# Lake Trout



## evolveh2o (Jan 13, 2012)

I want to share this article with the Michigan Sportsman community. 

http://greatlakesfish.wordpress.com/2012/02/18/lake-trout/

Essentially, if you fish for Lake trout in Lake Michigan you would be hard pressed to ever catch a wild fish...they are ALL hatchery fish.

Is this something you all care about? Looking for thoughts.


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## Btek (Jul 15, 2010)

Not just lakers but all lake run browns also. Try and tell that to some of your buddies who think most of the fish they catch in the great lakes are all wild. 

Good news though is that by switching their diet to gobies (from the lack of alewifes) they dont have the thiamine deficiency problem thus much greater chance of reproducing.


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## syxx (Dec 10, 2010)

They've used this technique to help with species such as snook in the everglades after a freeze several years back decimated the population...


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## evolveh2o (Jan 13, 2012)

What technique are you referring to?


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## EdB (Feb 28, 2002)

In looking at all the changes in the great lakes ecosystems, many of them very bad, the addition of salmon has been very good for anglers and the economy. The fishery for salmon, steelhead and lk trout we have today is far superior to the fishery of the past when lake trout were the top species in the great lakes. The transition from a commercial lake trout fishery to the sport fishery we have now allows more people to participate. I would love to see lake trout return to natural reproduction in Lake Michigan and become a self sustaining population. But I do not want to see lake trout restoration efforts cause any negative impacts to the salmon and steelhead fishery.


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## Captnbobb (Oct 20, 2003)

The author of the article describes lake trout as badaszz fish....having caught salmon, walleye, and lake trout in Lakes Michigan and Huron, lake trout are the most boring. The salmon put on a tremendous fight, bulldogging or jumping. By comparison, walleye fight like a boot but are pretty tasty. Big lakers fight like big boots but aren't as tasty as walleye and tend to be pretty greasy. I'm not sure what niche the lakers are filling right now, but I don't think we should try to get rid of alewives and salmon to bring back lakers. I haven't heard too many guys who fish Lake Huron sounding so happy to have thinned out the salmon so they can catch more lakers.


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## jpmarko (Feb 26, 2010)

Captnbobb said:


> The author of the article describes lake trout as badaszz fish....having caught salmon, walleye, and lake trout in Lakes Michigan and Huron, lake trout are the most boring. The salmon put on a tremendous fight, bulldogging or jumping. By comparison, walleye fight like a boot but are pretty tasty. Big lakers fight like big boots but aren't as tasty as walleye and tend to be pretty greasy. I'm not sure what niche the lakers are filling right now, but I don't think we should try to get rid of alewives and salmon to bring back lakers. I haven't heard too many guys who fish Lake Huron sounding so happy to have thinned out the salmon so they can catch more lakers.


 
 I think most anglers are probably fully supportive of the lake trout fishery and would like to see it become self-sustainable. Who wouldn't? But not at the expense of our salmon and steelhead. Lake trout may be native to the Great Lakes, but that doesn't mean that they compare to salmon or steel.


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## Dave Ash (May 3, 2006)

Fish lakers on something other than 20 pound mono or 40 pound braid, they fight better


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## Divers Down (Mar 31, 2008)

jpmarko said:


> I think most anglers are probably fully supportive of the lake trout fishery and would like to see it become self-sustainable. Who wouldn't? But not at the expense of our salmon and steelhead. Lake trout may be native to the Great Lakes, but that doesn't mean that they compare to salmon or steel.


I have to agree
Salmon are top dogs, they bring the $$$, the fight and the taste.


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## salmon_slayer06 (Mar 19, 2006)

Lake trout taste good if you keep the wild ones and are in the 2-4 pound range. Harbor Beach in the spring will usually give up a few native lake trout and maybe a splake.


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## basenjib123 (Apr 9, 2012)

Good read there.


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