TROUT SPECIES
Posted on January 28, 2009
Hi there my fellow trout fishermen.
Here is information on several trout species including tips and techniques to catch the different species.
We hope that you enjoy it and find it useful.
As always..more to come
BROOK TROUT
COMMON NAMES:
Speckled trout, brook char, eastern brook trout, brookie, square-tail, sea trout, salter, redspotted trout, mud trout, slob, coaster, harness trout, native trout, moutain trout, speck, whitefin, truite mouchetee, truite de mer
DESCRIPTION:
The brook trout is native to North America and is much admired for its delicate beauty. It is a member of the Salmonidae family along with salmons, trouts, chars, whitefish, and graylings. It has an elongated, typically trout-like shape with a fairly large head. The tail, or caudal fin, is only slightly forked, hence the name ’square tail.’ The remarkably beautiful colour patterns of the brookie are reminiscent of more tropical species. The brookie’s back is olive green or brown, and is graced with a network of worm-like lines called vermiculations that serve as camouflage. Along its sides, this char is usually yellow-green or orange, and the belly is often white. The sides of the brookie are adorned with many spots, including a smattering of small red dots surrounded by stunning pale-blue halos or ‘aureoles.’ The ventral fins are often orange to red, with a white and then a black line along the leading edges. The brookie has been hybridized with the lake trout to produce the ’splake,’ which often looks much like brook trout. Brook trout have also been crossed with brown trout to produce tiger trout, whose suggestive side markings have given the hybrid its name. Brookies have even been artificially crossed with kokanee salmon.
SIZE:
The typical stream brookie is not known for its great size and usually measures eight to 12 inches in length and weighs less than a pound. In the lake habitat, however, these fish can grow much larger and commonly attain weights of several pounds. A trophy lake resident brookie weighs between five and seven pounds. Brookies may also sea-run and, although these fish attain larger ‘average’ sizes, they seldom produce the trophy proportions of their freshwater cousins.
WHERE THEY CAN BE FOUND:
The brook trout is found throughout the Maritimes, Newfoundland, and Labrador. It is common in Quebec and Ontario, as well as the northeastern corner of Manitoba. In the United States the brook trout occurs in the northeastern states, in the Appalachian Mountains south to Georgia, in the upper Mississippi and in the Great Lakes drainage areas of Minnesota. It has also been widely introduced in river systems in the west.
HABITS AND HABITAT
Brook trout spawning occurs in late summer or autumn, depending on latitude and water temperature. The most common months are September through December. The actual spawning site is carefully chosen. In streams, brookies seek out cold, spring-fed waters with gravel bottoms. In lakes, brookies will spawn in the shallows over bark, twigs, or other bottom material. The female fans a redd or nest with her tail and lays numerous eggs, which are fertilized with clouds of milt from the accompanying male. Numbers of eggs vary with the size of the female, but a 14-inch fish may lay 1,200 eggs. Eggs hatch according to temperature. In a temperature of 55 F, for example, incubation would take no longer than thirty-five days. They are also the easiest of the trouts or chars to catch, and overfishing has definitely contributed to a decline in numbers.
Brookies are carnivorous and feed on almost anything that moves. Worms, leeches, crustaceans, mayflies, caddis flies, black flies, spiders and snails are all readily devoured.
FISHING TECHNIQUES:
Small streams offer a fascinating opportunity for the spin-fisherman as well as the sophisticated fly-angler. The cardinal rule is ’stream craft’ and this means stealth tactics. Pools and runs should be approached with the utmost caution ant patience.
FISHING TACKLE:
The fly-fisherman, troller, bait-angler, and spin-fisherman all enjoy good sport with Brook Trout. On small streams, light outfits with light lines of 4 to 6 pound test are commonly preferred since the fish are usually small. For larger fish, medium-action spinning rods with 6 to 8 pound test lines are used, whereas fly-fishermen resort to 9-foot rods with 6 to 7 pound leaders.
TRY THESE TIPS:
Brookies can often be enticed with small natural baits, even on days when they will hit nothing else. This technique requires light lines and tiny hooks, often as small as No. 14, 16, or 18, which enable the angler to use extremely small and subtle baits that can be drifted to inactive fish. Other easily found baits include grasshoppers, various grubs, and, of course, worms, although much smaller than the nightcrawler variety.
