Jigging For Lake Trout

One of the most effective techniques when targeting lake trout is jigging. Unsurprisingly, it is kayak fisher Blair Whitings’ favourite technique when he heads to Taupō.

The good thing about fishing from a kayak at Taupō is that I am at no disadvantage to power boats. The fish are often within 500m of shore, providing an easy two-minute paddle to get on the spot.

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I like to keep my kayak jigging setup much simpler than a traditional three-hook rig often used from a larger boat. I tie two 70cm lengths of 8lb fluorocarbon between two small swivels, then tie a 2oz sinker on the bottom piece of line. I tie my fly droppers off each swivel – both about 15cm in length. My top swivel attaches straight to a 4m section of 8lb fluorocarbon leader. While most rigs typically use a lighter leader on the droppers, I haven’t noticed any difference in hook-up rate, so I’ve adapted my whole rig to use 8lb. The short length of this rig (140cm) allows me to net a fish from a seated position without trouble. If the rig was closer to three metres, I would have to handline the fish to the net!

Four-kilo rainbow braid is attached to the leader with a back-to-back uni knot. Normally I’d use an FG knot for a braid to fluorocarbon connection, but as the lines are so similar in diameter on this rig, the FG cannot cinch down to the same extent it would on a thicker leader.

Tackle options

Rod choice aboard the kayak is an important one. Maneuverability, along with a soft, sensitive tip section, is one of the main things to look for. I find 7ft rods are great to use as they can easily reach around the bow if a trout heads to the opposite side of the kayak. A shorter 6ft rod allows me to fish directly beneath my transducer, picking up my rig in the sonar beam. Both the 6ft and 7ft rods have their advantages. I often take both with me on a session and swap over if I want to change my style of fishing.

My reel preference is for small baitcasters with extremely smooth drags; firstly, to prevent pulled hooks from the many headshakes trout often make throughout a fight; and secondly, for the high retrieve rate. Trout are notorious for quick vertical direction changes. A hooked fish can come tearing to the surface from over 30 metres deep. Here I need to react quickly to keep the line tight; reels with low-speed retrieve rates struggle to keep up with the jet takeoffs trout can turn on.

While flies remain the top choice for jigging, sometimes something different is needed to get the fish biting.

While flies remain the top choice for jigging, sometimes something different is needed to get the fish biting. 

Fly choices

I like to use a wide array of different flies on my rigs. Smelt is the main food source in the lake, so I adapt my rigs to accommodate the food the trout are likely to be eating. Taupō smelt aren’t the largest, so a #10 hook is typically a good choice. Jack Spratt is my most successful fly, with the Grey Ghost, Parson’s Glory, and Silver Rabbit rounding out the top four. Fish often prefer the very slim profile of Matuka-style flies over the more action-orientated rabbits.

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While flies remain my top choice on the rigs, sometimes something different is needed to get the fish biting. Black Magic’s Jellybean range has been a solid producer for my jigging when the fish aren’t in feeding mode. The hyper-realistic design and attractive paddle tail often prompt lazy, lethargic trout into biting.

A range of effective jigging options.

A range of effective jigging options.

Late spring bite

Jigging can be a year-round technique, but it shines in the late spring through to late summer, when a strong thermocline has formed. Trout are centralised across one depth and easily located once the depth range has been identified. After finding the thermocline, I like to hunt the edges of the structure that intersect with the same depth. Say the thermocline is at 23m, then I would look for a nice drop-off or reef that peaks at around 17m and drops away. Trout will be found a few metres above and below but stick to this area in general. The good thing about trout staying at a uniform depth is that I can employ a very long drift, and even when the bottom is as deep as 40m, I can still catch fish up off the bottom.

I like fishing from the early morning until just before lunchtime. Funnily enough, I tend to catch my largest fish when the sun is well up – not at dawn. When temperatures are lower in the mornings, fish can sometimes rise to the surface and feed well above the thermocline.

When temperatures are lower in the mornings, fish can sometimes rise to the surface and feed well above the thermocline.

When temperatures are lower in the mornings, fish can sometimes rise to the surface and feed well above the thermocline.

Setting the drift

Once I have found a good area and fish marks are showing on my screen, I set up my drift. If there is no wind (common on a summer morning on Lake Taupō), I paddle up onto the marks and fish them straight below the kayak. If a bit of wind picks up, I throw out my drift chute. Any drift speed over 0.5km/h is hard to fish effectively as the line angle makes it difficult to keep the line at the correct depth. I also can’t see where my flies are on my sounder screen, which takes away from the enjoyment of jigging them in front of a mark and watching the fish smash them in real time.

An enormous part of my fishing success comes from having a good sounder that beams out that all-important sonar. My sounder is excellent in the freshwater on auto settings, which makes the swap between salt/freshwater easy. A recent feature I have employed to improve my fishing is live sonar mapping. With this feature turned on via Navionics, I can draw maps of hugely detailed terrain. Compared to the standard charts, these have all the depth changes down to half a metre, which takes the guesswork out and allows me to view terrain better than a traditional 2D view.

Picking up the small disturbance of the thermocline is the most important part of using the sonar; it’s a thin bar, and the settings need to be tuned just right to have enough gain to see the faint line. Fish mark as a long red line and are easy to spot in a volcanic lake like Taupō, which has minimal weed that could also be mistaken for fish.

 After finding the thermocline, it pays to hunt the edges of the structure that intersect with the same depth, to mark fish.

 

After finding the thermocline, it pays to hunt the edges of the structure that intersect with the same depth, to mark fish.

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Varying the presentation

Once the flies are in the zone, do I jig aggressively or go for a subtler presentation? The answer really depends on the circumstances. I have seen fish shoot up from over ten metres deep to grab a fly that I am ripping in, but, on the other hand, I’ve also seen fish refuse to eat until the fly was left motionless. Despite these diverse responses, movement does make up a key piece of the puzzle when targeting trout with jigs. I employ short, slow lifts in flat conditions to let the flies waft up and down (the trout often take as they fall). When it is windier, with a slight chop, the rod holder catches all the fish! The natural movement of the kayak bobbing in the water makes the trout bite madly.

Jigging is quickly overtaking fly fishing as my favourite form of trout fishing. Its ease of access, high ‘skill ceiling’, and interesting technology keep me coming back for more. Even in deep water, I can still sight fish to trout – albeit through a sonar beam rather than polarised glasses. Doing it from a kayak is even sweeter when you’re sitting on the spot surrounded by fancy boats and catching as many trout as them!

Big browns are suckers for jigging too!


October 2022 - Blair Whiting
New Zealand Fishing News Magazine.
Copyright: NZ Fishing Media Ltd.
Re-publishing elsewhere is prohibited

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