I’m heading up to the Adirondacks next week to a lake (no-motors) which has lake trout and landlocked salmon. Does anyone have any tips (lures / flies)they can provide on catching these fish this time of the year. My plan is to drift in a canoe over the deeper sections of the lake. Thanks for any feedback.
Lake Trout
Ralph Cutter of Truckee area of the high Sierra says that red and white lures or flys work well. Our Lake Trout are transplants from the Great Slave Lake of Western Canada (15 to 45 lbs). I catch them in the evenings when they try to feed on freshly planted rainbows (12 to 18 inches) on Donner Lake near Truckee (Hwy 80). Most people in California catch them by deep trolling with either flatfsih, or minnows on down riggers. Our Lakers are all in the high sierra lakes of Tahoe, Donner and Spaulding.
Joseph Bates had written several great books on fishing with streamer (minnow) flys in Maine and the rest of New England. A wife of guide in Maine, who’s name is Carrie Stevens has several famous patterns tied for smelt the primary bait fish in the Northeast. Check out the Gray Ghost, Green Ghost, Black Ghost and the Parmacheene Belle flys. There are several homepage with copies of Carrie’s flys on the internet. Good luck, let me know how you do.
Tell Me More!
Tell me more about fishing for Lake Trout in the evening. I am not into big boats and downriggers so I don’t fish for them in Lake Tahoe.
What bait do you use? How deep? Near where the planters were planted?
Lake trout tips
Well youv’e already been by this writting, but here’s my tip. I live in the Adirondacks and fish for Lakers all the time. There is a little item called a fish seeker diver from Cabelaus. When used on your rod it will go down about 60 feet on a nice slow paddle and in the late spring through summer that will put you in the range where are. Also use a streamer(grey ghost) and go for salmon.
Lake Trout
I have been using flys for the past two years, at both Tahoe and Donner. Calif Fish and Game post where they do their plants on their home page. The Sacramento Bee will post planting in their fishing report on Thursdays. I also use the same methods at both Lakes Folsom and Berryessa for Chinook Salmon that are planted at these lower lakes. You don’t need a fly rod to do this, it can be done with a Walmart spinning rod with 4 pound test and a barrel swevel. I like the Gray Ghost pattern the best, but if the water is dirty, I will go with a black wooly worm, or a clouser minnow pattern.