Stream brookies are wary, so it’s important to walk only upstream to all of your favourite pools. Walk quietly and try to present a low profile. Some anglers even resort to camouflage clothing.
If brookies are constantly biting off the lower half of your worm, you can use a ’stinger.’ Just attach a worm-sized length of 2- to 4-pound test line to your hook and tie on a second, preferably smaller, hook. Thread the worm over both hooks so that one is near the top and the second near the bottom.
BROWN TROUT
COMMON NAMES:
German brown trout, European brown trout, sea trout, brownie, Loch Leven trout, Von Behr trout, spotted trout, liberty trout.
DESCRIPTION:
The brown trout has the characteristic long, sleek trout body and a non-forked tail. It possesses a large mouth, which, in the male, becomes extremely hooked at times, to the point of deformity. Although colour patterns vary somewhat between populations, this trout is generally brown or greenish on the back, fading to creamy brown on the sides, and it has a white or yellowish belly. In stream-dwelling populations, the characteristic black spots on the side of the fish are complemented with red dots. In lakes and at sea, browns are a uniform, bright silver.
SIZE:
Brown trout can reach great sizes, especially in lake- or sea-run populations. In the Great Lakes, for example, specimens of 25 to 35 pounds have been taken, and specimens weighing 10 or more pounds are caught regularly. Native browns in streams and rivers often weigh between one and two pounds, and catches weighing more than five pounds are considered true trophies.
WHERE THEY CAN BE FOUND:
This trout is native to Europe, from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea, including Scandinavia and Siberia. It was introduced into North America in 1883 with eggs from Germany, and later by strains imported from Loch Leven in Scotland. Since then, the brown has become firmly established in many North American waters. In Canada, brown trout are abundant in southern Ontario and Quebec, as well as in southern Alberta. Extensive stocking has produced a spectacular lake-run fishery in the Great Lakes.
HABITS AND HABITAT
Spawning occurs in late autumn and early winter, often during October and November, when water temperatures drop to between 44 and 48F. Browns prefer the headwaters of small, gravel-strewn streams, although lake-run fish may spawn on rocky shoals near shore. In typical trout fashion, the female digs a redd with her tail into which eggs are deposited along with the male’s sperm. Females five years of age yield an average of 2,000 eggs, which they cover with gravel. The young hatch the following spring. Lake and sea-run smolts usually remain in native rivers for at least one or two years before migrating to their ‘big water’ environments. Brown trout are known for their voracious feeding habits. Browns will forage above and below the water surface for mayflies, caddis flies, stone flies, and many others. They are also nocturnal feeders and will eat mollusks, frogs, crayfish, and various fish, including other trout. They have been known to eat birds, mice, and other small mammals that wander into the water. The largest browns are often caught after dark. Anglers rate the brown as the wiliest of the stream trout for its caution and cleverness in concealment. Many believe this high intelligence is the result of its European origins where centuries of intensive angling culled the inferior fish, eventually producing superior survival traits.
FISHING TECHNIQUES:
The fly-angler often views Brown Trout as being the ultimate quarry. Taking these exceedingly wary, native fish in a dry fly is very difficult. Since the brown tends to feed in quiet pools and runs, the fly-fisher must exercise great caution during the approach and presentation. When a rise is noticed on the water’s surface, most anglers will routinely cast to it. Often this alone can frighten the fish away. If the fish shows any interest or continues feeding, however, the angler may switch patterns or drop to smaller flies. Great caution is required to ensure that the cast fly touches the water very, very gently. Favourite Brown Trout flies are many and include famous names such as the Quill Gordon, March Brown, Blue Dun Spider, Hendrickson, Royal Coachman, and Adams.
Spin-fisherman, too, can enjoy great sport with Brown Trout. In small streams, the angler often stalks his quarry for an entire season once he has observed a fish in a pool. Once hooked, stream browns mount spectacular battles and possess the uncanny ability to find line-breaking snags such as submerged branches or logs.
