Lake Trout

Lake trout fishing in BC picks up right after ice-out in spring, when fish are still shallow and easy to reach before the lake stratifies for the season. Once summer heat sets in, they retreat to deep basins near the thermocline and hold there through July and August, which is when most anglers need downriggers or heavy jigs to reach them. Fall, roughly September into October, brings lake trout back up onto rocky shoals and reefs to spawn, and this is also when many BC lakes tighten or close retention to protect spawning fish. Winter ice fishing over deep structure can be productive too, once a lake freezes thick enough to fish safely.

In spring and fall, when lake trout are shallow, early morning and evening produce the most consistent action. Once summer pushes them deep near the thermocline, time of day matters less than locating the right depth and structure with your sounder.

Troll large spoons or plugs behind a downrigger, running just above or right at the depth marked on your sonar, and follow underwater points, humps, and drop-offs rather than fishing blind. When fish are holding tight to bottom or suspended over structure, switch to vertical jigging: drop a heavy jigging spoon or tube to bottom, snap it up 6 to 12 inches, and let it flutter back down on a slightly slack line, since most strikes come on the fall. Through the ice, work the same lures over deep basins or humps, and be patient, lake trout often need several drops before they commit.

Look for lake trout in deep, cold lakes with basins well over 100 feet, especially around underwater humps, reefs, points, and steep drop-offs next to deep water. In summer they suspend near the thermocline, often somewhere between 40 and 100 feet down depending on the lake. In fall they move onto shallow rocky shoals and rubble reefs to spawn, then drop back into deep water for winter. They are far less common in BC rivers, showing up mainly in large, cold connecting channels near lake systems.