3 secret (and surprisingly simple) tactics for early-season lake trout

#1  OVER THE EDGE

Believe it or not, my favourite way to begin every open-water trout season requires me to leave my boat in the driveway and fish from shore with spinning gear. And incredibly, the best action typically occurs before the ice has completely melted. If there’s a lane of open water between the shoreline and the receding ice edge, you can catch trout cruising the open-water highway.

On especially warm, sunny and calm spring days, it sometimes seems you can cast anywhere and catch fish, but I always try to stack the odds in my favour by finding significant shoreline structures. Prominent points jutting out into the lake are my favourite locations, especially if I know there are isolated boulders on bottom, or they’re just poking above the surface.

TACKLE

Gear up with a medium-heavy action, 6″ 8′ to 7″ 4′ spinning rod, and a reel spooled with eight- to 14-pound gel spun. Attach an eight- to 10-pound Maxima Clear monofilament or fluorocarbon leader, then tie on a quarter- to 3/8-ounce jig adorned with a four- to five-inch soft-plastic swimbait (my favourites are the X Zone Pro Series Swammer and Bass Magnet Shift’R Shad)

TECHNIQUE

From shore, carefully cast your swimbait out onto the ice—that’s right, cast it across the lane of open water so that it lands on the edge of the retreating ice. Next, gently snap your rod tip sideways so the lure looks like a timid creature scurrying across the ice. Then pause for a second or two at the edge before sliding it into the water. Whenever I do this, a laker often instantly annihilates the bait in a frothy explosion.

I’m certain trout patrol the retreating ice edge, using it as a reference point, structural break line and shadowy ambush spot. And because the honeycombed ice is clear and thin, they can look up and follow the little critter skittering above their heads as it approaches the fatal edge of the ice. For this tactic, stick with single-hook baits such as jigs—trebles will just dig into the ice and get snagged.

Even after the ice edge retreats too far to reach with a cast from shore, you can still fish the gap with swimbaits. That’s when I also start to use the same jerkbaits, crankbaits and in-line spinners that I rely on to catch bass and walleye in the summer. As a bonus, if the lake you are fishing also has brook trout, rainbows or splake (whether natural or stocked), they’ll respond even more aggressively to this over-the-edge presentation. What a way to greet spring!