Shore fishermen in lakes do not need to worry about stealth or careful presentation. They need only be present as the migratory browns arrive near the mouths of spawning rivers. Usually large schools will announce their presence by rolling or even jumping out of the water. They are very determined when striking lures, which are usually retrieved at fairly high speeds. Later in the season, migratory browns suddenly cease feeding, and lure fishing begins to taper off. This is the bait-fisherman’s time. Roe, worms, and sometimes minnows are fished beneath slender floats or on the bottom with sliding sinkers. When the fish are in the rivers, float-fishermen concentrate on the deeper and slower pools. River browns are frequently loathe to take baits. Anglers often resort to specialized 12 to 14 foot long rods that are specially designed for float fishing with very light lines and 2 or even 1 pound test leaders. This river fishing style requires new baits. Various tiny insects and wet flies can be presented to spooky fish, and these novel methods often produce when other methods fail.
FISHING TACKLE:
Many methods are used to catch Brown Trout in lakes and streams. Native browns are pursued in rivers and streams by spinning enthusiasts, usually with ultra-light or medium-action gear and light lines. Spinners such as the Mepps Aglia or the Panther Martin and spoons such as the E.G.B. are cast with great accuracy to heavy cover in streams. To lure large browns, bait-fishermen use frogs, minnows, worms and crayfish. In the Great Lakes, browns are taken by salmon trollers using electronic fish finders and downriggers with lures such as the Terminator or the Salmon Doctor. Shore fishermen experience great success casting heavy spoons such as the Alligator or the Little Cleo. Often long, fairly flexible casting rods are used together with special, tapered-spool casting reels. Fly-fishermen use both wet and dry flies, nymphs, and streamers.
TRY THESE TIPS:
Shallow-water browns in large lakes are wary of the troller’s lure. It is sometimes necessary to run extremely long leads a hundred yards or more. A better solution is to use a side planer (Water Otter), which presents the lure off to one side of the boat. The boat then no longer scares the fish away from the lure.
Vertical jigging from a drifting boat over structure will often catch lake browns. After dropping a white or yellow jig to the bottom, you should retrieve it slowly and erratically. Dress the jig with a strip of sucker or dead minnow for best success.
Often an entire school of lake browns will come shoreward and roll within casting distance without hitting artificials. Anglers may even snag these fish accidentally. This is the time to rig a spawn bag under a slender float or through a sliding sinker on bottom. Again, patience is indicated, because this technique really works.
RAINBOW TROUT
COMMON NAMES:
Steelhead trout, Kamloops trout, coast rainbow trout, silver trout, half-pounder, redsides, Pacific trout.
DESCRIPTION:
Rainbow Trout; The rainbow is among the top game fish in the world. True to its name, the rainbow sports a variety of colours that vary with habitat, size, and sexual condition. Rainbows in streams and small inland lakes, and those closest to their spawning grounds generally exhibit the darkest colours. More silvery colours are the norm for lake residents. Stream trout also tend to be more spotted than lake residents. To anglers, the definitive characteristics of rainbows, particularly the males, are the pink ‘cheeks’ and the prominent pink-to-reddish stripe on the sides.
SIZE:
Rainbow Trout; Rainbow trout vary considerably in size, depending mainly on their life history and food base. Resident trout in rivers tend to be smaller than trout that feed in richer inland lakes. Most anglers across North America would agree that a 12-inch fish is a good catch from a river, though stream-dwelling rainbows do grow larger in Alberta’s Bow River and in many of Alaska’s larger rivers. Some of the largest inland lake rainbows in North America, however, are found in British Columbia. The famous Kamloops, as its name suggests, is found in the lakes around Kamloops, B.C. Most do not exceed 5 to 7 pounds.
Steelhead; Steelhead can grow to a much greater size than rainbows. Months of feeding in food-rich seas or lakes can cause tremendous growth. The average steelhead caught in the Great Lakes watershed weighs eight to 12 pounds, with specimens over 20 pounds recorded every year. Larger fish are common along the migratory rivers on the West Coast where steelhead are considered the supreme game fish.
WHERE THEY CAN BE FOUND:
Rainbow Trout; The native North American range of the rainbow trout is the eastern Pacific and much of the freshwater drainage of western North America. Following extensive introductions, rainbows can now safely be said to inhabit virtually all of North America where habitat conditions can be met.
Steelhead; The native North American range of the steelhead is the eastern Pacific and much of the freshwater drainage of western North America. The most famous and successful introductions in North America of ‘true’ steelhead from the West Coast have occurred in the Great Lakes and their tributaries. These stockings are enormously popular with anglers, and the fish maintain vigorously reproducing populations.
