Trout Fishing
Three Sisters Islands are famous for holding big fish. If you want to fish out of Kenora, Clearwater Bay and surrounding areas have some excellent areas to work.
Local seasons permitting, you can generally start chasing these beasts at ice out. Things really get going as the water temperature is in the 50-55 degree range Fahrenheit. In early season, many anglers take fish from the shore by dead baiting on a pike quick strike rig. As the water warms, trout will hit spoons with much vigor as you work points or under water structures. My favorite is white and blue; however, other colors will produce results as well. I always long line as the trout can be spooky in early season. The use of a 3 way swivel can help get your bait down to the desired depth, and a line counter can be very handy. It will allow you to track how much line you have out while trolling. Try working different depths until you get the desired strike.
As the season progresses, the trout will move deeper and hang around the thermocline. The magic depth is usually 60-70 feet. Trolling for lakers in summer requires a good medium heavy action rod with at least 20 pound test line. Several anglers use wire or lead core line when trolling a willow leaf as the lakers hug the bottom contours of the basin. Troll like you would for walleye and speed up occasionally to trigger strikes. Any trip down to Echo or Whitefish Bays, you will see plenty anglers using down riggers. You can control the depth presentation of your bait and insure it is where you want it to be.
All this being said, is it necessary to have good electronics. The fish finder can make or break your day. Look for suspended trout above the schools, these babies are active and have the feed bag on. If all you are catching is smaller trout, you may want to fish a little shallower as the little guys try to stay as far away from the big girls as they can. Lake Trout can be very aggressive and will feed on anything that moves including its own. My favorite tactic is jigging. When the winds are soft, I use the locator to locate a school, get right on top of them and jig. Minnows work well, but my all time favorite is a white tube jig with a sucker belly. Some of my buddies even rip spoons while jigging and have been very successful. White bucktails of up to 2 ounces work wonders some days. Airplane jigs and jigging spoons work as well. I have even caught decent trout using a gold Williams wobblers as a jig. Sometimes by ripping it thru the school, trout will smash the bait so hard you can lose your rod. This tactic works by allowing your bait to hit the bottom, then reel up for all you are worth as fast as you can. I have seen trout hit the bait 10 feet from the boat in the middle of summer. These beasts will follow your lure up. Lake Trout act as a natural indicator of the overall state of affairs of the lake. Report of fish from 30 – 40 pounds come in from Sioux Narrows to Big Stone Bay. I fish Knickerbocker Inlet a few times every year and always manage to land a few jumbo’s. Lake of the Woods protects its fishery by insuring the limits are reasonable and fish are not over harvested.
And in the winter…….I have been ice fishing several times on the lake and for those of you that have not, you need to go. I like to run and gun and move till I find the trout. I can’t think of a better way to spend a frosty Canadian winter than ice fishing on Lake of the Woods; in my onion one of the finest bodies of water in the world. Ice fishing in Morson or Nestor Falls can be a blast. The lodge owners can tell you where to go, some may even go with you. That’s what it is all about, getting out enjoying our great body of water and catching fish. The whole family can join in the fun. There is nothing like setting the hook on a big laker. The fight can go on for 15 minutes. The best advice I can give you is to use a 10 inch ice auger so you can get the fish through the hole. I heard tell of one fellow that got his trout stuck in a ten inch hole. Now that’s a fish story that I would like to see!
For the more adventurous, try taking a trout on a streamer in spring. Fly fisherman have taken all sizes of trout in the early season. I have fished and caught many different species on Lake of the Woods, and I have to tell you that hooking a big trout is second to none. On the ice or in the boat, Lake Trout can be a true angler’s dream. They can battle with the best of them and are highly regarded as a strong fighting fish with long powerful runs. As an angler that visits the lake weekly, I can tell you that the people are the best and the fishing is second to none. Come on up and pay us a visit, you will be happy you did. Till next time, “keep your lines tight.”
By Craig Stapon
