Lake Trout Question – 3 Way Rig

I’ll be fishing lake trout in late August around Sioux Lookout area. After researching, it appears that a 3 way swivel is the way to go. My question is…Why wouldn’t a heavy snap weight work instead of the 3 way rig? It seems that the drag would be the same and less cumbersome with regards to tangling etc.

Any advise/feedback is appreciated. Thank you.

Generally speaking those using a “pump handle” rig are using 1-2# balls. My best guess is that the snap weight clips don’t hold so well with pounders or better. I have ran 8oz with a snap but don’t think I would go larger myself on a clip. I guess it depends on how deep you are trying to dig or angle you want in your spread.

If you are running a spoon or crank naked an 8 oz might do you but once you add a dodger, flasher or cowbells it really increases the drag and a larger weight is needed hence the pound balls.

Great post.. id like to know what people think about this also.. i have had tangling issues with 3 ways in the past and just use the slip sinker now

I fished lake trout with 3 ways for a long time with no tangle problems due to the 3 way. I just clip a 2oz weight directly on to the bottom of the 3 way. We fish cowbells and a 18 – 24″ snell behind the bell. The snap weight would work, but be more expensive.

‘

From what I’m reading, in late August it appears that I should expect to fish with a 2 to 4oz bell sinker attached to a 3 way rig for fish that might be around 30 to 50′ down. I have no problem using the 3 way, but it just seems easier to use snap weights. Perhaps I’m missing something. Off Shore Tackle has a nice article regarding this:

Fly in fishing trips are great fun, but it’s always difficult to anticipate what type of equipment will be needed. Most of these trips limit anglers to 75-100 pounds of total gear. That doesn’t leave much room for tackle after clothes, rain gear, rods, reels and a sleeping bag are packed!
On waters that support lake trout, a few OR16 Snap Weight clips and a modest assortment of weights, in sizes ranging one to four ounces, can quickly transform any casting spoon or stickbait into trout killers.
To conserve space, the same spoons and large stickbaits that are productive on northern pike can be used to troll up lakers. Casting spoons like the Dardevle, Mepps Syolops and Luhr Jensen Krocodile are classics that produce both species. In the stickbait category try large baits like the Jointed ThunderSticks, Rapala Husky Jerks or Rebel F30 Minnow.
If you’ve got a portable graph, look for trout suspended over deep water basins. During the summer, lake trout suspend 30-60 feet below the surface, making them ideal targets for Snap Weight trolling.
Begin trolling by letting out 30-50 feet of lead and placing a Snap Weight onto the line. Let out another 30-50 feet of line and begin trolling at around 1.5 miles per hour. Watch the graph closely. If you’re marking fish but not catching them, try letting out a little more lead until the lures contact fish. Once you figure out how much lead is required to reach the fish, the fun begins.
Duplicate effective leads and then start experimenting with lure and color choices to fine tune the presentation. This simple, flat line trolling technique is deadly on suspended lake trout.

Last month I fished for lakers in the BWCA. The basic recipe was a 2 oz. snapweight, 150 ft. from rod tip to weight, trolling sutton spoons at 1.5 mph or just under. Anytime we got under 40-50 fow we hit bottom. I don’t see why this wouldn’t work for you, increasing weight from there if you want to run deeper. I tried out the powerpro depth hunter braid and it worked great for precision trolling minus the linecounter reel.

On calmer days on Red we’d hit trout in a 100′ or more water using 1oz jigs tipped with a minnow, used 12# mono and let them drop about 40-60 foot, gotta be pretty calm for that though.

All we had was walleye tackle and it may not be the best…but it worked.

Also, might be a bit early but try finding a river coming into the lake and cast spoons up into rapids if there are any, we’d go in late sept and hit both northerns and trout there.

Al

I ended up buying a used manual downrigger for our lake trout trip. With regards to trolling, I was very happy with it as it allowed me to use lighter equipment instead of a heavy bell sinker potentially getting tangled or a heavy rods for leadcore or dipsy divers. BTW, in my opionion we caught alot of fish