Maidstone Lake
Posted: Wed Aug 25, 2021 9:49 am
Surprisingly, we caught a lake trout in the middle of August by flatlining from a canoe ! Water temp was about 75 F at the surface. Jigging for lakers in the deep water wasn't working as the wind was too strong to stay put and jig vertically. So we stopped targeting lakers, and my daughters and I had been paddling around near shore and catching small perch and tiny sunfish on lightweight tackle.
Canoeing back to camp for lunch, I held my spinning rod with my feet and was trolling a Rapala scatterbait on plain monofilament. We were in about 25 FOW and the lure supposedly swims around 10 feet deep. I was hoping for a smallmouth bass. When the rod bent I couldn't believe there was actually a sizeable fish on the line, and whatever it was put up a big fight, swimming one way then another, stripping line out of the drag, but never jumping, so probably not a bass... finally a small laker got hauled up to the surface.
Fish that size on downriggers are usually hitchhikers that you don't even know are there until you see them, but they can be tons of fun to catch on lightweight tackle. Good reminder of that concept ! I'm just amazed it was that shallow this time of year.
Canoeing back to camp for lunch, I held my spinning rod with my feet and was trolling a Rapala scatterbait on plain monofilament. We were in about 25 FOW and the lure supposedly swims around 10 feet deep. I was hoping for a smallmouth bass. When the rod bent I couldn't believe there was actually a sizeable fish on the line, and whatever it was put up a big fight, swimming one way then another, stripping line out of the drag, but never jumping, so probably not a bass... finally a small laker got hauled up to the surface.
Fish that size on downriggers are usually hitchhikers that you don't even know are there until you see them, but they can be tons of fun to catch on lightweight tackle. Good reminder of that concept ! I'm just amazed it was that shallow this time of year.