To catch more lake trout this spring, adopt a comprehensive game plan. Here’s how

#1  SEEK STRUCTURE

Modern telemetry data shows that lake trout move around a lot. In the spring, when the entire waterbody is at a consistently cold temperature, aggressive lakers will often cruise into the still-frigid shallow water, hunting for forage. However, they also relate to structure, so this is the perfect time to fish shallow-water features, in 40 feet of water or less. My favourite spots include offshore submerged structures, such as reefs and humps.

Thoroughly fishing these spring hot spots requires a deep understanding of the structure. Some anglers know their spots from memory, thanks to years of fishing. Others learn by dotting their map with waypoints. But I’ve found you can learn the most about these structures from digital lake maps or technologies such as Humminbird’s AutoChart, which uses sonar returns and GPS to build customized charts.