Son and I have 4 days coming up on the Gunflint trail (June 12) and we’re looking for advice chasing lake trout. I know that water temps will play heavily into the location of these fish in the water column which could be anywhere from 5 ft to 80ft or suspended somewhere between. We have the tackle boxes loaded to cover the gamut. I do have a few questions:
– SPEED. Is there a magic speed when trolling deep cranks like Tail Dancers?
– NOISE/STEALTH. When fishing deep, clear shield lakes, do people rely a lot on the trolling motor or is it fine to use the outboard most of the time? Also, I’ve never used planer boards before. Would it be an advantage to get baits further out from the boat?
– TIME. I’ve read that lake trout are an early morning bite. Are we talking 6am? Before that? Is there a corresponding late night bite to target?
Any advice is greatly appreciated. The two lakes we will definitely be fishing are Clearwater and Gunflint (and connecting lakes), but we’re open to other lakes in the area. We do have Ontario licenses and the RABC so we are free to fish Canadian waters as well.
Thanks in advance!