Here's an article written by Paul which appeared in the
March '08 issue of the "Home Town Focus" website/newspaper.
Click on the logo below to check it out!
Winter fishing adventure in Trout Lake
Aurora Borealis was in its final shimmering act as we started down the trail.
The late February air was a crisp five below zero and we set off at an exhilarating
pace, flush with the excitement of the lake trout fishing awaiting us.
With me on the trail that morning were my ten year old chocolate labrador Mookie,
my friend Glenn Moore, and his two young Corgis, Benny and Checkers. Mookie's graying
muzzle was further accentuated by the glistening frost, and the two young dogs were
eating up trail quickly under their short, squat frames.
Our destination was Trout Lake; a large 7000 acre lake just north of Lake Vermilion. An
ogligotrophic lake with huge expanses of open water, Trout embodies it's own unique
experience. Taking a trip into the Boundary Waters means getting there under your
own power; here the dogs have quite the advantage with twice as much leg power!
It also requires a light weight sled to transport your gear, and a hand auger to drill
the holes through as much as three feet of late winter ice. Depending upon snow conditions,
snowshoes or cross country skis may be needed, and in March, cleats may be needed for
traction if bare ice conditions prevail.
Trout Lake also has a well deserved reputation for giving up it's winter trout grudgingly,
however, when you score, you can score big! Big lakers are great, but the aesthetic pleasure
of having the wilderness to ourselves for the day is more than ample reward.
As darkness turned to light, we literally crawled up a steep rock embankment on the trail.
First Glenn gave me an assist by helping push my sled up while I pulled, then I ditched my
sled and reciprocated the favor. This isn't your average fishing trip! There's serious
work to be done before the actual fishing begins.
Before long, we were making good time across the hard packed snow covering the ice of the
main basin. One can't help but gaze in awe at the grandiose scenery of a wilderness trout
lake in winter. As we traversed the massive expanse of open ice, Glenn and I immersed
ourselves in amiable conversation while silently anticipating the bull work that was
awaiting us. As our four legged friends amused themselves in front of us, little did
we know the enormity of the task in front of us.
The early morning sky had turned to an azure blue as we strode into our destination - a
steep breaking shoreline that transitions from sand to rock bottom. We quickly unhooked
the bungie cords from our long sleds and threw ourselves into the daunting task of hand
drilling holes through what turned out to be about 32 inches of solid late winter ice.
Our preferred method is to drill two eight inch holes side by side, then use an ice
saw to create one big hole. This is no miniscule job when using a hand auger! After
a ninety minute hike to get us there, it took another ninety minutes of hard labor
and sweat to finish the holes and start fishing.
In short order, we had suspended live suckers below the ice, and the tip ups were
operational. With the weather a bit on the cold side, we settled into our one man
shelters and began jigging. My preferred tactic for winter lakers is to swim an
airplane jig. I like to vary my presentation by alternately pumping the rod hard
to give the jig a nice spin, and subsequently popping it to give the bait a little
dart and hop. Size is a matter of personal preference, and I use small, medium, and
large airplane jigs in white/red, white/silver, and brown/gold color combinations.
Jigging spoons are also effective, with a couple of our favorites being Kastmasters
and Little Cleos in 1/4 to 1 ounce sizes. My favorite color combinations are silver/blue,
firetiger, gold/orange, and silver/charteuse. The hopping, darting, and fluttering
actions of the airplane jigs and spoons perfectly simulate a wounded cisco or lake herring.
Tip-ups can also be very effective tools when baited with a large sucker minnow or a cisco.
My preference is to suspend them in the upper half of the water column. This way, trout
located deeper in the water column can see the bait above them, and the fish cruising
shallow below the ice can contact the bait as well.
Locations to look for are steep breaking shorelines off of points and islands, as
well as around reefs and mid-lake humps. We like to set up in forty to eighty feet
of water. The trout are there to hunt pelagic (open-water) baitfish, namely ciscoes
and lake herring, and these baitfish can be anywhere in lake in winter. We use our
Vexilar electronics to indicate depth as well as to show concentrations of baitfish
throughout the water column. It also alerts us when a trout is up close and
personal and checking out our bait. It's by no means a guarantees that we'll catch
it though. Lake trout are notoriously finicky!
The day rolled by idyllically with the blue skies punctuated by the occasional fast
moving cloud bank. Other than a couple flags on tip-ups which turned out to be fish that
ran and dropped the bait, the fishing was pretty slow. This is quite normal with lakers.
In fact, if you catch one fish in a day, you're not doing bad!
