catching a few nice lakers this year if I can.

Merrymeeting · 03-24-2010, 02:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MAXUM

Hope to be successful in catching a few nice lakers this year if I can.

In the past you could catch the Koby species with a well-grown female. But that might not work anymore. I don't have any other advice other than to ask you try this sometime during round 2 or 3 of the NBA playoffs.

MAXUM · 03-24-2010, 04:24 PM

Now I got to give credit where it's due, that was a good one!

hilltopper · 03-25-2010, 07:36 AM

I'd try the various sizes of Sutton spoons trolled slowly (1.5 MPH max). I think speed is the most important factor. I've caught plenty of lakers on Winni using the same hardware I would use for salmon. Slow trolling or long lining sewn on bait in the early season should be very successfull. The hard part is getting good at sewing on the bait correctly (I'm not). There's also "yanking" for lakers which I've had a lot of success with on lakes (or areas of lakes) with sandy bottoms. The link below describes this technique. Very similar to jigging.

http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/Fish...ort_072204.htm

ishoot308 · 03-25-2010, 09:00 AM

Maxum;

Lakers are usually found on or near the bottom. I have had my best luck trolling just off the bottom with weighted lead core line and a spoon such as a Mooselook Wobbler. I normally troll in areas that have 60' of water + or - Use plenty of monofilament (50' +) leader attached to your lead core. I also have had much better luck with lead core than I did when fishing with down riggers. Not sure why but it could be because your lure / bait is much farther away from the motor / boat than when using down riggers.

Good Luck!!

dan

MAXUM · 03-25-2010, 02:33 PM

Wow I'm not sure I could get down 60' trolling with leadcore. I know in the summer time when I'm trying to toll deep with 7-8 colors out I'm down around 40 feet at best. Well early season is no problem they will be within the top 15' or so. Summer time I may just take a stab at jigging.

I do run a very long floro leader for salmon, but it's very very light, only 4lb test I'm thinking with the lakers I should go heavier but are they just as scared of the heavy leader line as the salmon? I mean after all the plan is to land at least a 10+ pounder right?

(in my dreams of course) but gosh playing with one of them on 4lb test as hard as they tug I think I'd loose a good fish that way.

BTW thanks for all the replies... keep 'em coming!

ishoot308 · 03-25-2010, 03:26 PM

Hi Maxum;

Yes you are correct that very early in the season they are at the top but not for long. A couple weeks later on and I have found them again back right on the bottom.

60' of depth would require 10 colors of line. depending on how fast you troll (I troll around 2 mph) as lead line usually sinks around 6' +or - per color. I use a large Penn level wind reel that has 20 colors of line on it. 10 colors is sufficient however with plenty of backing on it.

There are some drawbacks fishing with lead. First off though it produces lots of fish, it's really not too much fun yanking up a small or average laker that feels like a water logged boot because of the weight of the line and a saltwater sized reel. It certainly not like the salmon that hits your gray ghost on a fly rod!!

The other thing is if you are a catch and release fisherman (I am) dragging up a laker that was hooked on 10 colors of line is completely exhausted and has less of a chance surviving when released. This is where proper handling / netting really offsets this issue. I am seriously thinking of going completely barbless and single hook only this year and see how it works out. I guess every little bit helps...

Dan

bilproject · 03-25-2010, 04:44 PM

Maxim, just keep fishing salmon. Pulling up a 27" laker from 110' plus depth is no fun at all! Seriously, I find lead core is the way to go and fish the bottom. The big ones are always in 100' +. Downriggers get to be a pain at that depth plus if you really fish the bottom you will get hung up from time to time and getting a ball out of the rocks can be impossible. 1.5mph troll or slower is a must. Salmon like 2-2.5 mph but lakers seem to need to see the bait a bit longer to get interested. We fish every morning from sun up to about
8:30. Our best day last summer was 6 fish 20-28" in that couple of hours. Never got shut out. Now you know the how, all you have to do is figure out the were!!!! Good luck.

