by Gord Pyzer photos by Gord Pyzer and Simon Cheung illustration by Curtis Atwater Ice Picks The best times, locations, tackle and tactics for hardwater lake trout, panfish, pike and walleye It’s appropriate that ice-fishing season kicks into high gear around Christmas. After all, what better gift could there possibly be than some of the finest fishing of the year? Winter is not only an ideal time to catch numbers of lake trout, panfish, pike and walleye, it also offers a good chance to land the biggest fish of your life. In fact, the largest laker I’ve ever hooked—it easily weighed more than 50 pounds—walloped my jig under the ice and snapped the line like it was thread. And last January, while shooting an In-Fisherman TV show on pike with my buddy Doug Stange (that’s him holding the big walleye), the first fish we hauled through the ice was a 22-pound leviathan. Minutes after releasing it, Stange pulled out a 20-pounder. Fish like these can be yours for the taking, too—all you need to know is when, where and how. LAKE TROUT TOP TACTICS Lake trout key in on erratic motion, but most anglers who jig work their lures too aggressively. Develop a steady rhythm and punctuate your jigging with plenty of pauses. That’s when you’ll feel the trout hit. Use your tip-up rig to cover depths other than the depths you’re jigging. Bait the tip-up with a quick-strike rig tipped with either live or dead bait. Once you’ve determined the depth the trout are at, concentrate on that depth with both your tip-up and your jig. Also, keep in mind that trout can be spooked by any racket on the ice, so keep surface noise to a minimum. Laker takers: A 2,000-series reel, such as the 2500 Shimano Symetre is ideal for jigging purposes. Top lures are [top to bottom] tube jigs, Balanced Jigging Rapalas, spoons and airplane jigs. WHEN & WHERE: FIRST ICE Other species slow down and go into suspended animation in the bone-chilling waters of winter, but not lake trout. They’re among the most active feeders under the ice. At first ice, you’ll often find them in shallower water—20 feet or less—than most anglers ever fish. And while lakers tend to hang out around underwater points, granite cliffs and bouldery saddles, don’t overlook mud bays or the flat areas between islands. MID-WINTER Most trouters complain about the mid-winter doldrums, but you won’t notice any lull if you follow the fish. Added layers of ice and snow darken deeper waters, fooling plankton into believing it’s night. As a result, they rise higher in the water column and are followed by the trout’s favourite forage—ciscoes, smelt and shiners. The lakers in turn follow these baitfish. Often you’ll find them cruising only a few feet below the ice, even when you’re standing over 100 feet or more of water. In fact, lake trout relate to the underside of the ice just as they do the bottom of the lake. When you don’t see any action in deep water, turn off your sonar and just look down the hole. LAST ICE Warm spring days melt the surface snowpack and bathe crystal-clear trout waters in brilliant light, which forces plankton—and subsequently cisoes, shiners and smelt—into the darker confines of the lake. Not surprisingly, you’ll find the trout relating to deeper structures. Early in the morning, late in the afternoon and during overcast periods, though, they’ll make feeding forays into any nearby shallower water. ESSENTIAL GEAR A medium-heavy-action ice rod (Frabill, Rapala and Berkley make excellent models) will take care of lake trout jigging duties. Balance it with a 2,000-series spinning reel spooled with eight- to 12-pound-test monofilament, depending on the size of trout you expect to catch. Alternatively, you could go with a heavier test if you use super-line, such as FireLine or Spiderwire (since super-line has a smaller diameter than mono, you can spool on the same amount as mono but in a heavier test). That way, if you hook into the trophy-of-a-lifetime, you’ve got some insurance. If you do use super-line, though, tie a small swivel to the end and attach a foot-long monofilament or fluorocarbon leader.      Since most jurisdictions allow two lines in the winter, fishing a tip-up in a second hole ups your odds. If it’s cold and blowing snow, you’ll find the Frabill Pro Thermal tip-up a godsend. It keeps your hole slush-free and open when the temperature dips out of sight. Spool tip-ups with heavy, 30-pound-plus Dacron line, which is tangle-free and much easier to handle. Just add on a two-foot-long, 12-pound-test monofilament or fluorocarbon leader.      As for lures and bait, lake trout eat four- and five-inch white, clear and silver-flecked tube jigs like candy. Stuff them with 1/8- to 1/2-ounce jig heads, depending on the depth and the activity level of the trout. Don’t overlook Lindy E-Z Tube Rattlin’ Weights, as lakers are suckers for noise. They’ll also wallop spoons, Balanced Jigging Rapalas and airplane jigs, especially if they’re tipped with a minnow head or strip of sucker meat. Natural colours such as silver and white are unbeatable. Chartreuse and firetiger (think perch) are often overlooked but can also produce well.   LAKE TROUT | PANFISH | PIKE | WALLEYE | HARDWATER TIPS