HABITS AND HABITAT
Rainbow Trout; Rainbows enjoy a varied diet, readily engulfing worms, small fish, all types of terrestrial and aquatic insects, fish eggs, and even small birds and mammals. Most stream-dwelling rainbows acquire their nutrition from insects, and are therefore a perfect target for fly fishers.
Resident stream rainbows inhabit riffles, pools, areas below waterfalls, undercut banks and brush, current breaks behind boulders, and other habitats that provide their two essentials: food and cover. The temperature tolerance of rainbow trout is below 32 F to over 80 F, with the preferred level below 70 F. In lakes, rainbows may be found near the surface, but as the upper layers warm, they tend to seek a level between 56.5 and 60 F. Lake rainbows enter streams to spawn in spring. Lakes without streams, however, rarely support sustainable populations of these trout.
Inland populations of rainbow trout spawn from January to June and later in some cold-water lakes at high elevations. In the wild, they can be divided practically rather than scientifically into coastal, migratory and freshwater pure strains. Unlike other trout, rainbows are a mixture of different lineages and behaviors with a tendency to cross-breed when they can. Spawning time differs widely among strains and races, with barely any part of the year not being a spawning time for resident rainbows.
Steelhead; The diet of the steelhead varies with its habitat and location. Great Lakes fish feed heavily in the summer on vast schools of alewife and smelt. Their saltwater brethren feed extensively on shrimp when young, then graduate to a variety of fishes. When steelhead move into streams and rivers to spawn, their feeding slows, but does not stop altogether. They will engulf drifting eggs, small fishes, and a variety of aquatic insects.
Great Lakes steelhead often roam the upper layers of the water, following baitfish schools during the summer months. Locate the baitfish and you will also locate the ’steelies.’ Of particular interest to anglers is the behavior of the steelhead once it enters streams and rivers on its way to the spawning grounds. In the stream environment, it behaves just like the native, stream-dwelling rainbow. It relates to riffles, pools, waterfalls, undercut banks and brush, boulders, and other habitats that provide current breaks or cover.
FISHING TECHNIQUES:
Rainbow Trout; The best advice for anglers using any of these fishing techniques is to become familiar with the habits of the quarry. The angler should learn what constitutes good cover and feeding areas for stream trout. He should make a study of the insects that trout feed on in order to become a successful fly fisher. In lakes, he must know when the fish are deep, when they are shallow, and when they are likely to enter spawning rivers. In other words, knowledge of the ecology of the fish is more important than familiarity with the various types of trout tackle.
When the angler learns about the trout and their foods, he’ll also know where and when they will be most concentrated. Certain riffles of rivers are consistent producers, as are certain flats, bays, and river mouths.
Steelhead; One of the most important factors in successful steelheading is knowing when the fish are moving into their spawning rivers and recognizing prime conditions for catching them. Usually the most critical factors to success are temperature and precipitation. Heavy spring rains cause rivers to swell, bringing in many fresh, aggressive fish. Most anglers develop a feel for when the fish will start biting. Rain brings in the fish but usually they won’t hit well when the rivers are too high and roily. When the rivers start to clear, the fishing peaks. A good knowledge of the rivers and streams in your area will enable you to pick and choose the best spots. Some rivers clear up quickly, while others may take several days after a big storm.
The timing of Steelhead runs is more or less consistent from year to year, with some variations resulting from water levels. Many steelheaders fish the peaks of runs in various rivers, moving around to hit the strongest runs. In some rivers, such as Michigan’s Au Sable, the trout feed most consistently at night.
Don’t forget, anglers can also successfully fish for steelhead through the ice. Diehard winter steelheaders will fish frozen river mouths with roe, minnows, jigs or jigging spoons such as Swedish Pimples and jigging Rapalas.
FISHING TACKLE:
Rainbow Trout; Gear for Rainbows varies tremendously according to area, size of the fish, and angler preference. Rainbows are generally fished using one of three methods: bait, artificial lures, and flies.
Bait is a very popular choice of fishermen everywhere. Rainbows find worms almost irresistible, probably because they form part of a trout’s natural diet. Trout can also be enticed with minnows and even a few less than natural baits such as corn kernels and cheese. Various eggs, grubs and leeches will attract trout as well. Spinning rods that are fairly long and limber are ideal for bait fishing. Small split shot pinched on the line can be used for weight, and small bait hooks are standard.
