Lake Trout Fishing: Savant Lake, Northwestern Ontario

Lurking in the clear cold depths of Lake Savant are eating machines. The pristine water produces great tasting Lake Trout and customers can enjoy small pan-fryers to larger fish suitable for baking and smoking.

Lake Trout are most common in the 5 to 8lb range but you will be excited knowing you have a chance at catching an 18lbs + trout. Lake Savant is a big lake with a healthy forage-base, which means it can produce very nice Lakers. You will have lots of fun fishing for these beautiful fish.

How many you catch in a day depends on your methods, time of year, experience and the weather. Lake Trout hit best morning and evening, it typically produces more fish but fishing during the day can still be fantastic. This is not carved in stone but generally it's true.

If you want Lake Trout fishing to be a part of your trip it's recommended that you hire our guide for a day to take you out and show you where to fish and what methods work best on our lake for that time of year.

Spring Fishing:

Just after ice-out a great percentage of the Lake Trout population can be found from 10' deep to the surface. They are scattered all over the place but can be found in greater concentrations in the darker water just off of islands, shallow shoals and sandbars. Why are they there? In the spring the water in the shallows gets warmer than the rest of the lake and it attracts minnows. The Lakers sit off these structures in the darker water and ambush their prey. These are areas where you can cast for them with casting spoons such as Little Cleos, Mepps Syclops and other casting spoons and lures. It's best to use a heavier lure that you can cast a long distance with because if you get too close you will spook the trout and they will take off.

Summer and Fall Fishing:

Generally in the summer and fall the Lakers are down 40' to 60' and scattered between these depths. Some may be found as deep as 80'. 60' is where the lake's thermocline is located. Below the thermocline the water is much cooler and has less oxygen. It's also where many of the giant Lakers semi-hibernate for the summer. The cooler water and lower oxygen level lowers their metabolism and helps them preserve their fat storage after the ravage feeding in the spring. Many of the big trophies will be just off bottom or lying right on bottom and are very lazy. In this case back-trolling very slowly with a bottom bouncing 3-way swivel rig will get the bate right in front of their face or you can just sink a big minnow down to the bottom and if there is a breeze you can drag the minnow across the bottom while you drift. Jigging is also an exceptional method for catching deep fish. A 1.5 oz. Bucktail Jig (traditionally called a Marabou Jig) or a 1.5 oz. Tube Jig will get the big Lakers. There are more details below on jigging.

Last Week of September (During the Spawn):

The Lake Trout is actually a species of Char, not a trout. At this time of the year, like all species of Char, they stop feeding and concentrate on spawning. The Lakers are very territorial of their spawning grounds and don't hit lures to feed; rather they are attacking lures to chase them out of their spawning beds. Using really bright and obnoxious colors angers-up their blood even more; enticing them to strike. They will also hit traditional colors that mimic minnows.

Look for gravel shorelines, beaches and sand bars, which is where they spawn. Keep the boat at your maximum casing ability and stay very quiet. Once they know you are there, they get spooked and their behavior changes. They will even take off into deeper water for a couple of hours.

Lake Trout Fishing Tips:

• Early in the season trout are found high in the water column about 10' down to surface. Trolling with a 6-inch silver spoon works well as well as trolling shallow diving Rapalas.

• Mid-summer - trout move deep into 50' to 80' of water. A 1.5-oz. bucktail jig or a 1.5-oz. tube jig rigged with sucker minnow or herring works best. You can also back-troll with a bottom bouncing rig. Glow in the dark colors and dark colors works best.

• Mid-September - The trout move shallow. Try casting the shore during pre-spawn with 4" to 6" silver spoons or shallow diving husky jerks or Rapala scatter raps in silver-&-blue or Perch color. Jigging the top of the water column with 1-oz. Berkley Vibrato Jigs will prove effective.

Rods, Reels & Line:

• If casting; a 6' medium-heavy action casting and spinning reel combo is best.

• For deep water jigging a heavy-action 6' casting combo is recommended. A big reel with a lot of spool capacity is best. A line counter is recommended.

• You can also back-troll slowly with a 3-way swivel rig. It's recommended that you use 10lbs. to 12lbs test mono with a 3-oz. weight. The secret to this method is using thin line so the line has less friction with the water; thus it is easier to get down deep with less line out. With this stated; 15lbs. to 20lbs. braded line can be used a long as it's thin.

As stated on other fishing pages; if you use braided line and have been fishing on lakes with Zebra Mussels please change your line before coming to the lodge. Their eggs get trapped in the fibers of the line and can live on your reel for a year.