Red-fin lake trout

Friday, July 7, 2017
Size: 
About five pounds

I think this laker is a pretty good representative of the red-fin morph of Great Slave lake trout. Characteristics include enlarged, bright red pectoral, pelvic and anal fins, and noticeable overbite. On the left side of the photo is a piece of the famous Utsingi Point -- the terminal point of the 100-mile long Pethei Peninsula.

The fish was a nice catch on a trip that featured otherwise fairly disappointing fishing. We were hunting for trophies but I was the only of the three in our party to land a trout over 40 inches long -- this 40.5 incher. Kind of skinny and certainly less than 20 lbs.

Comments

andy's picture

Those are some beautiful fish mike. I think lake trout have some of the most beautiful spotting patterns of any fish. Those red fins are super cool.
Hengelaar's picture

Spectacular looking Salvlini, there! Not to mention the background in the top photo. Beautiful.

Why do you think the catches were not like you'd hoped? Too late in the season? Too early? Too hot? Too sunny? Or just fishy mystery..?

 

You shaved your thing!

Fishn sure is neat

Goldenfishberg's picture

wow. Just wow. I would kill for a laker of that size. Well maybe not kill, but maime, I would severaly maime for a trout of that caliber. 

Ya just Can't catch um from the couch.

Cast_and_Blast's picture

Those are amazing Mike.  I was just reading about those red-fin morphs.  Cool looking fish.

SomewhereDownstream's picture

Nice catches! I can't imagine a place where a forty and a half inch lake trout would be considered disappointing...

SomewhereDownstream

Mike B's picture

Thanks guys, lake trout are always cooler out in the big lake. To answer Hengelaar's questions: I don't know, maybe it was the full-on fishing lodge operation that took over our island. That was the first suckiness. When we were there with Eli in 2014 we caught four over 40 right from that rock so the fishing camp really messed up our mojo. We were counting on that island but I guess you can never count on anything in fishing.

It was a cool, wet spring but only in comparision to the really dry summers the last three years.Still, things were different this year and I think things were a bit behind. It should've been prime time with lake trout jumping into the boat but after three days I only landed 20, and that was the most by anybody. The trolling really sucked. I kind of hate trolling now. 

What was really freaking weird were the grayling, or should I say, lack of grayling. None of us caught any, or even seen one. That is really weird. I can understand the lake trout F-ing off to somewhere else but other than their spawning run in the spring, the graying never leave their spots this far out on GSL. They are always there. But not this year. And we dipped our toes into some really tasty grayling water. This is fourth time this year with grayling as a target and I have only two to show for it. This is effed up.

Susquehannock, I'm not disappointed in the fish. It's a nice trout. I just wish there were more of them. There usually are in the East Arm of Great Slave Lake.

mike b

Eli's picture

Wait what?! The grayling are gone? Now I'm worried. Better just be an off year, not some weird harvest operation/drop in water quality.

Fuck.

Eli

 

 

Hengelaar's picture

Now you're scaring me, Mike....

No, it was just an off trip. Bad vibes from the dumb peoples fishing your spot. Next year it'll be all prime again........

Fishn sure is neat

Divemaster's picture

Those are some beautiful fish, Mike! That 40.5 may be skinny but man it's loooong. Love seeing these cool strains of Lakers you guys catch way up north! Sucks to hear about the Greyling, hopefully they're back in droves next year.

Mike B's picture

I really hope this is just an off year and that the gray all moved off to McLeod Bay this summer or something. It's just really weird to hit what have been very reliable spots all summer and not get any. Too strange. Don't think it's polution. These are pristine areas and I saw lots of stone flies, which can't tolerate pollution at all.

I will find you grayling Dutchman. I will. I must.

mike b