Rainbow Trout are also drawn to spinners, plugs and spoons in a variety of sizes and colors. Mepps Aglia or Panther Martin spinners are especially effective. Spoons such as the E.G.B. or Pixie are very good also. Flatfish are a good plug for trolling and Rapalas are effective for Rainbows under a wide range of conditions.
Rainbows readily take a wide variety of wet and dry flies. Much has been written about ‘matching the hatch’ when using these flies, especially in heavily fished areas where ‘bows have been educated to recognize artificial flies. Basically, flies are either attractors that simply appeal to the trout’s aggressive reflexes or imitators that mimic natural prey. Both types will work, providing the angler achieves a natural, drag-free drift and manages to put the fly in front of the fish. This is not always an easy task in deep lakes or in swift rivers.
Lake fly-fishing generally requires a full sinking line, while river fly anglers use floating or sink tip lines. Fly rods are chosen according to the prevailing conditions and the size of the fish. Lighter rods (3 – 5 weight) are used for smaller stream fish and heavier rods (7 – 9 weight) are preferred for big fish in big rivers.
Steelhead; Gear for Steelhead is necessarily heavier than for native Rainbows. Migratory fish are quite a bit bigger in size and therefore require longer rods with much more backbone. West Coast and Great Lakes steelheaders often use special float fishing, bottom bouncing or fly fishing gear. Bait anglers use a variety of fresh, prepared, or imitation roe in the single egg or roe bag form, depending on the conditions at hand. Big river anglers will often fish out of drift boats, trolling a variety of wobbling plugs or spoons. Yarn flies and other roe imitations are also drift fished from boats.
Great Lakes fishermen, seeking their quarry on the big water during the summer, will employ planer boards and downriggers to present a variety of spoons or wobbling plugs to cruising pods of Steelhead.
TRY THESE TIPS:
Rainbow Trout:
One of the most versatile lures for small-stream fishing is the spinner. Spinners can be cast upstream and allowed to tumble along with the current or they can be cast across the current so that they swerve across pools and runs in a slower and more enticing fashion. Spinners are so handy to cast that they become an ideal lure for ‘pinpoint’ tosses to rocks, logs, undercut banks, or other likely structures.
Steelhead:
When fishing with spawn bags, always try to use the appropriate size and colour, based on water clarity. Use bright, large bags in dirty water. In clear water, pale-coloured, single eggs are often drifted on light lines.
Spinners, too, should be chosen according to water visibility. A silver Blue Fox, Vibrax No. 4 or Mepps Aglia would be a good choice for a flooded river, while a black No. 1 or 2 Aglia wouldbe perfect for crystal-clear waters.
Steelies will hit wet flies such as the Michigan Wiggler or the stonefly nymph. These are especially effective when they’re drifted through riffles below a pencil float or a strike indicator.
LAKE TROUT
COMMON NAMES:
Lake char, Great Lakes, forktail, mackinaw, salmon, fat lake, gray or mountain trout; laker, land-locked salmon, siscowet, taque, togue, tuite grise.
DESCRIPTION:
More than any other species, the lake trout deserves the title of Canada’s ‘northern game fish.’ It is a perfectly adapted inhabitant of the cold, deep lakes of Canada’s north. Although it possesses a characteristically trout-like form, the laker actually belongs to the char clan, along with the brook trout, the Arctic char, and the Dolly Varden. Lakers also possess a rather large head, with large eyes and fins and a deeply forked tail. The typical laker has a gray-green to gray-blue back, with numerous white spots along the sides, and a cream-coloured belly. In some lakes, the lakers have no spots at all, and are silvery overall.
SIZE:
Lake trout grow to gigantic proportions, which invariably draws the keen attention of the angling community. They are believed to survive for forty to fifty years, which, in part, accounts for their great size. Although most lakers caught by anglers are in the 10-pound class, many lunkers of 20 to 30 pounds have also been caught, especially in the Northwest Territories, particularly in Great Bear Lake and Great Slave Lake. Canada is so well known, in fact, for its huge lakers that it is the Mecca for trophy anglers.
WHERE THEY CAN BE FOUND:
The lake trout occurs over most of Canada, including western Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, and most of Ontario. Lakers are also common in the more northerly portions of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia. They have become abundant in the Yukon, the Northwest Territories, and many of the Arctic islands.
