You’ve seen it happen before. You’re riding along in your boat and you see schools of fish thrashing bait into the air. The surface commotion gets your heart racing, and you begin to ask yourself what you can throw at the schoolers to get a piece of the action. If you are at one of Canada’s pristine northern lakes, having a trolling motor may not be part of the equation, so the lure has to be something that gets you close to the fish from a distance.

In the case of schooling lake trout at Great Bear Lake on the Arctic Circle, you may have one shot to make that long, accurate cast before the lakers retreat to depths of 30, 40 or 50 feet and beyond. Casting a spoon is usually the right choice. The look and the action of spoons resemble a cisco or other baitfish. But many trolling spoons, while extremely effective being dragged behind the boat, are not designed to be cast long distances to catch schooling fish. For this reason, the Northern angler needs the Lindy Viking Spoons as part of his arsenal. These sleek lures were designed in Scandinavia decades ago to be cast very long distances and then to produce an action to attract game fish. With the introduction of the Viking Spoons into the Lindy Legendary Tackle lineup, anglers in North America are finding out how effective these lures can be for lake trout, striped bass, grayling and many other species. All Viking Spoons are equipped with Mustad treble hooks and super-strong split rings. This, along with the unique process of manufacturing to make the spoon body, provides anglers with a long-casting, tight-wiggling, super-strong lure. For longest casts, use the 1 2/5 ounce version. These spoons should be cast with 12-17 pound test monofilament or 20 pound braid for best results. Using a 6-foot-6 or 7-foot rod will provide long casts. Lindy Viking Spoons are also productive trolling lures, but they do not create the classic wobble action made by the more popular spoons. Vikings have a subtler action. These lures were created to be casting spoons, so they should not be relied on as the primary trolling lures. When casting for schooling lakers, it is best to cast beyond the splash made by the fish and to retrieve back through it. Fish move quickly, and even a two- or three-second delay gives the fish time to move several feet. When fish are surfacing frequently, you should vary retrieves from steady reeling to pausing and jerking the spoon. Even try counting down the spoon to different depths as well as working on or just below the surface. The fish will always tell you how they want the lure retrieved. You just have to be able to present the lure accurately. The Viking Spoons give you the distance, flash and action you need to make all of this happen.

When smaller species of fish, such as grayling, are surfacing, switch to a smaller Viking spoon. The ¼-ounce version is the right size for multiple species and can still be cast for distance with downsized tackle. Quarter-ounce Lindy Viking Spoons should be worked with light line – 6- or 8-pound test – along with lightweight spinning tackle. A 6-6 or 7-0 medium-action rod will give you more casting distance. Again, retrieves should always be varied. Sometimes fish will react to a very fast retrieve, and other times the spoon should almost be “crawled.”

On a recent trip to Great Bear Lake, while staying at Plummer’s Trophy Lodge, many schooling lakers and grayling were encountered over seven days of fishing. In many cases, the fish were surfacing to feed on bug hatches. In other cases, the fish were feeding on minnows. The common denominator for success was having the right lure on to take advantage of the opportunities. Seeing fish surface more than a mile from the banks meant they were chasing bait. A quick shut down of the motor and then a long, accurate cast could mean success. And the Lindy Viking Spoons provided this success. During one feeding frenzy, all three people in our boat – including our guide – were slinging Viking Spoons for nearly 30 minutes and were steadily catching lake trout up to 13 pounds. The Wonderbread / Glow color was being cast for distance on 17-pound test line, and the Gold / Blue color was being cast on 6-pound test line for lengthy tussles
with lakers.

These tactics will work on popular lake trout and grayling lakes such as Great Bear, Great Slave, Selwyn and many others (Note: When considering a trophy lake trout destination, it is best to consult with an outfitter such as Plummer’s Arctic Lodges. Outfitters such as Plummer’s specialize in creating trips of a lifetime at some of the most outstanding fishing destinations in the world.). The same tactics utilized for lakers also will work for other species – striped bass in particular. Stripers are known for running and crushing baitfish. Lindy Viking Spoons are effective both from the boat and while surf fishing.