MAXUM · 03-26-2010, 12:23 PM

ishoot... I put a whole spool of lead core on my trolling rod but that was only 10 colors. I don't think I could get much more on there if I tried so that's going to somewhat limit trolling depths for me. I 'd want to keep at least one color on the bottom of my reel. Eh I'll give it a whirl and see what happens. I'm only a catch and release if the fish is not legal. Then again I've always been after the salmon and know that if they are in any way injured they are at minimum stunted for growth. I do try to be ultra careful with the fish though, especially the runts if I get them. I am definitely going barb-less this year for salmon and may only do a handful of trips focusing on them.

bilproject - sounds like you got the lakers down to a science. I hope to do the same. I know at least a few spots where I know the fishing is good just never outfitted myself to go after them. Matter of fact every year while I'm fishing trolling around the lake I find it fascinating to see spots where the fish just sit there suspended in the water column just hanging out doing what ever it is fish do. When I see that on the finder and they are deep I know there is a darn good chance those are lakers. So where isn't so much of a problem as is technique and the right presentation.

03-24-2010, 09:32 AM	#1
MAXUM Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Kuna ID Posts: 2,755 Thanks: 246 Thanked 1,942 Times in 802 Posts	Going after the lakers Since it's no secret that the Salmon population in Winni is not in very good shape based on the fall netting results, I'm thinking that maybe I'd lay off the salmon this year a bit and try a stab at going for the lakers instead. The thing is I have caught some lakers while trolling for Salmon in the past but I've never really concentrated on going for them exclusively. So I'm looking for some guidance. I've been told that jigging for them is best, but I can't imagine that is necessary or maybe even productive in the early season, seems like that's be more of a tactic to take up once the thermoclines set up. Plus seeing that trolling for them can lead to success seems like that'll work too. So I'm primarily looking for two pieces of advice. If I troll for them, what's the best bait to use, spoons and colors. Since I don't have down riggers I'm stuck using trolling rods with leadcore. What's the best leader to use? Finally trolling speed. If I go jigging for them, what's the best jig to use and how deep to go or do you just go right off the bottom? Just confirming too, best to jig off underwater rock piles and or dropoffs? Any information would be really helpful. Hope to be successful in catching a few nice lakers this year if I can.

03-24-2010, 04:24 PM	#3
MAXUM Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Kuna ID Posts: 2,755 Thanks: 246 Thanked 1,942 Times in 802 Posts	Now I got to give credit where it's due, that was a good one!

03-25-2010, 07:36 AM	#4
hilltopper Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Meredith Posts: 718 Thanks: 25 Thanked 105 Times in 66 Posts	I'd try the various sizes of Sutton spoons trolled slowly (1.5 MPH max). I think speed is the most important factor. I've caught plenty of lakers on Winni using the same hardware I would use for salmon. Slow trolling or long lining sewn on bait in the early season should be very successfull. The hard part is getting good at sewing on the bait correctly (I'm not). There's also "yanking" for lakers which I've had a lot of success with on lakes (or areas of lakes) with sandy bottoms. The link below describes this technique. Very similar to jigging. http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/Fish...ort_072204.htm

03-25-2010, 09:00 AM	#5
ishoot308 Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Gilford, NH / Welch Island Posts: 5,986 Thanks: 2,308 Thanked 4,990 Times in 1,936 Posts	Maxum; Lakers are usually found on or near the bottom. I have had my best luck trolling just off the bottom with weighted lead core line and a spoon such as a Mooselook Wobbler. I normally troll in areas that have 60' of water + or - Use plenty of monofilament (50' +) leader attached to your lead core. I also have had much better luck with lead core than I did when fishing with down riggers. Not sure why but it could be because your lure / bait is much farther away from the motor / boat than when using down riggers. Good Luck!! dan

