Stream trout—rainbows, browns, and brookies—probably prefer open water over their heads at all times, but many are stocked in ponds, lakes and reservoirs throughout the frozen north. Being coldwater fish, however, they don’t stop biting aggressively just because the ceiling freezes.
Finding stream trout in lakes and reservoirs can be easy. The overall principles of location include the reversal strategy, and, as always, the forage factor. The reversal strategy refers to the trout’s need for cold water, a trait which forces them deep during the hot months, limiting their world to a temperate buffer zone around the thermocline in many lakes. Winter opens their world up even as it appears to close them in.
The shallows become approachable again during late fall and shallow flats produce the most food. By freeze up, trout in many lakes settle into a diurnal feeding pattern. They invade shallow flats during low-light periods of morning and evening, typically feeding on burrowing mayfly nymphs, caddis pupae, small minnows and anything else they can find. This pattern is defined by inflow. Flats created by streams or springs feeding the lake tend to see the most activity.
The other major pattern involves trout suspending over deeper water near those flats. Trout cruise a lot, so suspending trout can be found almost anywhere in a trout lake. Concentration points tend to be near the shallow flats they use early and late in the day, but also near main-lake structures like reefs, islands with bluff-like drop-offs, and hard-bottom humps. If mainlake currents sweep these spots, all the better. Depending on how much food is available on the shallow flats, suspending trout may or may not be active. The largest trout tend to remain suspended, feeding on schools of minnows, most of the time.
Tactics
Even large trout (topping 10 pounds) can be caught on tiny things in winter. On shallow flats, few livebaits outproduce mayfly nymphs, also called wigglers. These are available commercially in Michigan. (Elsewhere you have to wade ice-cold streams and seine your own out of the sand.) But a tiny jig (1/100-ounce) or bare hook loaded with squirming maggots is a close second. Among artificials, the new FoodSource grubs, Berkley Gulp! Mini Earthworms and other biodegradable baits are among the most productive because, as any trout fisherman will tell you, trout pick up scent like bloodhounds.
Tactically, since trout begin moving even before light levels increase, it’s necessary to have holes drilled in the shallows an hour or so before it gets light in the morning. Drilling over active trout in 4 to 8 feet of water is a bad idea. Trout often follow trenches, creek channels, slots, glacial grooves or any other “streets” leading to the shallows. Have several holes drilled in those areas where the deepest water comes closest to the flat, and several more holes that follow any slightly deeper grooves or trenches extending up into shallow water.
