Adult Size: In Maine, splake typically range in size from 10 to 18 inches. Splake grow at a faster rate than either of its parental species. They can attain lengths of 18 inches in just 2 years after stocking. Splake over 10 pounds have been caught.
What is the best bait for splake?
“During a normal spring, splake come into Hessel Marina in Hessel Bay, just after the ice goes out,” Ferguson explained. “The best baits to use are natural or artificial spawn, or you can troll for them while using hard baits throughout Hessel and Wilderness bays.”
What is the largest of the freshwater trout?
Lake trout are the largest of the chars; the record weighed almost 102 pounds (46 kg) (netted) with a length of 50 inches (130 cm), and 15–40-pound (6.8–18.1-kilogram) fish are not uncommon. The average length is 24–36 inches (61–91 centimetres).
What is a splake in Lake Superior?
Splake, which are a hybrid cross between lake trout and brook trout, have been stocked in Lake Superior most years since 1971, with annual stocking since 1990. In Lake Superior, the DNR stocks splake in Munising, Copper Harbor and Keweenaw Bay.
What lakes in Michigan have splake?
Splake can be caught in several Michigan bodies of water including Higgins, Torch, and Crystal lakes and in the bays of upper Lake Michigan and Lake Superior. The Michigan record splake weighed 17.5 pounds when the delighted angler hooked it on a Kast Master lure in Big Bay De Noc.
Are splake good eating?
Is Splake Good to Eat? Unlike many other hybrid fish species, splake are actually very good eating! In fact, their meat tastes delicious and manages to combine the best flavors from lake and brook trout.
How deep are splake in the winter?
In most cases anglers can find fish between 4-8 feet of water cruising a few feet under the ice looking for a quick meal. The first few hours of daylight are usually the most productive for splake so having your lines in the water early pays off.
What is the most sought after trout?
Golden Trout (Oncorhynchus aguabonita)
Golden Trout Photo by Cameron Cushman. The highly sought after golden trout is the smallest of the trout species, and its limited geographical range also makes them one of the rarest.
How old is a 40 inch lake trout?
between 50 and 60 years old
This fish is now the largest lake trout caught in all of New England. I’m glad he got it, this couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy,” said Schafermeyer. The fish measured over 40 inches in length with a 27-inch girth. Schafermeyer estimated the fish to be between 50 and 60 years old.
What is considered a big trout?
Any trout measuring in the mid-teens is a respectable fish. I think that’s fair. And anything eighteen inches or over is “big.” Trout that have grown to over twenty inches are what we call a Whiskey, and twenty-four-inch wild trout are Namers — following Troutbitten tradition, you have the rights to name that fish.
Where can I fish for splake?
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. In some super clear lakes, you can see these schools of fish working like a pack of wolves.
Do lake trout taste good?
Lake trout can grow very large and are fun to fish for. However, they are not prized for their flavor. Many anglers consider lake trout greasy. The flavor can be very fishy because of the fat content.
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.
How many splake can you keep in Michigan?
Caption information follows. Credit: Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Lake trout: A new fishing regulation states that an angler’s daily possession limit may include up to two (2) lake trout and splake, in any combination in management unit MH-1. The change took effect May 13, 2022.
What trout is native to Michigan?
The brook trout
The brook trout is native to Michigan’s waters and has been designated the state fish of Michigan. They can be found alongside rocks, under cover of logs and undercut banks, in cold water, spring-fed streams, rivers, lakes and in the Great Lakes.
Why are lake trout called Mackinaw?
The name mackinaw comes from a Midwest Indigenous tribe as well as an Island in Lake Michigan, where these char are prevalent. Other names include the truncated macs, as well as namaycush, lake char, touladi, togue and gray trout. In Lake Superior, it can also be variously known as siscowet, paperbelly and lean.
What does splake taste like?
Splake get big like a Lake Trout but their meat is red and lean and tastes more like a Brook Trout.
How can you tell a brook trout from a splake?
While these two trout species have a fairly similar body coloration, splake lack the brook trout’s vermiculations. The splake’s tail is slightly more forked than that of the brook trout and splake are the bigger of the two fish. Brook trout also have fewer appendages than splake.
What does a splake eat?
Splake, in the spring of the year, are hungry fish. Splake stomach contents can include of a variety of lake foods including minnows, gobies, merging insects and small perch. In fact small perch seem to be the preferred diet many times.
How do you catch big splake?
Splake are most active in the spring and fall when water temperatures are cool. At these times, fish are shallow and can be caught on a wide variety of presentations. Casting or trolling small spinners or minnow imitating baits can be productive at these times, as well as using fly fishing tackle.
Can you catch splake with worms?
Strategies used on speckled and lake trout are also effective when fishing for splake: Light- to medium-action spinning tackle is commonly used for casting or trolling with spoons, jigs and spinners along deep-water points. The same areas can be fished with live baits such as minnows and worms.