03-25-2010, 02:33 PM	#6
MAXUM Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Kuna ID Posts: 2,755 Thanks: 246 Thanked 1,942 Times in 802 Posts	Wow I'm not sure I could get down 60' trolling with leadcore. I know in the summer time when I'm trying to toll deep with 7-8 colors out I'm down around 40 feet at best. Well early season is no problem they will be within the top 15' or so. Summer time I may just take a stab at jigging. I do run a very long floro leader for salmon, but it's very very light, only 4lb test I'm thinking with the lakers I should go heavier but are they just as scared of the heavy leader line as the salmon? I mean after all the plan is to land at least a 10+ pounder right? (in my dreams of course) but gosh playing with one of them on 4lb test as hard as they tug I think I'd loose a good fish that way. BTW thanks for all the replies... keep 'em coming!

03-25-2010, 03:26 PM	#7
ishoot308 Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Gilford, NH / Welch Island Posts: 5,986 Thanks: 2,308 Thanked 4,990 Times in 1,936 Posts	Hi Maxum; Yes you are correct that very early in the season they are at the top but not for long. A couple weeks later on and I have found them again back right on the bottom. 60' of depth would require 10 colors of line. depending on how fast you troll (I troll around 2 mph) as lead line usually sinks around 6' +or - per color. I use a large Penn level wind reel that has 20 colors of line on it. 10 colors is sufficient however with plenty of backing on it. There are some drawbacks fishing with lead. First off though it produces lots of fish, it's really not too much fun yanking up a small or average laker that feels like a water logged boot because of the weight of the line and a saltwater sized reel. It certainly not like the salmon that hits your gray ghost on a fly rod!! The other thing is if you are a catch and release fisherman (I am) dragging up a laker that was hooked on 10 colors of line is completely exhausted and has less of a chance surviving when released. This is where proper handling / netting really offsets this issue. I am seriously thinking of going completely barbless and single hook only this year and see how it works out. I guess every little bit helps... Dan

03-25-2010, 04:44 PM	#8
bilproject Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Bear Island/Fort Myers, Fla Posts: 229 Blog Entries: 1 Thanks: 1 Thanked 59 Times in 41 Posts	Maxim, just keep fishing salmon. Pulling up a 27" laker from 110' plus depth is no fun at all! Seriously, I find lead core is the way to go and fish the bottom. The big ones are always in 100' +. Downriggers get to be a pain at that depth plus if you really fish the bottom you will get hung up from time to time and getting a ball out of the rocks can be impossible. 1.5mph troll or slower is a must. Salmon like 2-2.5 mph but lakers seem to need to see the bait a bit longer to get interested. We fish every morning from sun up to about 8:30. Our best day last summer was 6 fish 20-28" in that couple of hours. Never got shut out. Now you know the how, all you have to do is figure out the were!!!! Good luck.

03-26-2010, 12:23 PM	#9
MAXUM Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Kuna ID Posts: 2,755 Thanks: 246 Thanked 1,942 Times in 802 Posts	ishoot... I put a whole spool of lead core on my trolling rod but that was only 10 colors. I don't think I could get much more on there if I tried so that's going to somewhat limit trolling depths for me. I 'd want to keep at least one color on the bottom of my reel. Eh I'll give it a whirl and see what happens. I'm only a catch and release if the fish is not legal. Then again I've always been after the salmon and know that if they are in any way injured they are at minimum stunted for growth. I do try to be ultra careful with the fish though, especially the runts if I get them. I am definitely going barb-less this year for salmon and may only do a handful of trips focusing on them. bilproject - sounds like you got the lakers down to a science. I hope to do the same. I know at least a few spots where I know the fishing is good just never outfitted myself to go after them. Matter of fact every year while I'm fishing trolling around the lake I find it fascinating to see spots where the fish just sit there suspended in the water column just hanging out doing what ever it is fish do. When I see that on the finder and they are deep I know there is a darn good chance those are lakers. So where isn't so much of a problem as is technique and the right presentation.