A favorite technique of springtime lake trout anglers is to throw out a dead baitfish,prop the rod on a forked stick, then sit back and wait for a bite. When a laker picks up the bait, it often runs 20 to 30 yards before it stops. A fisherman that forgets to open the bail may suddenly see his rod fly from the stand and disappear into the depths.

Just after ice-out, lakers seek shallower, warmer water. Shore fishermen cast with dead smelt or sucker meat on slip-sinker rigs. Because lake trout are scavengers, the bait should be fished on the bottom.

Like most other trout species, lakers shy away from heavy line. Use monofilamint no heavier than 10-pound test. Some fishermen switch to 4-pound line when fishing is slow.

Dead baitfish are not used as often in the summer because trout are usually scattered and may be suspended off bottom. However, fishermen frequently use sucker miat or miat from other baitfish to tip 1-to-2 ounce bucktail jigs.

If you run short of bait, open the stomach of a freshly caught lake trout. Remove any ciscoes or other baitfish. These soft, partly-digested fish are just as effective as fresh bait.

How to Rig a Smelt:

Step #1 of 3
Thread a 1/2 ounce egg sinker onto 8-pound mono.

Step #2 of 3
Add a barrel swivel and 3 feet of 6-pound leader.

Step #3 of 3
Insert a #2 hook through the lips of a 6-to-8 inch smelt.

I for one love trout fishing and it really does not matter if they are lake or stream trout as long as they will measure up to my frying pan.

As trout grow larger, they eat fewer insects and crustaceans, and more fish. All trout eat some minnows, but a big brown relies on fish for most of its diet. If minnows are scarce, a brown trout will not hesitate to eat its own kind.

A fisherman using baitfish stands a better chance of hooking a big brown trout than an angler using other live baits or artificial flies. Stream fishermen catch browns on lip-hooked shiners, dace and fatheads weighted with only a small split-shot.

On some mid-western streams, anglers seeking trophy browns still-fish deep pools with 4-to-6 inch sucker fillets. They leave the skin on to keep the fillets on the hook.

Following ice-out, Great Lakes fishermen catch brown trout as large as 25 pounds. Some anglers still-fish or slow-troll with alewives and smelt in shallow bays and near power plants discharges. In summer and fall, browns and rainbows school around Great Lakes piers and tributaries, where they are caught on slip-sinker rigs with alewives.

Sculpins take many trout in western streams. They can be lip-hooked or fished with a double needle hook. Plug-cut herring are widely used for huge rainbows in high-altitude lakes of the west.

How to rig a Sculpin:

Step #1 of 3
Tie 6-pound monofilament line to the clip of a #4 or #6 double needle sculpin hook.

Step #2 of 3
Push the tapered end of the hook into the fishes vent, through the body and out the mouth.

Step #3 of 3
Attach the clip to the hole in the shank to complete the rig. The hook should swing freely on the clip.

Remember to sharpen your hooks.