A step-by-step guide for catching big winter lake trout

I love lake trout and have remarked more than once that I spend at least half the winter chasing them. Part of their appeal is they can grow to gargantuan sizes—my biggest winter Goliath weighed 44 pounds. But just as enticing as their size is where they often live: the starkest, loneliest, wildest and most beautiful parts of the country.

Another reason lake trout fascinate me is that they’re so often misunderstood. For example, most anglers immediately think of deep water when they think of fishing for lakers. That’s certainly true during the dog days of summer, but when the lake is blanketed in four feet of ice and snow, you can catch them anywhere.