A Complete Guide to Lake Trout Ice Fishing

Fishing for most freshwater species slows down in winter. But for lake trout, a layer of ice over the lake means the best fishing of the year is just getting started.

Lake trout thrive in deep, clear, cold northern lakes. They’re widespread in Canada, and in the United States are most common in New England, the Great Lakes region, and the northern Rockies. Also called mackinaw or togue in various parts of their range, lake trout are technically not trout at all, but rather members of the char family. They commonly weigh 5 to 20 pounds and occasionally approach the 50-pound mark.

Call them what you will. Either way, lake trout are apex predators, as dominant in open-water depths as northern pike are in weedy shallows. I haven’t experienced many fish that fight harder than monster lake trout, with erratic, head-shaking runs that can test the limits of even the best ice fishing gear. Here’s how to catch these legendary fish through the ice.

• Understanding Lake Trout Behavior
• Finding Lake Trout Under the Ice
• The Best Ice Fishing Lures & Baits for Lake Trout
• Ice Fishing Gear for Lake Trout
• Lake Trout Ice Fishing Tips

Understanding Lake Trout Behavior

One of the most important things to understand about lake trout is that they like it cold. They will tolerate waters up to around 55°F, but their preferred range is about 40°F to 52°F. In summer, they stay in deep, cold water below the thermocline—a narrow band of water in which the temperature shifts rapidly—which acts as a barrier that keeps lakers in the deep.

But in winter, virtually the entire lake is within their optimal temperature range, which frees lake trout to roam near and far. They’ll prowl deep water, chase baitfish into the shallows, suspend at mid-depths, or even use the underside of the ice to corral their prey. In most lakes, there are three general periods of lake trout behavior during the ice fishing season:

• First ice: The early part of winter finds lake trout shallow and aggressive as they recover from fall spawning.
• Mid-winter: Intense cold and shorter days push the fish deeper and can make them more selective.
• Late ice: Sunnier weather brings lake trout into shallower areas as their metabolism increases with longer daylight.

Finding Lake Trout Under the Ice

The location of lake trout can be difficult to pin down in winter, but finding fish under the ice usually depends on two simple factors: forage and structure. Whether you’re fishing your favorite lake or an unfamiliar body of water, keeping these two factors in mind will help you locate lake trout under the ice.

Lake trout will seldom be far from their preferred food source, which might be alewives, smelt, cisco or lake whitefish, depending on the lake. And they use the underwater landscape of points, drop-offs, humps and saddles between islands like highways, following them between shallow and deep waters, and using structure to trap schools of baitfish.

This is important: lake trout are highly active and mobile in winter. They don’t lie in wait to ambush their prey; they constantly roam on and off points of structure throughout the winter, dashing in and out of baitfish schools to grab an unsuspecting cisco or smelt. They can be at almost any depth, rarely will they be too far from deep water. It’s possible to find lake trout in less than 10 feet of water in winter, but chances are there will be 80-foot depths nearby.

That makes drop-offs some of the best places to drill your holes. Drop-offs offer quick transitions for lakers, and you can cover a lot of different depths within a relatively small area. Long, sloping points offer a similar range of depths.

I’ve found that the best approach is to pick a piece of structure and drill 5 to 10 different holes at a range of depths—say, 20 to 60 feet—in a grid or zig-zag pattern. Then work your way from hole to hole to pinpoint roving lake trout. It doesn’t usually take more than 10 minutes at a hole to know if fish are nearby. Lake trout waters tend to be crystal-clear in winter, and trout can see your lure from a significant distance. At each hole, start close to the bottom and work your way toward the surface before moving on.

The Best Ice Fishing Lures & Baits for Lake Trout

Tube Jigs

A simple soft plastic tube jig catches more lake trout through the ice than just about anything. Tubes naturally produce the tempting flutter of a dying baitfish, with a 4- to 5-inch tube on a 1/2- to 3/4-ounce jighead being the most versatile choice. I’ve found pearl white to be the most universally effective color because it can mimic any baitfish species. Tubes made by Northland, Mission Tackle and JB Lures come pre-rigged with a stinger hook to catch fish that swipe short, which can be a huge advantage.

Bucktails

A bucktail jig is a simple and deadly low-maintenance option for ice fishing lake trout. Made of flowing hair or marabou, they breathe with the slightest movement of the rod, which makes them ideal for slow and subtle presentations as well as more aggressive jigging. Northland’s Deep Vee Bucktail is a personal favorite, along with Mission Tackle’s Lake Trout Bucktail Jig. Choose 1/2- to 1-ounce sizes in white with a touch of blue or red to mimic an injured alewife or herring.