HABITS AND HABITAT
Much knowledge has been gathered about Canada’s premier game fish. Although lakers spawn some time in the autumn, timing varies according to geography, seasons, and weather. In most areas, lakers will spawn in October, usually on rocky shoals in lakes. Spawning occurs at night, with the eggs deposited into crevices between large rocks. A large female may deposit between 10,000 and 20,000 eggs, which incubate in their sheltered crevices for several months before they hatch. Lake trout prefer deep, clear lakes, especially in the southern portions of their range, although they are also common in shallow lakes and rivers in the far north. Lake trout prefer to spawn in the shallows in autumn, then disperse throughout the lake at all depths during winter. With the arrival of spring, lake trout are commonly found in the water’s upper layers, especially immediately after ice-out. As spring advances, lakers retreat to deeper waters. They spend the summer months below the thermocline, which is the border between the warmer surface layer and the cooler bottom temperatures of a lake. Lakers feed on crustaceans, insects, numerous fish species, and small mammals. Lakers will, however, adjust their diets according to the types of forage available.
FISHING TECHNIQUES:
Lake Trout are taken by many methods, including casting, bait fishing, ice fishing and especially by trolling, either with or without downriggers. The best time to cast for them is during the lake’s ice thaw in early spring, or in autumn prior to their spawning in the shallows. Anglers await them near points, shoals, drop-offs, and river mouths, and use a variety of spinners, spoons, and plugs.
Ice fishing is usually conducted above known laker hangouts such as points, shoals, or weed beds that harbor baitfish. Holes are drilled with manual or gasoline driven augers, and bait such as minnows are used with special ‘tip up’ devices. Other ice fishermen use special rods to jig lures, such as the Jigging Rapala, the Pilkki, or the Swedish Pimple.
Most lakers, however, are taken by trolling using numerous tactics. During spring and fall, the shorelines can be worked, even with light spinning tackle, by ‘flat lining’ with body baits such as the Rebel or the Thinfin, or with spoons such as the West River or Little Cleo. In very shallow areas, anglers sometimes employ plane boards, which carry both line and lure off to one side so prospective lakers are not spooked by the boat. Deep trolling in depths of 30 to 60 feet is often conducted over shoals or other prominent underwater structures. Bait fishermen often use large live or dead minnows, smelts or herring, and this technique seems especially effective for taking very large lakers. Trolling speed, whether using lures or bait, will vary from very slow to medium.
FISHING TACKLE:
Lake Trout tackle is often fairly heavy. There is a long tradition in Canada of using heavy wire lines with special reels and short, stout rods. These awkward but effective outfits were necessary in order to place the lures at the great depths of 50 or even 100 feet that are frequented by the lakers. Modern technology, however, has given anglers completely new equipment – the downrigger and the electronic sonar. The sonar’s video screen shows the depth of the lakers, their baitfish, and the all-important thermocline. The downrigger, to which the trolling line is attached, then sends the lure down to the preset depth via a lead ‘cannonball’ attached to a wire cable. When a fish strikes the lure, a special release mechanism frees the line from the downrigger cable, allowing the angler to enjoy the unfettered battle of a large laker at 100 feet or more. There are many popular Lake trout trolling lures, including the traditional Williams Wabler, or the myriad special deep-trolling spoons such as the Flutterlite, the Sutton 31, or the Andy Reeker.
TRY THESE TIPS:
At different times of year, lakers are found only at certain depths. The best way to fish such specific depth ranges is to use the ‘float-jigging’ technique. The line, tipped with a jig, is allowed to run through the center of the slip bobber until it hits a ‘bobber stop,’ which is attached on the line at the required depth. When the line is pulled up through the float, the jig dances under the water at precisely the right depth. When a laker picks up the lure, the float dives, telling the angler when to set the hook. This is a great rig!
When trolling for lakers at depths of 40 to 60 feet, it is important to choose colours that will be visible to cruising fish. Fluorescent orange, pink, and chartreuse, are the most visible at any depth. Natural colours, such as blue, green, and black, are also good. By rule of thumb, use fluorescent colours on overcast days and naturals on bright, clear days. The Christmas Tree or Gang Troll is one of the oldest and most popular lake trout attractors.
Another effective rig for lake-trout trolling is the spoon-fly combination. Simply remove the treble hook from your spoon and replace it with 12 inches of monofilament holding a flashy wet fly or streamer. The spoon attracts the fish from great distances, while the fly actually draws the strike.