I pulled up to the shoreline, hopped out of the truck and tied on a pearl white Krocodile 1/2 oz spoon.
The water was beautifully clear, not a speck of ice anywhere, and a gentle breeze blowing onshore made for a lightly ruffled surface on the lake. I tossed the lure out then waited for it to sink all the way to the bottom before slowly retrieving it with many lifts and stalls. As the lure came across the first part of the bottom that began to slope up to the shore, it got snagged on the bottom. A quick snap of the rod tip broke it loose, but then it seemed to get stuck again immediately. I lifted the rod tip to bring the lure clear, but my "snag" began to pull drag right away.....and it didn't want to stop. I knew it was a big lake trout. I also knew that the drag on my cheap reel wasn't the smoothest in the world and I had 6 lb. line spooled up. I really don't ever fish with anything heavier than that, because there is a lot of open water, not much cover or prominent structure. And these are trout, not bass. But I wasn't really prepared for a twenty minute plus battle with a great big lake trout. I was somewhere between the fifteen and twenty minute mark before I even saw the fish. He did not want to come to the shoreline one little bit. Lakers are stubborn, and a lot tougher than rainbows and other trout.
The truck was not far from the waterline, so I backed up to it and retrieved my trusty fish visegrip to nab the fish, once it quieted down and allowed me to guide it towards my feet. Then I took it up to the truck to weigh and measure it. It was tough to carry, and I knew this fish would surpass the last personal best lake trout that was 29 inches and 9 pounds. I wanted a picture of fish, but didn't want keep it out of the water too long, so weighing and measuring were all that was on my mind. Finally, I took one hasty shot of the fish before slipping it into the water. The big trout rested or for a long time....so long, that I feared it might not swim away. Finally the fish made it's exit back into the deep in one powerful quick glide.
After that, I fished for another hour and a half, mostly at another nearby stretch of shoreline, but no more bites came of my efforts. Meanwhile, I have a new personal best lake trout record of 12.98 pounds and 33 inches to beat. I hope somebody else is there with me to take some decent pictures when that happens.
RL]