Flutter Spoons

Flutter spoons, a type of jigging spoon, are great for helping you locate lake trout because their intense, high-visibility flash and vibration can call in fish from a great distance. Bay De Noc Swedish Pimples and Flutter Lakers are great, as are Kastmasters and Magnum Flutter Spoons measuring 5 or 6 inches.

Jigging Crankbaits

Jigging crankbaits offer an aggressive approach when lake trout are actively feeding. Drop your crankbait to the bottom, and bring it back up with a “rip-and-reel” retrieve (think of a yo-yo-like motion). Rapala’s Jigging Rap is probably the most well-known example of this lure style, but many other brands have adapted similar jigging cranks.

Live Bait

On days when lake trout are a bit more wary or less inclined to bite, a live baitfish is often the best option. A live smelt, shiner or other baitfish can be fished on its own at a range of depths, and trophy lake trout often strike large, 6- to 8-inch minnows. Smaller baitfish can also be added to a tube jig, spoon or other lure for added scent and attraction.

Ice Fishing Gear for Lake Trout

Rod and Reel Selection

Ice fishing for lake trout requires an ice fishing rod with solid hook-setting power and the right balance of backbone and flexibility to impart lively action to heavy jigs. Everyone has their own preferences, but I find that a 36 to 45-inch medium-heavy to heavy-action ice rod is ideal. It’s longer and heavier than standard panfish ice fishing setups, giving you more leverage for battling hard-fighting lake trout in deep water.

Pair your rod with a lightweight but sturdy 2000 or 3000 series ice fishing reel, like the Piscifun Carbon X Spinning Reel for Ice Fishing. The reel is designed to be spooled with 150 yards of 15-pound braided line, which is a good line weight for lake trout fishing in most scenarios, especially when paired with a 12- or 15-pound fluorocarbon leader.

Additional Ice Fishing Gear

• Auger for drilling a hole
• Scoop for removing ice and slush from the hole
• Warm clothes, such as the Picifun Ice Fishing Suit, plus boots and waterproof gloves
• Something to sit on: a plastic bucket or chair
• Sled and plastic bucket for hauling your gear
• Fishing tools, including line cutters, fillet knife, fishing pliers and lip gripper
• Disposable hand and toe warmers
• Face mask and sunglasses
• Sunscreen to prevent sunburn
• Fish-finding sonar unit and/or underwater camera
• Small towel or rag for drying hands

Lake Trout Ice Fishing Tips

Start With a Depth Map

You can’t even guess where lake trout will be located without a clear picture of the underwater terrain. Starting with a detailed underwater depth map—also called a bathymetric map—allows you to identify important pieces of structure like points, humps, saddles and drop-offs. Look for places on the map where contour lines are close together, indicating a faster drop between depths.

Know What the Lake Trout Are Eating

The primary forage in any given lake has a huge impact on how lake trout behave, so you should do some research on what the fish like to eat in your local water. For example, on large New York Lakes like Lake George, smelt are the primary forage, and schools of smelt often keep lake trout suspended over expansive 80-foot flats. But in lakes with lots of alewives, lake trout are more likely to stay near bottom. And in places where yellow perch are a primary forage, lake trout often chase them into surprisingly shallow mud-bottomed bays.

Set a Tip-Up

In areas where you’re allowed to ice fish with two lines, setting up a tip-up is a great way to utilize your second line. If you drill multiple holes, you can leave a live bait set on a tip-up at the most likely depth. That frees you up to actively move from hole to hole, exploring different depths and structures with an ice rod and jig.

Use Electronics to Your Advantage

A sonar unit gives you a real edge when ice fishing for lake trout, and the most successful modern fishermen have embraced the advantages that technology offers. A flasher or TFT unit gives you a surprisingly clear picture of what’s going on beneath the surface. The screen can enable you to see bottom structure, schools of baitfish and your own lure, along with individual lake trout as they approach it. If you can determine the depth of baitfish like smelt, ciscoes or shiners, it’s likely that lake trout will be at the same depth.

Don’t Ignore Shallow Water

Most anglers focus on deeper water when ice fishing for lake trout, but catching lake trout in relatively shallow water can be just as good and even more exciting. In shallows, it’s sometimes possible to actually watch the fish take your bait through the hole. Early and late ice are the best periods to find lakers in 20 feet of water or less, with low-light conditions, like early morning or evening, offering the best shallow fishing. Focus on shallow spots with quick access to deep water, like the mouth of a weedy bay that is close to traditional deep structure.

Be Aggressive

While many fish species slow down in winter, lake trout become even more active, and they often respond to an aggressive approach. Ripping flutter spoons 4 to 6 feet off the bottom can trigger an instinctive predatory response, and I’ve noticed that lake trout will sometimes follow a rapidly jigged tube or bucktail all the way up to the ice hole before biting.  The exception is deep mid-winter, when lake trout can get a bit lethargic and may respond better to live bait or more subtle jigging.