 Lake
Trout - Utah's Largest Fish
Lake trout, also called mackinaw, grow pretty darn big.
The world record was caught in 1991 in Great Bear Lake, Northwest Territories.
It went 66 pounds, 8 ounces. (A 102 pound laker was taken in a gillnet in
Lake Athabasca, Saskatchewan, in 1961.)
The Utah record, caught in 1988, was 51 pounds, 8 ounces,
45 1/8 inches long, with a 31 3/4 inch girth, caught in Flaming Gorge.
Lake trout can be caught by trolling with large, shiny
spoons or minnow-like plugs attached to wire-line rigs or downriggers, or
by bottom bouncing jigs.
Lake trout are the largest of all trout, weighing up to
100 pounds. They grow very slowly, often not maturing until 8-10 years old.
In the far north it may take 15 years for a laker to reach 2 pounds. Because
of the late spawning age, heavy fishing pressure severely depletes lake trout
populations. They are very long lived. Larger fish are 20-25 years old and
some reach the age of 40.
The fish spawn at night, in the fall, over large cobble
and boulder substrates.
Native to Alaska, Canada and the Great Lakes, they are
most abundant in the Great Lakes, Hudson Bay, Alaska, Labrador, New Brunswick,
Vermont and Maine. They have been widely introduced to cold waters throughout
Canada and the United States.
Lakers have a raised tooth crest on the head of the vomer.
The tail is forked. The least colorful of all trout, the body is generally
blue-gray or bronze-green with pale spots on the side and back. During the
fall spawning season fins near the tail become a pale orange.
They are unique among salmonoids because they are restricted
to still waters of lakes and reservoirs. Lake trout require cold, clear, well
oxygenated water, thus they are found almost exclusively in oligotrophic (poor
in plant nutrients, minerals and organisms and rich in oxygen at all depths)
lakes. In summer when colder, denser water sinks to bottom of lake they follow
it down. Spring and fall they can be found at depths of 20 feet or less. They
prefer water from 40 to 52 degrees Siscowets
(big,fat lake trout) are found at depths of 330 to 500 feet, sometimes as
deep as 600 feet. In summer anglers seeking siscowets must use long lines
and heavy lures to fish in the deep waters.
Young lake trout feed on freshwater shrimp, plankton, insects
and other aquatic invertebrates. Larger ones feed on small fish like cisco,
smelt, sculpins, kokanee, whitefish and tullibee.
Theres a rock band called Lake Trout.
Utah waters
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Bear Lake Mostly smaller lake trout, up to about
20 pounds.
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Fish Lake Good numbers of small and medium-sized
fish, to about 30 pounds.
-
Flaming Gorge The Utah record fish, caught in 1988,
was 51 pounds, 8 ounces, 45 1/8 inches long, with a 31 and 3/4 inch girth.
Idaho waters
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Bear Lake
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Palisades Reservoir
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Payette Lake
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Lake Pend Oreille The largest fish ever taken from
this water was a mackinaw, 43 lbs., 6oz. in 1995.
-
Priest Lake The state record laker was taken here
in 1971, a 57 1/2 pounds, 49 incher.
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Warm Lake
Wyoming waters
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Jackson Lake The Wyoming record laker was taken here,
50 lbs., 46 inches, in 1983.
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Beartooth Lake
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Brooks Lake East of the Tetons.
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Brooks Lake In the Wind Rivers.
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Bull Lake
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Burnt Lake
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Christina
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Flaming Gorge Shares Wyoming state record, 50 lbs.,
48 inches, girth 32 inches, caught in 1995.
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Fremont Lake
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Grassy Lake Reservoir
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Heart Lake Lake trout were illegally introduced here.
ALL lake trout caught in Heart Lake must be kept and not released.
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Half Moon Lake
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Jenny Lake
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Kearny Lake Reservoir
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Lake Solitude
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Leigh Lake
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Louis Lake
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Moccasin Lake
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New Forks Lakes
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Palisades Reservoir
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Middle Piney Lake
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Raft Lake
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Ring Lake
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Lower Slide Lake
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String Lake
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Torrey Lake
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Trail Lake
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Yellowstone Lake Lake trout were illegally introduced
here. ALL lake trout caught in Yellowstone Lake must be kept and not released.
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Willow Lake
Colorado waters
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