THE BACK COUNTRY LAKE TROUT OF NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO
Very few ice fishing trips are as exhilarating as a back country lake trout excursion in Northwestern Ontario. There are seemingly unlimited lakes filled with crystal clear water, surrounded in massive timber and rock faces that are the ultimate back drop for a winter adventure.
Expeditions into these lakes are not often referred to as easy, and there are many aspects that must be taken into consideration for a successful day.
CHOOSING A LAKE
Back in the day, people would hinge the success of their lake trout trip on word of mouth. Anglers would gather lake information at work or at the bar, with expressions like “Oh yeah, big trout in there, there’s a good trail there too, you can’t miss it”. Information like this would work about half the time, and when it didn’t, it usually ruined your day.
We are lucky these days, with tools like satellite maps and lake/species information available at our fingertips. You still need to try a lake out to see the average size, best approach, and population, but at least you know the species you’re targeting lives there.
GO EASY TO BEGIN
If you’re a first-time trout adventurer, pick a soft ball. By that I mean a lake that you can access by foot or by groomed snowmobile trail. The fishing in these lakes can be almost as good as one 20 miles north of nowhere, and they are a good place to start getting your feet wet in the back country trout game.
Once you catch the back country bug you can start looking at clearing trails and running creeks to access the true and untouched back country.
BREAKING IT DOWN
To me, a big part of the fun in lake trout fishing is breaking down the lake. Most lakes you are going to look at have no hydrographic map. That means you probably aren’t going to be bringing a whole lot of spot information with you. You really have to look at the lake and identify high percentage areas. The easiest place to start is on points protruding to the main basin of the lake. These “outside turn” areas are often used by trout in a lake’s main basin. They’ll run baitfish on to the points or will just cruise by these areas following the contours of the basin. Either way, there isn’t a trout lake I have ever seen where a point isn’t a player.
DON’T FORGET ABOUT BLUFF WALLS!
Bluff walls are often another dead giveaway to lake trout anglers. More often, these walls extend in to the water and make for deep and steep shelves for lake trout to pile the bait into. Not all lakes have these, and some lakes have way too many of them. If there is a plethora of bluffs, try picking one that looks different than the rest, or pick one that furthest extends to the main basins. It is just one of those things you have to try to know for sure, but some of the biggest back lake trout come off these types of spots. If in doubt, cliff it out!
FIND SOME ROCK HUMPS
Rock reefs are another ideal place to target lake trout. The best way to find the reefs is with a little homework before hand. Jump on a satellite map like Google Earth and cruise the lake you intend to fish. A lot of times these trout lakes have visibility down past 20 feet, so you can usually see the reefs as plain as day.
Copy the coordinates and open them in a GPS or GPS app on your phone to save you time finding them. It’s almost always best practice to set up on the “big water” side of the reef, or whichever side leads in to the deepest water.
Neck downs are a little more subtle of a target, and aren’t available on all lakes, but when you have a good one, it’s all you need. Tight channels or “pinch points” separating a lake’s basin’s or channeling in to a bay are what I’m referring too. These areas are like a highway of activity for trout and baitfish that don’t stop moving all winter. If you find a good one, you can play the waiting game all day and let the fish come to you. Definitely a better choice in 2 feet of snow and slush like the conditions we are facing right now.
GEARING UP
Equipment is a very important consideration when looking at targeting back country lake trout. Snowmobiling or walking out onto a lake require a total different approach then piling out of a crew cab truck on Lake of the Woods.
Fishing electronics wise, I like to pack as light as possible. I don’t want to be hauling a 12” Screen with a battery suitable for a Honda Civic and a transducer pole that looks like a drill rig. Forward facing rigs like this take up way too much real estate and chances are they are going to be put through some major abuse, and nobody wants to smash up a 4 or 5 thousand dollar unit. Something light, compact, and powerful like a Marcum M3L flasher is a perfect rig for the job. I can tuck it in a compartment or a 5 gallon pail and not worry about it. Not only that, but flashers do a far better job than forward facing sonars at picking up your lure in deep water, which can certainly be a consideration in some of these lakes.
For rods, I like to bring just a couple 13 Fishing 36” Medium Omens. They have big guides for fishing outside, and the right parabolic bend to fight anything in the 3-30 pound range. I usually use 10lb Sufix Ice Braid, but if I know I’ll be fishing in ultra cold conditions, I’ll switch to 10lb Sufix Advance fluorocarbon to combat freezing guides.
TACKLE SELECTION EASY
I simplify things even more so on the lure front. The ultimate “back lake” trout lure for me is a 4” Z-Man Hula Stickz in Pearl on a 3/8 BT Smeltinator Jig Head. This thing catches them in every lake I have ever been to, and is a more sleek and durable option then the “dirty white tube”. Adding a little pro cure to it for scent is also a great idea. Another staple soft bait is the 5” Z-Man Jerk Shadz in Slam Shady. This thing is awesome, especially when some larger fish are present. Rig it on the same 3/8 Smeltinator head and you can’t go wrong. I also like to have a hardbait option like a Rapala Jigging Shadow Rap or a 13 Fishing Origami Blade Spoon. Some lakes the hardware is tough to beat. Disclaimer: Pinch your barbs in the back country. I have seen many instances where humans and dogs have been hooked deep by a thrashing fish. You may be an hour or two from civilization, a barbless hook can save your day!
On the auger front, it is impossible to go wrong with the Strikemaster Pro Lithium 40V Lite. It’s lite, tough, quick, and you get a LOT of holes out of the single 6ah battery. The only disadvantage to this auger is I don’t have immediate access to mixed gas to light a shore lunch fire.
Take some of these tips out there and find a backcountry gem of your own. Take care of this resource and it should look the same in 20 years as it did 20 years ago.