How do you catch splake ice?

How do you catch splake ice?

Nightcrawlers can be another good choice for ice anglers looking to target splake. Tipping ice flies or jigs with the crawlers is a good way to get the fishes attention while at the same time giving you a chance to catch almost anything else that swims.

Where does splake go in winter?

In the summer they go deep, where the water is cold, and stay until winter. When ice covers the lake, the splake move up into shallower areas. Good fishing now ranges from 35 to 80 feet. Sometimes fishing off the bottom is best, but other times the fish are suspended.

What depth is splake?

Splake perform best in small waterbodies that remain relatively cool throughout the year. Water clarity of at least five meters in depth is desirable for optimal growth.

Where can I fish for splake?

Although splake will slide up shallower than that, they tend not to rule the inshore areas like brookies do. Splake are more liable to cruise flats, or hug the edges of reefs or rock piles. They also like to school and are often found in small groups.

Does Splake reproduce?

The Splake is a hybrid of two fish species resulting from the crossing of a male Brook Trout and a female Lake Trout. Although the hybrid is genetically stable and is theoretically capable of reproducing, Splake reproduction is extremely rare, due to behavioural reasons, outside of a hatchery environment.

How deep are Splake in the winter?

Splake can have multiple personalities: smaller ones (< 16″ or so) will tend to eat more like brookies (more bugs/crustaceans, some minnows) and relate more to shoreline structures (small points, downed timber) and flat bays in winter, usually in 10′-20′ of water, but they may go shallower (5′) in low light/deep snow …

What is considered a trophy splake?

Trophy size splake are often in lakes with large surface area, varied shoreline habitat, deep water, and abundant forage. Angling: Splake are a hybrid produced by crossing female lake trout and male brook trout in fish hatcheries.

Does splake reproduce?

How do you fish for splake in the summer?

With Splake they are a multi-depth fish and can stay as shallow as 20 feet deep or go down to the 53 degree thermocline, which is usually 40 to 50 feet deep on a small inland lake. In the summer try trolling with a heavy spoon like a 3/4-oz to 1-oz Little Cleo.

Can you eat splake?

Splake. A hatchery hybrid of lake trout and brook trout, the splake is better tasting than both of its parents. Perhaps it is hybrid vigour, or maybe it is some genetic anomaly, but splake are truly a unique delight. Smoked, fried, baked or grilled, it is tough to beat them.

How deep are splake in the winter?

Does splake occur naturally?

The only known natural reproduction has occurred in five lakes in Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario, Canada and, in each case, only a handful of progeny were produced. Because splake typically do not reproduce, they are used as a sport fish in many lakes across the US.

What is splake ice fishing?

Nothing will test your patience more than ice fishing for splake, the stunningly beautiful cross between male brook trout and female lakers. It’s not that these fish are particularly difficult to catch.

How do splake fish behave in lakes?

Splake in lakes where they tend to grow to a larger size (18″+) can also behave a bit more like lakers, preferring proximity to deeper-water haunts and frequenting deeper rocky points, humps, reefs, saddles, and steep drop-offs, including shoreline ones.

What size ice fuse for splake?

A four-pound speckle trout is a trophy anywhere, but splake can grow twice that size, so I compromise once again and usually settle on spooling my reels with either 8-pound test Maxima Ultragreen or 10-pound test Sufix Ice fuse with an 8-pound test Ultragreen leader. If you’ve never ice fished for splake, you really should try it this winter.

How deep do you fish for splake?

Flats and structure out to 60′ deep are still fair game in theory, but the 10-20′ range is definitely the best place to start. Even larger splake will visit typical brook trout locations to feed, but without nearby deep water access splake will tend only to forage in those areas, not reside.