Reefs, rocky shorelines, and submerged islands topped with boulders are the concentration points. Lakers spawn in autumn, dropping eggs and milt into boulder fields, primarily in depths of 8 to 20 feet. What we saw would raise the neck hairs of the most hardened, well-traveled anglers. It could be one of the finest lake-trout waters on earth. Each pass over the spine of a four-mile reef pushed lake trout from the boat’s path-every one of them a tank.Įnjoying the hospitality of Lakers Unlimited, we were watching prespawn activity on Lake Athabasca-which translates as “Olympus” in the vernacular of fly-rodding, lake-trout Argonauts. Slowly finning away in all directions, a herd of drab torpedoes blending into dappled boulders six feet down completed the chiaroscuro.

Sky and water formed a vague, gray curtain at the far edge of the world. Still, there have been times when they’ve surprised me and given me a battle to remember.”

I’ve been much too restless, too much a caster, to take time to troll. Now and then I cross paths and sometimes match my skill with their weight and strength.

“Lake trout have been on the edge of my fishing world.

Fishing planet trout oregon