day four mike and i go out again for lake trout but this time we're targeting them
in the deep water adjacent to the drop-offs
using the countdown method we were able to consistently locate and catch cruising lake trout
uh spring fall a little bit different for lake trout the spring where we are here the lake trout
like to travel along these eskers where we have significant changes and drop-offs so it comes
out to a nice flat and sand flat especially then it drops off again significantly and
those trout will travel along that sort of like a corridor or a highway back and forth
well i think it would way the best way to set up for this with a fly rod typically
with conventional tackle we'll troll along that shoreline and catch fish but with a fly line i
think we'll set up when we're gonna park ourselves on the sand where it's not too shallow or not too
deep in the shallows we're gonna cast out into the darker water right and then we'll retrieve
so we'll let that sink and as it sinks down it'll get more or less to the angle of the contour of
the of the bottom and as you strip it should come up along that we're also going to try a few along
parallel with the shoreline and when you retrieve then along it'll come along the shoreline and
come along that contour well electronics they're important in several just several different ways
obviously you're going to be watching along for contour differences you're gonna be watching for
those elevation changes you're also gonna potentially and hopefully mark some fish
as well so good solid marks uh are gonna are gonna show up that's gonna give you an
indication that you're gonna have some good fish where you're sitting so what
we're doing here is mike has marked fish at 15 feet we're anchored right on the edge of a drop
off here i'm using a type 7 line that sinks at about two it takes about two seconds to go a foot
i want to go 15 feet down so i'm just multiplying that two seconds for a foot so i want to go 15
times 2 is 30 count that down with my watch and then just strip it back aggressively
two foot pulls oh got banged again and just strip until they oh there was one following
this is good so we've got a bit of a formula here it's important to with sinking lines to get your
flies down consistently where you want them so once you hook a fish you can repeat it rather
than just casting out and hoping for the best so we started at about five to the hour on the
minute hand here so we're going to go down to 25 past and then start stripping
there we go fish on slammed it right as we were coming up the drop off
and they've been every cast i've been getting hits but they've been
lake trout are famous for short striking and we were just contemplating putting a a stinger on
and then we finally latched on and hooked up so every cast we've been timing it down the sounder
the electronics are critical to this because aid helps you mark fish and where they're suspending
in the water column and then you can time your cast down to get to them got that big net because
not that this trout necessarily warrants it but there are some monster lake trout in this lake
but these are a blast and the take
is solid there's no little subtle was that or wasn't that a take this is a
u-strip and all of a sudden it just goes hard locks up and goes the other direction fast
steer them into the bucket
all right let's look at the prize peel all the net in so he's got less net to swim around in
grab him by the tail the cauda peduncle and there you go beautiful lake trout a killer of
mini minnows and bait fish okay let's put them back
speed induces the follow right as the fly's starting to ascend oh i got bumped again
there we go fish on fish on right at right at the drop so these fish are as mike pointed
out it's best to like fish drop-offs the same way as if you can try and get your pa
your your presentation on more of an acute angle or even parallel to the drop because
they're cruising this like a wall on the deep side ambushing any bait fish that swims along the edge
there we go beautiful scott lake lake trout good evening size yeah
day five paulie and i head out to try our luck at our third primary presentation option for
lake trout river outlets these river outlets provided cool oxygenated water concentrating
both baitfish and lake trout these presentation options also work well when chasing lake trout
on other water bodies besides scott lake there we go fish on there we go lake trout on the fly
just casting out in the current letting it swing down and then trying to bring it up the seam
where the slow water here is and the main current coming out and just two two foot aggressive strips
red and white whistler and just socked it
what's all so fun about these fish is they hit hard there's no subtle grabs
got that whistler right in the scissors
a little chewed up beautiful little lake trout and let them go
so we're sitting here we've got the falls coming out the main current tongue we're
sitting in the slack water so i'm going to cast down and across into the current
a little downstream mend because we're sitting in the slow water that's going to help the line
sink and swing down to about 45 degrees let that fly in line get down and then aggressive two foot
strips because the lake trout are either hanging under the current or just on this slack water
and we're fishing this little red and white whistler and they just plow it so here we go
there we go right out in the main current which only accents the whole fight
nice fish so we're just quartering the cast down into the current i'm sitting in the slow water so
i'm throwing a little downstream mend to help get that fly to sink using this fast sinking
type 7 integrated line with an intermediate running line and then just letting it swing
along the seam and two foot aggressive strips with a
red and white whistler and they're just plowing it this is good fun
there we go oh look at that beautiful lake trout
beautiful settings got the falls coming in behind me
beautiful vermiculations all right let's put them back
the fly line choices are pretty simple you're going to need a floating line
this works well for pike and shallow water both top water and streamers
and in the fall when the lake trout are up on the reefs prior to spawn
you can easily get to them with a floating line the next line you want to consider is a fast
sinking line for working off deep drop offs for lake trout something in the type 6
type 7 sink rate integrated lines work well that have different sink rates along their length such
as an intermediate running line and a fast sinking type 6 or 7 head and then an intermediate line
that you can use for targeting lake trout from an anchored position in shallow water
say 15 feet deep or less an intermediate line also works well for pike on the shallows when they're
a little dour and less likely to chase a fly such as when an approaching weather system is coming in
whenever you come to a flying destination such as scott lake lodge luggage limits are always an
issue thankfully you don't need to bring a lot of fly rods and eight weight is going to cover
the majority of presentation challenges you're going to face here for lake trout and trophy pike
but there are those situations where you want to throw large wind resistant flies
to get those explosive surface takes for pike or work fast sinking lines off drop-offs and
into deep holes for lake trout then a 9 or even a 10 weight is going to be a welcome addition
you