Went to Manitou last Thursday with a group of 9 others for our annual Lake Trout trip.
Normally, we are there a week or 10 days after the ice goes out and we troll the shore line in 8 to 15 feet of water and have no problem picking up fish on silver/green spoons or perch pattern Rapalas. The ice went out 4 weeks early this year, so it had been out for 5 weeks when we got there. Surface temps. were 4 to 5 degrees warmer than normal.
On Thursday afternoon we trolled the shore in our normal pattern for about 45 minutes and nothing. We then turned and trolled straight out from shore to see what we would mark in deeper water. We found fish in 50 fow but then it started raining heavily and there was thunder in the area, so we got off the lake.
On Friday morning we trolled the shore again with no success and then went to 50 feet where we had marked the fish the night before. There were still fish in that area. Then it was, how do we get down to them as we didn't have downriggers.
It was fairly calm, so we decided to jig, and slipping the motor in and out of reverse to keep us in place.
My buddy put on a green/chartreuse Bad Boyz and I put on a Mr.Champ tipped with a salted minnow. Within 5 minutes, we both had fish on. He landed his a 5lb 11oz trout and lost mine. By 10 o'clock when we came off the water we had our possession limit of 2 fish each. The big one and 3 others in the 4lb range. The 5lb 11oz fish won us the $200 for the big fish of the day. Because we had our possession limit of 2 fish we were excluded from the Saturday pool.
The rest of the time we were "catch and release". In total we boated at least 20 fish, lost at least 20 and had probably another 20 hits were we didn't get a hook up. Jigging just as we would in winter. It was the wildest fishing we have had up there in years.
The rest of our group did eventually get their 2 fish, some by trolling and others by coming out with us and using our rods and lures to get their fish.
Smoked the fish today in the Bradley.
All in all a great trip and we shall see what next year brings. Getting ready now for Lake Simcoe.
Pics are the 4 fish, me with the fish and how they looked out of the smoker today.
SDC
Fishing Lake Manitou--Results, Just Like Ice Fishing
