Swan Lake (Caroline)

[traxxas13]

Hey everybody! Going to be heading out to Swan Lake out by Caroline for August Long. Going to try for my first lake trout! Was just maybe hoping for a little advice on what to use, and where a bouts to go as I have never fished this lake. We do not have down riggers on our boat so any advice on lures and how to get them down to where the fish will be holding will be greatly appreciated!

Thanks everybody for your input!

[RavYak]

You might want to try another lake. Swan is renowned for being a very difficult lake and without downriggers it will be that much tougher. The only way you will be able to fish for them is with a deep diver or jigging.

[damaltor]

As Ravyak stated, Swan is a very difficult lake to fish. People there I've talked to have fished this lake for years and never seen a laker or brown, so expect to be skunked.
That being said, I caught a few lakers and browns last year fly fishing. Used chartreuse/white & red/white weighted decievers and trolled a type 6 sinking line. They were sitting between 25' & 30' down, on the middle to east side of the lake.
Good luck.

[Pierre]

[Pembina]

With no downriggers jigging is the way to go, red head and white body, I prefer feathers over plastic. You will need a fish finder to locate them and hope its not windy so you can stay on the spot.

Good luck

[Red Bullets]

Without downriggers you can use a gibbs inline weight to get you down. Clip it on a few feet above your lure. 4 to 12 oz. will take you down while trolling.

I spent 2 full days fishing there before and didn't catch a fish. Gave it a good try. The whole weekend ..out of 7 boats that were there only one woman caught 1 laker.

[traxxas13]

Thanks for all the replies guys! I still think I'm going to give it a try though!

[damaltor]

Originally Posted by traxxas13

Thanks for all the replies guys! I still think I'm going to give it a try though!

For sure give it a go. Very satisfying catching lakers in this lake, compared to others.
In between going after the lakers, the pike are alot of fun too.

[-JR-]

Go to the fishing hole and pick up a bondy lure in the burbot colour ,best jigging hook for summer lakers . Not so well for ice fishing as lakers normally do not like large bait as they digest slower in winter.
They are around $25.00 each but well worth it .
Please let us know how you made out .

[WhitefishLady]

We tried trolling around about a month ago with various flatfish, spoons, rapallas, etc. Used the downrigger a bit too. No trout. I think jigging could be productive. I find jigging kind of boring so don't do it very much. Just remember you can't use bait.

Had some luck with pike along the lily pads in shallow water.

[traxxas13]

Went out on Sunday looking for a spot to camp and to check out the lake as we have never been there. Saw some decent size filleted pike in the fish cleaning station, so that's always a good sign! looking forward to the weekend! We were told the pike hangout in the shallows around the lily pads, so at least if we don't catch any lakers we should hopefully get a couple pike! Probably going to try and fish the creek too, and maybe catch a brown or a brookie

[Puma]

Its a pretty spot. One of our favorites.

A couple tips, don't leave anything in your boat, and lock the engine. It has a reputation of things going missing....

There is a slow speed limit on the lake.

Good luck.

[traxxas13]

Originally Posted by Puma

Its a pretty spot. One of our favorites.

A couple tips, don't leave anything in your boat, and lock the engine. It has a reputation of things going missing....

There is a slow speed limit on the lake.

Good luck.

Will do! Thanks!

[Fishin' Fool]

My Grandpa and I caught a couple a 'few' years ago. After years of trying, Dad found a flatfish(ps-f4) that worked. 'Course Dad got skunked while Grandpa and I brought home the gold.
We used twist-on rubber core sinkers about 8 feet in front of the lure. A swivel about 6 feet up the line was also essential to prevent twists.
uploadfromtaptalk1438193642974.jpguploadfromtaptalk1438193642974.jpg

[fishman]

Don't make this more complicated then it is
The reason they r so hard to catch is low numbers
Lakers can be very easy to catch at certain times of
The year. This lake has been a pain to many fisherman
First thing is to figure out time of the year
Secondly look at there food source

Water temp is critical to lakers. Get to the depth which will be deep
This time of the year
Early morning and late night they move up the watercolumn
Minnows will be there bait. Also small pike and trout

Hope I didn't sound like a ass sometimes we over think things

[traxxas13]

well for a recap of the weekend, there were 7 pike caught in the lake, and one brookie out of the creek. we tried hard for a trout in the lake, but were unsuccessful. My dad actually had a small brown take his spoon when we were fishing for pike but it got to the boat and kicked off. We also lost a few more pike. We only fished the evenings from 7 to about 10, so not to many hours on the lake but happy with the results.

[traxxas13]

Sorry for the sideways pictures!

[foothills800]

Hey all, anyone been out lately? live within an hour thought may give it a go this weekend-

[Lonie]

Was out last week for a day, very busy and no fish. Only seen a few small pike caught by other people.

[Puma]

There were people coming and going all night long through the campground.

Last time we went, there was no wood, has this changed ?

Beautiful spot, and nice camp spots. We have caught a few fish.

[foothills800]

Originally Posted by Lonie

Was out last week for a day, very busy and no fish. Only seen a few small pike caught by other people.

Did you just shore fish or have a boat? thanks

[foothills800]

Originally Posted by Puma

There were people coming and going all night long through the campground.

Last time we went, there was no wood, has this changed ?

Beautiful spot, and nice camp spots. We have caught a few fish.

We will just bush camp anyways too much crown to be bothered all hours.. A few hey lol.. thanks

[Mad Caddy]

Anybody had luck ice fishing on Swan Lake by Caroline? Looks like it closes Jan 15. Have always been curious about this lake but because of the "slow fishing" reviews, have never made the drive.

[DisplacedCaper]

I’ve fished it twice almost a decade ago. Each time for a full weekend, not a single bite. Second time I even brought a fish finder. Seen a bunch on the screen though. So they’re in there.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk