goto trout lures through ice

What is everyone’s goto lake trout rainbow trout and splake lures when targeting them through the ice I’m make a trip up to ely again in the beginning of February and hoping to land a few fish and get my buddy his first lake trout this year

Lopper bugs fish naked without bait.

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The baits will vary depending on the species you are targeting!

For lakers, I tote two rods, one will have a rippin rap or lipless crank bait on it which I use to attract and mark fish. If they chase and don’t commit, Ill immediately grab my other rod with a smaller spoon type bait and drop it down, a lot of the time those fish are still lingering around and when they see that smaller bait flutter on the drop, they’ll smash it, but if they chase and don’t commit again, Ill tip it with a minnow head and that seems to entice the fish that just need a little bit of convincing!

For Bows, I use smaller baits and I’ve found that rainbows are a lot more tricky then lakers.. If they are shallow in the column and moving only a few feet under the ice, I use a fly with a bead shot weight a foot above it and tip the fly with a waxy or wiggler. If the fish are deeper in the water column I’ll use a small spoon and go through a few colors til I find what they are pouncing on! It takes a little time with Bows but once you find the right combo, it’s lights out!

Good luck to you and your buddy this season, I’m sure you’ll do great!

Thanks guys for the help and good luck to you guys to stay safe this season

Johnny Laker wrote:

The baits will vary depending on the species you are targeting!

For the Rainbows I always liked the smallest size kastmaster or Swedish pimple in solid gold with an orange stripe on 1/2 of one side running from top to bottom. I’d buy the plain gold lures are add orange tape myself. I tipped with a small white plastic, or a minnow head, or a waxie. The fish will tell you what they want for adornments. Your Splake will get after these the same as the Bows.

For Lakers I always fished tubes, either white or pearl, in sizes from 2 1/2″ to 4″. Berkley’s Power Tubes were a solid bait for Lakers.

Putnum had the IDO guys using these last year up in ELY.
Glow Red Shiner 1/12 oz

http://www.rapala.com/vmc/spoons/tumbler-spoon/Tumbler+Spoon.html?id=1

On a related topic, are 8″ augers good enough for Ely area lakers? Or, should I bring my 10″ auger?
Thanks,
Al

i would see about messaging Ben Putnam @blputnam he is a guide up there and know his stuff!!

For browns, rainbows, brookies, pretty much any spoon tipped with a waxie/waxies. For lakers, white tubes, or any big white plastics.

My blades are all in the 8″ range. As for tackle, Johnny Laker and I fish almost exactly the same, so I won’t expand too much on that. My favorite baits for my Lake trout “active setup” are #5-#9 jigging raps and #4-#6 rippin raps. My second rod like Johnny mentioned usually has a 1/4 oz spoon of sorts on it. My favorite laker spoons are VMC Tinglers and Flash champs in yellow, and red shiner and rainbow trout patterns, silver cast masters, and silver slender spoons.
For stream trout I love the VMC Tumblers and Flash champs in red shiner and rainbow trout patterns, with #2-3 jigging raps for when they are smashing and dashing!
There are a lot of successful presentations out there, reading a trout’s reaction and cycling through the box can turn a slow day into a go day quickly.

An 8″ auger will be fine. Here in Minnesota, an 8″ auger will work about 99% of the time. The circumference of a 8″ hole is over 25″, 25.12 to be exact.

Where the law will allow, A crappie minnow hanging a couple feet under the ice is tough to beat for rainbows where I come from (grindstone lake in Pine County MN). Be sure they can make a nice long run without feeling resistance. Don’t be afraid to fish very shallow, like in 3 feet of water near drop-offs.

Be aware, Live minnows are illegal on Any designated trout lakes in MN (Grindstone lake is not a designated lake). Please check the rules and regs for designated trout lakes thoroughly before fishing for stream trout this winter. There are many seperate regulations for these waters.

Thanks guys

I like any small horizontal jig for stocked trout (mud bug is the favorite) and for lake trout a lot of lures are good. Old school bucktails or airplains, beatles, tubes, lipless cranks, jigging raps (green in the biggest size), and big sweedish pimples with a frozen shinner or creek chub. Also don’t forget the aluminum foil for the old school bucktails or airplains.