Catch mackinaw lake trout by matching the forage and keeping your bait right on the bottom. Cal Kellogg trolls a natural or pond smelt colored Trix Minnow paired with a Trigger Disc a quarter inch off the nose, at 1.4 to 2.5 mph, on a downrigger close to bottom. Zigzag from 30 to 70 feet to find fish, drop a waypoint on a pod, and work small circles. Macs bite soft, so work them hard and keep gear near the bottom between the 50 and 70 foot contours where they stack on scattered bait.
What is the best bait for lake trout?
Macs eat minnows, so match the hatch. Cal Kellogg runs a natural or pond smelt colored Trix Minnow, which he calls a dead ringer for the pond smelt lake trout gorge on. He pairs it with a Trigger Disc run about a quarter inch off the nose of the bait to add action the fish cannot lay off.
How deep do you troll for mackinaw?
Keep your gear right on the bottom. Cal finds the macs stacked between the 50 and 70 foot contour lines and runs a downrigger close to the bottom. Fishing deep from a kayak, he uses very little setback, around 31 feet back with the ball 55 feet down. A straight line troll well off the bottom will not tease these fish.
What speed should I troll for mackinaw?
Go slow when the macs are lethargic, about 1.4 to 1.7 mph, and up to 2.5 mph when they are active. Cal says the slow presentation is more like mooching than trolling. He works the pedals to give the bait a stop and dart, which pulls reluctant macs off the bottom.
How do you find lake trout?
Zigzag troll to cover contours. Cal runs the shoreline going from about 70 feet in to 30 feet and back, 70 30 70 30, watching sonar. When he marks a pod of fish he drops a waypoint, which becomes the hub of the wheel, then orients his trolling around that spot and works a small area.
Why do lake trout bite so soft?
Macs are reluctant biters, especially on a full moon or after a temperature drop. They bite very soft, so you have to work them hard, keep your gear close to the bottom, and tease strikes out of them. When a mac plays with the bait, add a little rod tip or pedal action to make it commit.
Do lake trout hold in one spot?
Yes. Cal describes macs as primordial apex predators that stay put rather than running around like trout. He learned from Jean St. Dennis at Tahoe that you can work a small area of just 100 to 150 feet, and the more you work them the more vigorously they bite as they hear their buddies get hooked.
How do you build a trolling pattern for lake trout?
Cal works three speed ranges: fast at 2.7 mph and up, medium at about 2.2 to 2.7, and slow at 1.5 to 2 with a target of 1.8. Keep a couple of trusted presentations in each range. Do not get emotionally attached to a lure. Treat lures like players and bench the ones that are not producing.
What rigging does Cal use for mackinaw?
Every rod starts the same: 8 pound fluorocarbon leader, a bead to keep it out of the eye, and a trolling swivel that everything runs off. Cal prospects with hybrid leadcore, where two colors at 2 mph puts you around 10 feet down, and runs his downrigger with light tension so he can see the fish load the rod.
Watch the technique
Trolling for mackinaw lake trout FAQ
A natural or pond smelt colored Trix Minnow. Cal calls it a dead ringer for the pond smelt lake trout feed on, and macs caught on it come up chock full of smelt.
Fishing deep on a downrigger you need very little setback. Cal hooked fish just 31 feet back with the ball 55 feet down, and says he could run as little as 10 feet back.
At Jenkinson Reservoir Cal found the macs stacked between the 50 and 70 foot contour lines, holding on scattered bait rather than in big schools.
An S shaped troll from about 30 feet of water out to 70 and back, crossing both shallow and deep contours until you mark a pod, then focus your circles on that waypoint.
Usually they feel like dead weight and come up like pacifists. But a big mac near the surface can turn on and burn line fast. Cal had one smoke 44 feet of line off the reel on a single run to the bottom.
Each color of leadcore gets you roughly 5 feet down. Two colors at 2 mph puts you around 10 feet, and three colors about 15 feet. If you catch a fish there, you can replicate the exact speed and depth.
8 pound fluorocarbon on every rod, rigged with a bead and a trolling swivel so all his presentations run off the same swivel and clip on quickly.
Anywhere pond smelt live and fish feed on them, from Jenkinson Reservoir to Folsom Lake, Lake Almanor, Rollins Reservoir, and Lake Tahoe. Match the natural Trix Minnow to the smelt and peg your speed.
