August 07, 2012
By Matt Straw
Contemplating yet another trip to Lake Superior for lake trout, I came across this old T-50 FlatFish. She's pretty scraped up, having made the acquaintance of many boulders, reefs, and lake trout over 30 pounds. Her biggest came from Great Slave. It weighed 38 pounds.
She's bounced off rocks at Nueltin , Inconnu , Great Bear , Superior, Kasba , Wollaston , and many other lakes without failing me once, and without getting hung so badly she couldn't be retrieved.
She once left a big welt on the head of a guide named Rob. (Again, Rob, hey — I'm sorry, it was an accident...) It was that 38 pounder. The "Flattie" was banging rocks in 14 feet of water, so I had her back no more than 40 feet when the beast hit at full boogie, snapping the blank into Rob's head. Luckily his back was to me. He jumped up swearing and spitting. "What the hell ?" he yelled, his eyes all full of whup ass. I pointed at the rod, which was trying to leave my other hand.
"Fish."
"Oh," Rob exclaimed, He turned to regain command of the boat and that was that. He was more excited when it hit the net than I was. Things happen when you target big lakers. Rob knows this. He's a professional. And bragging rights in the guide barracks are awesome things to have.
If you bend the "eye arm" coming out of the front of a FlatFish up about 45°, it throbs more — puts out more action. I've never wanted to try that with this bait. Some lures come of the box breathing fire. This is one of those baits. If it ain't fixed, don't break it. Or something like that.
What a companion she's been. Any lake trout that sights her scratched, pearl finish, must face a few self-control issues, based on the many, many times she brought fish to the boat when nothing else would.
If you've been following this post or my In-Fisherman articles on bass or crankbaits for any species, you know what the three red dots mean.