Viking spoons are available in six different sizes (1/4 ounce, 2/5 ounce, 2/3 ounce, ¾ ounce. 1 ounce and 1 2/5 ounce). They are available in 27 different colors, ranging from standard silvers and golds to baitfish to glow colors. Each Lindy Viking Spoon is stamped with the Lindy logo and with lure’s weight, so there will be no doubt the angler is fishing a spoon with the correct weight made by the right company. While most anglers travel to Canada to pursue world-class lake trout, fishermen should be prepared for the collateral enjoyment of schoolers. A willing guide and the right tackle can add a lot of icing on the cake after a day of trolling for the big ones. Especially if there are Lindy Viking Spoons in the tackle box.

For more information about fishing at Great Bear Lake and other destinations in the Northwest Territories, please contact:
Plummer’s Arctic Lodges
Great Bear Lake Lodge Ltd.
950 Bradford St.
Winnipeg, MB
R3H 0N5
Phone: 204-774-5775
Toll free: 1-800-665-0240
Fax: 204-783-2320
fish@plummerslodges.com
www.canadianarcticfishing.com

Over the past ten years, trolling with lead core line has gained in popularity amongst the walleye crowd. Lead core enables anglers to put any crankbait in the tackle box in front of fish regardless of how deep. This in itself is a huge advantage for walleyes but you can use this same setup to target deepwater summertime trout and salmon. The real advantages to lead core line stem from the fact that you can put some extremely effective lures much deeper than they ever would by flat line trolling. Another advantage comes from the fact that lead core will follow a contour much more effectively than most other presentations. Lead core line seems to snake through the water, mimicking the path that the boat takes. Following inside turns, points and other curves is much more efficient with lead core line. I hope these Lead core line tips will help contribute to your success.

What is Lead core?

It’s simply a line with two parts. An exterior Dacron like sheathing that is woven around a lead wire core. It comes in various pound tests that are calibrated using the outside sheathing breaking strength only. A spool of lead core or more commonly referred to as a Full Core contains 100 yards. Every 10 yards is defined by a change in color on the sheathing. The more line you let out, the deeper it will reach. Think of it as a weight that runs the entire length of your line. Larger pound tests are generally larger in diameter and contain more lead in its sheathing. The most common pound tests used freshwater are the 27 and 36 lbs tests. You can fish lead core down to 80 feet with no problems. Use one color of 27 pound for every 4-5 feet of depth that you are making your presentation. The variables in depth are boat speed, leader length and type of lure. A slow boat speed with a short leader will run about 5 feet per color. A faster boat speed and longer leader will run higher in the water column. Diving lures will also run a little deeper than spoons will. Back your reel with a good quality braided line like 30 lb. Power Pro. Spool as many colors as needed to reach the depth you would like to be able to fish at. Finish with a mono or fluorocarbon leader of 10 feet and a good quality cross lock ball bearing snap swivel. Try to stay away from the ready made lead core combos. They use a Dacron backing that can wear easily and break and there goes your set up. A good quality braid like Power Pro costs more but it will last many seasons. Buy a reel with a retrieve rate of 4.2 to 1 or higher with a capacity of at least 350/30 pound for up to 10 colors. A six to eight foot medium heavy fiberglass rod will do the job nicely. The rod tips should be somewhat soft with a moderate action for softening the blows of snags and heavy fish. An inexpensive starter rod can be had for about $25 and you don’t need an expensive rod. The total for rod and reel should be about $75. Full core lead $12, great fishing action on difficult fishing days PRICELESS. Some of your favorite casting or trolling lures will work well for catching fish in 20, 40, 60, or even 100 feet of water. Lead core line is a phenomenal tool to get some of your favorite lures down to the fish. The whole lead core process is simple yet extremely productive.