Lake Trout Gear Check List | Ice Fishing Remote Road Trips

Ice fishing for lake trout continues to get more popular each winter. For many anglers, these adventures are road trips to northern Manitoba, Ontario, or Saskatchewan. We go over a few considerations and equipment checklist for lake trout in more remote areas.
Because of snow conditions, most on-ice travel is with snowmobile although some mild winter situations might enable you to use an ATV or UTV with tracks. Tough slush and a lot of snow however will require a snowmobile with a long track.
There is not a lot of mapping options for many lakes, particularly in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, the best option we have found is Angling Edge Mapping.
We find large thermal hub shelters to be the most useful for lake trout fishing so you can spread out your holes and have the height to stand up and set the hook. The Clam JM500 or Clam JM 600 are warm, rugged, and heavy-duty for the conditions.
Large 1,800 BTU propane heaters like the Heat Hog run with a hose and a twenty-pound propane tank are necessary for the extreme cold.
Because these lake trout destinations are often far and remote, we recommend transporting extra gas. Another consideration when planning your trip is that many gas stations in Canada don’t have credit card readers so you will not be able to get gas in some communities after business hours. We recommend carrying a Flo-Fast Gas Tank so that you can easily fill your vehicle or machines and you can also pump gas out of one tank and back into another tank if needed.
Rods, reels, and line need to be able to handle a big lake trout. Our favorite all-purpose lake trout rod is the Jason Mitchell Mac 38-inch spinning with a large capacity size 1000 or 1500 spool and a fairly high gear ratio. We often spool with 20 pound Power Pro Braid and attach a 20-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon leader that is six to eight feet long. We find this rod and reel setup works great for both jigging and for presenting dead baits which are often used with I Fish Pros, Clam Predators, or Clam Arctic Warriors to indicate a bite.
Popular lures include rattle baits, spoons, and tube jigs but would argue that tube jigs have probably caught more lake trout than anything else. Favorite tube jigs include the Northland Level Head Tube Jig, Drop Tine Tackle Tube Jig, and the TC Motto Tube Jig.
‪@NorskLithium‬
Shop the Gear:
Clam X-500: jasonmitchelloutdoors.link/X500
Clam JM X-600 Hub: jasonmitchelloutdoors.link/X600
Heat Hog: jasonmitchelloutdoors.link/he...
Flo Fast: jasonmitchelloutdoors.link/fl...
JM Mac Spinning Rod: jasonmitchelloutdoors.link/ma...
Power Pro Braid: jasonmitchelloutdoors.link/po...
Seaguar Fluorocarbon: jasonmitchelloutdoors.link/le...
Northland Level Head Tube Jig: jasonmitchelloutdoors.link/no...
Angler's Edge Mapping: anglersedgemapping.com/

[@derekboyce8707]

Living in southern Manitoba, you sometimes take for granted what we have for a fishery. Been up to Clearwater many times, and it's really second to none for lake trout. Watching this video got me excited for the next trip!

[@ryannelson6524]

I bring a extra heater and a extra hose and my Mackinac jigging rod and plenty of snacks and always my varmint rifle

[@JasonMitchellOutdoors]

All great advice!

[@ryannelson6524]

Also ice picks around my neck and waterproof matches in my pack where i go there is no one coming to help or rescue me I also have a throwable cushion and a bunch of rope

[@JasonMitchellOutdoors]

Good advice

[@ADKsteve44]

What size and brand reels are you running on those jig rods?

[@JasonMitchellOutdoors]

I am just running the Clam Predator Spinning Reels which are about a 1000 size.