Please note that this article includes excerpts from the very well known fisherman Dick Sternberg, from his great book: Fishing With Live Bait. So you know the lake trout fishing tips are sound.

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.