A “52 lake trout kind of day”…

How to catch lake trout in the fall…

Trout fishing can be challenging but it’s not rocket science….and in the fall it can be downright easy.  Henry and I walked the portage trail back into Clearwater Lake this past September, about a week before the season on lake trout closed.  With low water levels all season the fishing back there was basically limited to the 2 Vermilion Bay Lodge boats at the end of the portage trail…….and that’s the way I like it!  For more lake trout fishing tips click here:  lake trout fishing tips.

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Getting to Clearwater Lake on a beautiful fall morning.

The Plan:  jigging spoons…

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Blue and silver Little Cleo's....barbs are flattened for easy release.

First Priority:  Find the fish!

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Knowing where to look is an advantage…especially when the locator proves you right! Tip: Turn off the auto sensitivity and set to max!  Those are all fish by the way!

 

Now catch the fish….

 

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Henry with one of many trout caught that day...

 

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Hand signals....52 lake trout caught........what an amazing day!

 

Putting it in perspective…

I’ve often had some very good days fishing here, but this was probably the best ever…..I think Henry would agree.   We actually only spent a little over 3 hours fishing for lakers…the fishing was that silly.  The rubber net and pinched barbs allowed us to release these fish unharmed, which should be everyone’s main concern.  Of course a few ended up in our cooler for the ride home! After catching over 50 trout and a bunch of whitefish we needed a change of pace…after all, who really needs to catch that many!   Off across the portage trail and into McGregor Lake!

 

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Over the portage trail and into McGregor Lake...any fish here?

 

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Some bass were co-operative, but the walleyes had other plans.

 

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A cold beer at the end of a very good day. 3 whitefish and 4 lakers.

 

A few days later……

Jeff and Justin who were stayed with us at VBL while building the new liquor store in Vermilion Bay (yes, you read that right….a new store!) were keen to get into lake trout fishing after hearing about our day.  While the fishing was still good, it paled in comparison to the previous trip.  Well, that’s fishing and it was still a great day.  Some lake trout were canned that night!

 

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Jeff and Justin get into trout fishing.

2 thoughts on “A “52 lake trout kind of day”…

  1. Hey! This lake trout blog post looks familiar? I just read about it in the “just published” Dec. 2012 Beaver newsletter! Very entertaining read. I like the final story about the “clogged” toilet.

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On behalf of the Boyes Group, I would like to pass on our sincere thanks for hosting the Muskie Madness Week and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay at VBL and had a great time!! This was our 7th year on Eagle Lake and we have stayed at a few other lodges but VBL takes the cake hands down! You can definitely count us in for next year. I’m happy to see you post some of my pics, they turned out well. Thanks again Gord for a wonderful week of fishing and your stellar hospitality, you run a first class operation, we look forward to seeing you next year!

Trevor Benner

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