Lake trout are one of the most popular game fish in North America. Anglers from far and wide will travel to reach prime lake trout fishing locations. Lake trout can be challenging to catch, but when you catch one lake trout, you’ll likely catch another. Lake trout don’t live in schools, but they tend to reside in the same area. So once you find an area where they’re biting, make sure to fish it for a while.

Lake trout are one of the few game fish that respond better to artificial lures than live bait. One of the best techniques and lures for fishing lake trout is jigging. Fishing with a jig that mimics the motion of wounded prey fish is a sure fire way to get a lake trout’s attention, and get it to bite. Other fishing techniques and baits for catching lake trout include trolling, bait casting, still fishing and spin casting.

Technique and bait selection are important when it comes to catching lake trout, but how you present your bait is also an important element to enticing a lake trout to take your bait. Using a good lake trout rig can make the difference between landing a trophy lake trout and coming home empty handed. The fishing rig you use for lake trout fishing will depend on several factors including the fishing method you’re using and location. However, there are few tried and true fishing rigs that always perform well for lake trout.

We’ve listed the best lake trout fishing rigs below.