Finally, in mid afternoon I heard Glen holler, "Fish On!" I quickly snapped out of my
trance of staring at the Vexilar and jigging, and hurried over to Glenn. I flipped over
his shelter for him so he could fight the trout outside, and peered down the hole,
eagerly anticipating a glance of the fish. Glenn quickly exclaimed, "It's a good trout,
I saw it down the hole when it was following my spoon." After a typical lake trout fight,
characterized by long, powerful runs as well as headshakes and rolling, a gorgeous laker
appeared about 10 feet down.
Rolling and shaking its head, the big fish wouldn't give up easily! Finally, he was able
to get the fish turned and into the bottom of the hole and I gave him an assist to get the
fish out of the hole. High fives were exchanged, as we marveled at the unique beauty of
a native red fin laker. The fish was slightly over 33 inches, and we estimated its weight
at 12 to 14 pounds, a dandy for an inland Minnesota water.
About an hour later, my electronics lit up with a fish right below my jig. After playing
tag up and down the water column with it, I finally hooked a 3 to 4 pound lake trout right
below the hole. That's one of the fun things about trout. Sometimes they take a bit of
coaxing to get them to commit. In between, they'll follow the jig from top to bottom and
vice versa, oftentimes hitting the jig right below the ice. When they are in the upper
reaches of the water column, you can actually see them by looking down the hole into the
clear water. After about 10 seconds of rolling, the trout extricated himself from the hook,
and swam off unscathed. Lakers have a way of doing this! Once again, I resumed the endless
cadence of pumping the rod and watching my jig on the electronics, all the while dreaming
about the big catch I hoped was imminent.
A short time later, I heard Glenn yell again, and I hurried over to see what was happening.
There was a parabolic bend in his rod, and it was obvious he was fighting another nice fish.
After the fish made several powerful runs with the customary head shakes and rolls, I helped
him ice another beautiful Boundary Waters laker. This one was a fat 27 incher we estimated
at around 7 to 8 pounds. After some more congratulations, we were back to fishing again,
already ecstatic with the results, but still hoping more was in store.
Things went into another lull for a couple hours, and the sun was starting to sink lower in
the sky. I walked over to Glenn and we discussed how much longer we wanted to stay. Neither
of us wanted to leave, but the daylight was waning. We decided to stay until dark, and a short
time later, I noticed a line on my Vexilar, directly below my airplane jig. A split second
later I felt a hard hit and immediately the fish took off for deeper water. Inherently
knowing this was a big trout, I loosened the drag on my baitcaster reel, and the fight was on!
I yelled for Glenn to come over, and in short order, he was there, along with our 3 four
legged friends. This was an epic battle, with the trout taking off on long, powerful runs,
only to have me pump and reel to gain back the line. This scenario repeated itself again
and again, and soon the dogs soon grew bored and wandered off to do their own thing, while
I continued to battle the fish. We debated about the size of the fish, both of us in awe
at the sheer strength of it.
Thank God for a good drag system, and after about 15 minutes the fish was finally directly
below us. Glenn was looking down into the hole and saw it first, and exclaimed, "Wow, big
fish!" A short time later I saw it and reiterated the thought. After what seemed like an
eternity, I got the big trout turned and Glenn gave an assist getting it through the hole.
Into the stillness of the late afternoon air came a gorgeous laker, which I knew immediately
was my personal best! The hawg stretched the tape to 37 inches and carried a 21 inch girth.
We estimated the weight at 16 to 18 pounds. What a way to end what had already been a
memorable trip!
Lake trout are a very powerful fish with a lot of stamina. Consequently, its very important
to use rods, reels, and terminal tackle strong enough to handle them. I use 30 to 34 inch
rods with heavy and medium heavy power and a fast action. They must have a lot of backbone
and the butt and tip strength to handle a laker's power. I prefer a baitcaster reel with a
good star drag system. When you hook into a big one, you'll really test the reel's capability.
I spool up with 12 pound test Maxima line which has very good abrasion resistance which is a
must for ice fishing. I use a snap swivel with 50 pound test strength for spoons. For airplane
jigs, I use a two foot leader in 15 or 17 pound test attached with a double barrel swivel in
the same test strength. Don't underestimate the strength of these fish or the result will be
broken rods, line, or swivels!
We decided to end the day on the big laker, as it was almost dark, and we had a long journey
out. As we packed up and got ready to leave, the last of the sun was dipping below the treeline
to the distant West. Not all lake trout trips pan out like this one, but when one does its
really something special!
With Mookie, Benny, and Checkers leading the way, we set off across the vast expanse of
frozen lake. I paused and silently reflected on how truly blessed I am to live in such a
beautiful place. What a wonderful day it had been fishing with a good friend and our
canine companions!
