Lake Trout

Herring is the bait of choice, though shiners are effective substitutes when herring isn't available. Bucktail jigs or metal lures such as Hopkins, Kastmaster, and Crippled Herring. Spoons for trolling and shore casting.

Lake Trout can be caught year-round, even through ice, though safe ice conditions occur very infrequently at Round Valley Reservoir and ice fishing is prohibited at Merrill Creek Reservoir. Spring through fall being the most popular period due to more accommodating weather conditions.

The simplest technique is anchoring or slowly drifting with a slip e.g.g sinker and hook baited with live or dead herring positioned a foot or two off the bottom. A more sophisticated method involves using electronics (fish finders) to locate fish and vertically jig with bucktail jigs or metal lures.

Lake Trout feed on a variety of organisms from plankton to fish - young lake trout eat plankton, insects and small invertebrates, while adults prefer to eat fish, making them top predators that are crucial to maintaining healthy balance in the lake's food web.

Lake Trout are also found in Merrill Creek Reservoir through Division stocking efforts. They almost always inhabit deep, clear lakes with cold water temperatures.