Lakers thru the ice

I put htis in the “Gen Dis” section so that it would get the widest disemination.

How many of you have fished lakers thru the ice?

I will be making my first trip to do this at the end of Jan after I get moved up to Duluth. I am really excited and eager to try this.

I am looking for any tips, tricks, lures to use etc..that I can find.

Santa has been good to me and I already have a new portable shack and a new to me fl8slt. What kinda lures/tackle should I be gathering?

I haven’t personally done it, but a buddy who does the boundary waters would tell you they hit jigging spoons in fairly deep water and go on amazing runs.

Airplane Jigs and small Dr. Spoons jigged veritcally. All sorts of colors in spoons. I have used Gold, Silver, Fire Tiger and had the best luck.

Another thing is to remember these things are quite large and you neeed a fairly stiff pole to get a good hook set. I got pretty good the first time I went after not getting a good hook set with my rod, I would grab the line quick as you jerk to set the hook and giving it a extra yank, it seemed to work but you know how it goes not always 100% ready. So remember a fairly stiff pole and good luck

Lake Geneva has Lakers in it down here. (S.E. Wisconsin) they are fished with Swedish Pimples, sometimes with a whole minnow, sometimes with just the head, sometimes bare. Great fighters with your ice rod and 6lb. line. Be sure to use your flasher, Vex. or Marcum. Good Luck.

Lucky Dog good point, a flasher is an incredible tool for lakers, You never know where they will come in @. A flasher maeks it way more productive!

Sometimes when they hit your bait they come upwards towards the ice so much you have to either reel like crazy, or take off running away from the hole to take up the slack fast enough to actually set the hook!

You want a very smooth drag, and a reel with pretty good line capacity, because those larger ones can strip you down in a heartbeat.

GLOW TUBES!!
3″ or 4″ – 20 to 60 feet of water in January – we go to Ontario every year and tubes are the only thing we use. Blade baits like sonars are ok too but the tubes out produce every time. When you drop the tube down you can see the lakers coming on the Marcum – it’s awesome. Good luck.

Airplane jig with smelt.

White tubes are my standard approach, use a tube jig head and look for suspended fish over deep water adjacent to deep humps or flats. They have really hard mouths so really rip the hook set, and like Rip said use a stiff rod. Caribou lake north of Grand Rapids is where I go, lots of dinks with a couple bruisers in the mix.

Another vote for tubes here. White and or glow have worked well for me on Crow lake in Ontario and Little Bear Lake in Saskatuan. I’ve also had good luck with blue and silver Little Cleos tipped with a strip of Hering SP ? or Smelt. Not too much , just enough for scent.
I like using the 32″ rods made by Thorne bros. EXCELENT rods for Lakers. A little short than many use but if you use too long a rod it makes fishing inside a portable a pain in the butt.
Lakers are a blast but can be frustrating fish to catch at times. One day they will darn near yank the rod out of your hands and the next they will chase your lure up , down and all around and never bite. A locator ( I like a Vex ) gives you a HUGE advantage Laker fishing.
If you don’t have a locator start dead on the bottom and work your way ALL the way up the water colum in 5 to 10 foot increments. Jig at each level for about 5 minutes then move up or down until you’ve covered the whole water colum then start again. If no action after 2 tries then move.

Lakers through the ice are hard to beat in my book.

RRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIPPPPPPPPPPPPP…….

Bobby is that a reference to my pants when I bend over, meh rear after a night of Molson and chilli, or the last time you actually set the hook on a fish????

That my friend would be the sound of DACRON breaking on a fish

Mack, perhpas its the motion of the ocean that attracts them then ! What ever it is…….. I don’t care Cause I’m getting bites not nibbles and full hook sets on some might fine fish

I have done this a number of times in the area you are going to be living. Usually, (And that is a term that changes year to year!)the ice is not good for fishing until late February into March. Areas to key on for the most action is off of Lester Park Beach. Bring a spud and an auger, and a sled/boat with you capable of supporting your weight as the ice often breaks loose and floats away! Bring a lightweight one man shack, and secure it to your auger that should be drilled half way through the ice. Keep a portable GPS with you to tell if you have moved any from your position. If you have, get the heck off! Fast! Otherwise make arrangements for someone to pick you up in Superior WI! Airplane jigs with sucker strips are great, but also don’t go out there without some good Sonars that you would use on the river. If you mark fish, reel upwards as fast as you can for about 10 turns of the reel, and stop. And then hang on!

If you have other questions, let me know…

Tuck