Paul Pollock lives in Tower, MN. He guides for winter lake trout in the Boundary Waters as
well as on Burntside and Snowbank Lakes. He guides for muskies and walleyes on Lake Vermilion
spring, summer, and fall. He is a contributing writer for The Next Bite/Esox Angler Magazine.
EQUIPMENT FOR A WINTER BWCA DAY TRIP
LIGHTWEIGHT SLED:
We use 6 foot long by 18 inch wide high impact plastic sleds. They're lightweight, tough, pull easily, and carry a lot of gear. We use a long rope with a waist and shoulder strap for ease of pulling. Bungie cords of various lengths are used to fasten our gear to the sled.
SNOWSHOES OR CROSS COUNTRY SKIS:
Depending on the snow conditions, you may need them. In deep snow, travel will be next to impossible without them.
A GOOD PACK:
A Duluth Pack or a good frame pack can also come in handy depending on how much gear you take. Remember, you're pulling and carrying your gear in, so keep it light!
A GOOD HAND AUGER:
A good, sharp auger is a must. I use a Strikemaster Lazer 8 inch with an extending handle. Late in the season, you'll need it.
AN ICE SAW:
Its invaluable for turning a small hole into a bigger one. We use a Nils Master model that folds and locks for easy carrying.
PORTABLE SHELTER:
If the weather permits, we'll fish outside. If its 20 below, that's not too comfortable, and then we'll use our Pak Shack portable shelters. They have a large chair and a flip over shelter with enough room for you, your electronics, and your fishing hole. They fold up and stuff into a carrying case and are easily strapped onto your sled with bungie cords. They are also light weight at around 15 pounds.
LIGHTWEIGHT FOLDING CHAIR:
Its nice to be able to sit sometimes. We use lightweight collapsible captains chairs, but even a plastic bucket will suffice, and it can double as your minnow pail.
BAIT:
We use frozen ciscoes and live sucker minnows. A small pail will be needed for the live bait.
RODS AND REELS:
I take along two rods in Ready Rig carrying cases. The cases are essential to keep them from getting beat up or broken on the portage sections. I use homemade rods and Abu Garcia 5500 C3 baitcaster reels.
TIP UPS:
I prefer the Frabill Arctic Fire tip ups. They're tough as nails, and work very well in all conditions.
TACKLE:
Take what you are going to use. Don't take along more than you feel like pulling. Its just more weight.
ELECTRONICS:
I won't fish without my Vexilar. Period. Its invaluable for depth reading, locating baitfish, and letting you know when a trout is checking out your lure.
CLOTHING:
Use common sense in what you take along. Always be prepared for it to get colder than forecasted. Dress in layers, and have heavy pants, coat, hat, and gloves or mittens t to wear once you settle in for fishing. You are going to get sweaty walking in, so its a good idea to dress lightly with lightweight long underwear for the walk in. Once you're there and the holes are drilled, change into a heavy weight pair of long underwear and your warm clothing.
MATCHES AND LIGHTER:
Always take matches and a lighter in a waterproof container. On occasion, we'll build a fire to warm up, and of course you may need them in an emergency.
FOOD AND WATER:
A Boundary Waters Trip is no time to skimp on the calories. Eat a big breakfast with complex carbs such as oatmeal. Your body burns the lower glycemic index carbs more slowly, so the energy stays with you longer. I also like to eat high fat meats such as bacon or sausage, as well as eggs before leaving.
Eat some sandwiches with whole grain bread and peanut buttter, as well as some raisins and energy bars throughout the day. Remember, you've got to walk back out again, possibly pulling a heavier load with some fish for the dinner table!
Stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water or energy drinks throughout the day. Dehydration can occur very easily in winter, and cramping can result from too little water consumption during the day.
ICE PICKS, EXTRA ROPE, AND A CHISEL:
Especially early in the season, the ice thickness can vary greatly. I always have a set of 4 or 5 inch long ice picks mounted into handles and attached by a cord. Keep it readily accessible. It may save your life.
Also carry extra lengths of rope in case someone does break through. Have them on top of each of the sleds, and easily accessible.
It's not a bad idea to tap ahead with an ice chisel every few steps. This is true mostly in the early season, when the ice may not be very thick yet. As a rule, if there's not 5 inches, I'm not going. Period.
REGULATIONS:
Read up on the regulations before leaving. The BWCA has many unique regulations such as permits, no power augers, cans etc. Be familiar with them and abide by them.
ENJOY!
A winter BWCA trip is a unique and rewarding experience. Be safe and have fun!
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