Today, the Mercury Marine Destination takes us up to Cree Lake Lodge in Northern Saskatchewan. Cree Lake Lodge is like a home away from home for Charlie, and for good reason, the fishing is fantastic. Today, Charlie is joined by owner Brandon Schreiber for the often overlooked Lake Trout. It is not that the Lake Trout fishing is poor, it is quite the opposite, it is incredible, but the awesome Pike fishing tends to get the majority of the attention. It is a tough call between the Monster Pike and Giant Lakers. Charlie likes to plan 1 day Lake Trout and 3 for Pike, but also lets the weather decide. The nice calm days are ideal for open water trolling, and on breezy days, the endless sheltered bays are perfect for Pike. Safe, stable 18 foot Crestliner Kodiak boats offer a very comfortable boat to fish from for Lake Trout, even on windy days, and the 60 hp Mercury motors take you from hot spot to hot spot quickly. Cree Lake Lodge has invested in quality boats and motors to make your stay more comfortable and enjoyable www.creelakelodge.com or 306-344-4862.
Last season, the Lake Trout fishing was tremendous and expectations are high for this trip, could it get any better, well yes! Ice out was late this year and the Lakers are up shallower than last year. Not that it makes for better fishing, just be prepared to tackle a different depth of water. Charlie has come prepared with a couple of Okuma Line Counter Cold Water reels and medium heavy Blue Diamond downrigger rods. The rods have a powerful butt section, but they still have a flexible tip that telegraphs not only the proper lure action, but also the common bumping of lures before the savage take. If you see a bump and not the take, pump the rod to make it look like the lure has been stunned, the Lake Trout is hoping to have stunned its potential dinner.
Not wanting to use weights, reels are loaded with the Tuf-Line Micro Lead. Not your traditional leadcore being thick and bulky, this is 30% smaller and 3 times stronger and gives a new dimension to leadcore lines. The Spectra outer casing is small and tightly woven, not thick like some Dacron lines. Even smaller 30 sized Okuma line counter reels can be used to hold this line. The thinner diameter line packs nicely on the reels and good thing, hits were hard and until you hook Lakers in the 40+ lb class, you can't imagine the power and amount of line they can strip off even a tight drag.
Lake Trout lures on Cree Lake follow the mind set of go big or go home, so only the largest spoons and lures need to go for a swim. Don't worry, even the smaller Lakers hit the large lures, so there is no long wait times between hits, there is constant action. Charlie often opts for a heavy duty 3/0 3X strong Mustad Ultrapoint treble. These Mustad 3X hooks are not only extremely strong, but light in weight not killing the action of the lures. Lakers also are infamous for following lures for long periods of time, so pump the rod once in a while to give a change of action to the lures to encourage a hit. To help better your chances of hooking those that slash at the lures, Charlie adds an extra split ring to extend the back treble and increase the hooking percentage substantially.
Unlike the stained back bays for Pike, the open waters are gin clear so a minimum of 8 feet of 50 lb test Seaguar Fluorocarbon is needed. Seaguar fluorocarbon is next to invisible in the water and the fish simply can't see it. The Seaguar fluorocarbon has almost the same refraction index as water, so while it might look like a regular monofilament out of the water, in the water, it looks like water. It does make a difference. It is also extremely abrasion resistant, so sharp teeth or bottom contact isn't going to damage your leader like using monofilament would.
Proper handling of these magnificent trophy Lake Trout is something serious anglers and the owners of Cree Lake Lodge take seriously. They want to protect these fish and use the EGO weigh slings for landing these giants. Much like a cradle, but with handles for weighing the fish without the need for further handling, ideal for those who want exact weights for bragging rights. For times when the fish need to be handled, protect your hands with the Viking cut resistant NBR palm coated gloves, this will protect your hands and allow you a much better grip on your fish to be photographed or for hook removal. Never touch the gills, but it is a safe and firm way of handling large Lakers, by holding the bony gill plate just in front of the gills, (also cradle the belly for large fish). When you are averaging a quality Lake Trout of 20+ lbs for every hour of trolling, with several smaller in between to keep you busy, how can you not take time on a trip like this to enjoy lightly pressured Lake Trout, it could be the highlight of your season. Charlie is now expecting 25 lb and 30 +lb Lake Trout each and every day of trolling and already looking forward to next season.
Then after a very successful day of Lake Trout fishing, time to tackle the bountiful Cree Lake Pike. Jointed lures have long been a favorite of anglers for Pike, but the Zombie Maxx by Lucky Bug takes this to another level. This jointed action packed lure has 7 joints in it, creating a wonderful swimming action. Who says smaller lures do not catch large fish, this 5 inch Zombie Maxx is a Pike catcher. Cast and straight retrieve, or twitch it back to the boat making it dart in unpredictable directions and drive the fish crazy.
From the first time Charlie used this lure, it was obvious the Pike where completely fooled and engulfed the offering readily, so much in fact, Charlie removed the back treble to make it friendlier on the fish. He also replaced the belly treble, with a heavier, stronger 3X Mustad Ultra Point Treble to take the abuse of the large Pike. The Zombie Maxx retained the same great action even with the hook modification.
Dependable equipment is worth its weight in gold when you are miles by plane from the nearest tackle shop. The Okuma Komodo baitcasting reels and Helios rods have been a workhorse combination for Charlie. Charlie also packs on 50 lb test Seaguar Kanzen braid on the Komodo. The 50 lb test is still thin, but this no stretch line has wonderful knot strength and also has abrasion resistant qualities. While 50 lb test might sound like overkill, it really isn't. Large Pike can put a tremendous amount of stress on the equipment, and in the event of some line wear or damage done, 50 lb test gives a safety margin. Even damaged 50 lb line can still be a reasonable 30 lb test breaking strength, at least enough to get you through the day until tackle can be checked and replaced back at camp. The other important issue, if thinner braided lines are used, let's say 30lb test, the thinner line can and will dig into the line on the spool during hard runs causing the reels drag to bind and become less effective. The thin, but still thicker 50 lb test offers the diameter needed during fights, to stop the line from digging into the spool, especially with the drag pressure tight enough to slow a monster Pike from trying to reach a log jam!