Canada’s 11 all-time top lures for brookies, browns, cutthroats, lakers and rainbows

Dardevle by Eppinger Huskie Devle

At 5½ inches long and weighing a hefty 3¼ ounces, the Huskie Devle is the full-meal deal, making it the go-to spoon at lake trout fishing lodges for decades. In fact, the long-standing debate at renowned Plummer’s Arctic Lodges has been whether it’s the number one all-time lure for trophy lakers. This broad spoon has a wide, thumping wobble when trolled or allowed to free-fall, tightening as you increase the trolling speed. It comes in myriad colours, but the classic red/white stripe remains the most popular. I landed my personal best laker on a pink model, and while the colour may have been different, the odds are your largest lake trout also fell for a Huskie Devle.

Catch: Lake trout

Where: Lakes with populations of large fish

When: Throughout the open-water season

How: Troll at slow to moderate speeds, occasionally allowing the spoon to free-fall on an open spool; also cast over shoals or along rocky shorelines

Yakima Bait Flatfish

The other contender as the best all-time trophy laker lure at Plummer’s is the T-60 Flatfish. At six inches in length, it’s the largest member of the Flatfish family. This versatile diving lure is designed to do the dirty work, veering wildly, banging off the bottom and generally wreaking irresistible havoc. Its unique shape has been widely copied but never equalled, a tribute to the T-60’s adaptability—it’s as at home on large rivers and small lakes as it is on Great Bear. A wide range of sizes and colours lets you mimic natural bait while attracting marauding trout with the lure’s vibration, flash and wobble.Catch: Brown, bull, lake and rainbow trout

Where: Large and small lakes; large rivers. Select a lure size that matches the target species and the water you’re fishing

When: Summer through to fall is best

How: Troll slowly in large lakes, adding weight or using lead-core line or a downrigger in deeper water. Cast and retrieve slowly in small lakes and ponds. In rivers, cast cross-current, allowing the lure to swing through the target water before slowly retrieving it