January 2nd Lake Trout, A first and a heartbreak

great story and beautiful laker meat as for the one that got away, as others have said, it happens, been there and done that may times, so you are not alone and you will replay that memory for a long time


good stuff

Sounds like a great time Mike. Too bad about the one that got away - feel your grief!

Mike Nice looking fish great fillets will be tasty

Yup, like everyone else, that kind of loss has happened to me as well. I comfort myself by saying that it was too large to eat anyway and would have released it so I had my fun and it was a quick "release"....the good thing is that you got some videos and because no one can confirm or not confirm, you can increase the size of that fish each time you tell the story. The other one's fillets look amazing....that larger one would have tasted like wood in comparison

These fish do have a tendency to grow over time, don’t they? Most likely would have released the fish (if it was as big as I’m claiming) but would’ve been great to see if it was a natural lake trout or not. I’m waiting on results from a recent MNRF lake assessment regarding the status of lake trout in the lake. Should include catch data for all the other species as well, hoping for the best.

These fish do have a tendency to grow over time, don’t they? Most likely would have released the fish (if it was as big as I’m claiming) but would’ve been great to see if it was a natural lake trout or not. I’m waiting on results from a recent MNRF lake assessment regarding the status of lake trout in the lake. Should include catch data for all the other species as well, hoping for the best.

You can tell people that hole you punched was a good 12" so that fin would seem huge. Love reading their reports too and esp. of their netting results (although that usually means some fish are killed). Hope there is another one coming in a few years from the lake I tend to fish most often.

Great read as always. I bet after that battle the heart was racing. It looks big through the hole, And those fillets look amazing. Interested to know the size and brand hook you were using. Larger than river fishing I would assume. I've heard some reports of certain brand hooks straightening out on larger fish in the past. Well done!

It’s funny you mention that about the hook- I typically use a size 4 or 6 red mosquito hook for nearly everything i.e. drop shot, bait hook etc.

I’ve never found any issues with the hook popping out but had recently been considering sizing up the hook on my tip-up setups. I decided to try out this all purpose bait hook, size 1, and of course, this is what I lost the lake trout on:

My old reliable (I’m partial to Owner hooks, they’re razor sharp and very durable):

Where was the fish clipped?
Were you using minnows?
I heard several large 7+ lb lakers taken on the weekend. Must have been the full moon.

Right pelvic fin. Yes, both lake trout took live emerald shiners. The one landed was on a medium sized minnow rigged on a drop shot.

I heard the same as well. Would be good if the naturals made it back. I know they're less commonly caught than the stockers.

Well done!! Looks like a Haliburton Gold laker fillets.

Beauty colour on those fillets... that fish is dark. maybe just the lighting/angle of pic?

I've observed that most of the stocked lake trout in my lake are typically more of a uniform brown-olive colour. The naturals show more silver-grey with a noticeably lighter underside. Clearly two distinct strains.

Another stocked lake trout: