Lake trout can be quite particular creatures and they are known to be hard to locate as well.
I often get frustrated when looking for them, spending hours on end in various depths.
Best Jigging Lure For Lake Trout
But once you locate them, the game is on, and you’re going to want the best lake trout lure on the end of your line so you never miss an opportunity.
The Best Lake Trout Lures From The Review
Before we proceed with the whole best lake trout lure review, here’s a quick look at the best lures from the lineup…
Top Pick
Mack’s Lure 09125
Does two things that both lake trout and other species like flatfish love. It catches the light and shines in the water and makes a noise to attract fish.
Mack’s Lure 09125
The top pick of the best lake trout lures below is the Mack’s Lure 09125 Wedding Ring.
It has a deadly action, can be fished on all waters, trolling or with a cast, and you can get to various depths to pinpoint where the lake trout are sitting.
Plus, you can add some worms or other baits for taste and smell to get the trout interested.
Best On A Budget
Blue Fox Classic Vibrax Plated Spinner
It works in every water type from lakes to rivers, small or big, dirty or clean.
Blue Fox Classic Vibrax Plated Spinner
Great lake trout lures if you’re on a budget are the Blue Fox Classic Vibrax Plated Spinner.
These are durable, versatile, and trout love them.
You can hit a range of water depths, they work in a dirty or clean lake, plus their action creates sound and flashes to make the trout go wild and eat them.
Best Jigging Lure For Lake Trout
Buzz Bomb Jigs
Perfect for when you want to fish every depth from the bottom to the top of the water.
Buzz Bomb Jigs
The best lake trout lures for jigging are the Buzz Bombs.
These have an action that makes lake trout lose their mind and get aggressive, plus you’ll cover every part of the water column with them, and you can hit the deepest parts of the lake too.
Our Top Lake Trout Lures
Here’s the full list of my favorite lake trout lures…
Luhr Jensen 3.5 Coyote Spoon
This lure has a deadly action, can be fished on all waters, trolling or with a cast, and can get to various depths.
Luhr Jensen 3.5 Coyote Spoon
The Luhr Jensen 3.5 Coyote Spoon is an excellent lake trout fishing lure that can be used in every season.
The benefits of spoons are that they can be used for lake trout trolling from a boat in summer, casting for lake trout in spring, and since they sink, you can even use them as a jig for ice fishing in deep water in winter.
Size
These spoons are 3.5 inches long to mimic the size of baitfish lake trout like to eat.
And, at ⅓ oz in weight, they are heavy enough to provide a means to fish every depth and will work in shallow or deep waters.
This weight also helps load your rod so you can cast them a fair distance.
Build
These spoons are made of metal for durability and are painted with white and green plus some flash which is what gets lake trout excited to eat them.
You can fish them fast or slow, and it’s best to mix it up to see what the lake trout prefer.
Design
These spoons come with a single hook that is super sharp so you catch every lake trout that bites.
The only annoying thing about these spoons is that they come in just one color and size, which doesn’t leave you much variety to play with.
Specs
- Type: Spoon
- Weight: ⅓ oz
- Length: 3.5 inches
- Colors: Live Image/Neon Green Side Stripe
- Hooks: 1 x single
Pros
- Great for casting, trolling, and jigging
- Durable and can handle a few hits
- Super sharp hook for better catch rates
- Shiny and good colors for attracting lake trout
- Can fish at any depth, deep or shallow
- Excellent for salmon and lake trout
Cons
- No different color or sizes
Top Pick
Mack’s Lure 09125 Wedding Ring
Does two things that both lake trout and other species like flatfish love. It catches the light and shines in the water and makes a noise to attract fish.
Mack’s Lure 09125 Wedding Ring
The Mack’s Lure 09125 Wedding Ring is a great lake trout lure.
The lure looks a bit like a worm but has a spinner at the top.
Build
This spinner does two things that both lake trout and other species like flatfish love. It catches the light and shines in the water and makes a noise to attract fish, something you need when fishing for lake trout.
They’ll come towards the lure when they hear the noise and then the flashing motion makes them want to strike.
Color
The color of this lure, black & chartreuse, is a deadly combination for lake trout fishing. The black makes the lure easy to see even in darker water while the chartreuse gives it the contrast to look like a natural bait.
You can use this lure for trolling from a boat and you can cast it from a boat or the shore.
Size
It’s quite a big lure at 4.75 inches and with a weight of ⅔ oz, you can cast it 50 feet with ease or drop it to the bottom and fish every depth to catch lake trout.
This makes it great for summer, spring, and fall trout fishing as the trout move to different depths and for deep and shallow lakes.
Last Resort
Many anglers find themselves using this lure often in a time when nothing else works. For one reason or another (fishing lake trout isn’t a science as we know), maybe it’s the spinner action, lake trout find these lures irresistible and many are often caught with this lure.
Another great thing about these lures is that you can add bait to them, like threading a worm on the end.
This is a really effective way to add some scent to your lure and you might find that it’s what’s needed to turn the lake trout on.
Size
Its big size is great for sizeable lake trout or big lake trout, but sadly, this lure doesn’t come in any different sizes or color options and when fishing big lakes, you really should have a range of small lures to big lures that have different color profiles.
But, this is still one to get and is a must-have in your tackle box.
Specs
- Type: Spinner
- Weight: ⅔ oz
- Length: 4.75 inches
- Colors: Black/Chartreuse
- Hooks: 1 x single hook
Pros
- The front spinner attracts fish from a distance
- Works well trolling and is good for casting too
- It sinks so you can work different depths
- Good colors for lake trout
- Large size for attracting large lake trout
- You can add bait to it for scent
Cons
- Will twist your line without a swivel
- Not much choice then as it comes in one color/size
Best Jigging Lure For Lake Trout
Buzz Bomb Jigs
Perfect for when you want to fish every depth from the bottom to the top of the water.
Buzz Bomb Jigs
Buzz Bomb Jigs are an essential bit of gear to get in your tackle box.
They are perfect for when you want to fish every depth from the bottom to the top of the water.
You can even drop them 200 feet if you have enough line on your rod.
Usage
These lures can be used on the ice, in spring, in summer, hell any time really. They often help you find the trout as when using them you’ll cover every part of the water column of the lake.
Size
The lures come in a big range of different sizes from small at 1.5 inches to big at 5 inches, and colors so you can match them to the bait fish on the lakes you go out on.
Their action is something a lot of species can not resist. These lures catch everything from tuna to catfish and trout.
When you pull them up from the depths, they have a rotating action that makes a hydrosonic vibration which gets the trout interested.
Eye-Catching
Once they see the flash colors and the profile of a fleeing bait fish, they come and hit it, and it works time and time again.
You can not use these for lake trout trolling and they are best used when drifting on a boat or on the ice.
Bumper
Also, make sure you use a bumper or the jigging action will cut your line often and your lure will be long gone to the depths of the lake.
When catching lake trout, anglers should always have one of these lures in their box, so get one if you don’t already own one.
Specs
- Type: Jig
- Weight: 1.5" – 0.2 oz
- Length: 1.5-5 inches
- Colors: 30 to choose from
- Hooks: 1 x treble hook
Pros
- Comes in a variety of sizes and colors
- Perfect for fishing deep for lake trout
- Rotate creating a hydrosonic vibration lake trout love
- Work for other fresh and saltwater fish like tuna a pike
- Durable and can handle multiple hits from lake trout
- Treble hook makes for a good catch rate
- You can always fish from the bottom up thanks to the weight
- Ideal for all seasons, even ice fishing
Cons
- They will snap your line without using a bumper
Berkley PowerBait Fishing Soft Bait
Soft baits that are impregnated with a scent that attracts any species from flatfish to trout.
Berkley PowerBait Fishing Soft Bait
Another one of the best and essential lures to have when fishing for lake trout is a Berkley PowerBait Power Jerk Shad.
Build
They are soft baits that are impregnated with a scent that attracts any species from flatfish to trout.
They don’t come with a hook, and you’ll need to slide them onto a jig head or a bare hook.
I’ve caught many fish with these baits, from bonefish to grouper, and they work well pretty much every time.
Usage
You can use these baits for lake trout trolling from a boat or casting from the shore, and with a heavy head, you can load your rod well and send a long cast of 60 feet into the lake with ease.
The hooks you’ll use these baits with point upwards which allows you to fish near snags without the risk of getting stuck, making them great for bass too.
Size
These lures come in every size from small at 1 inch to big at 10 inch, plus in a big range of over 50 different colors.
This allows you to have a selection in order to match the water you’re fishing in plus whatever bait the trout are eating at the time of year.
When used properly, trout really like the action on these lures and when they bite they don’t know it’s a lure because it’s soft and tastes like something.
Durability
The trout will often hit it again if they don’t get hooked the first time around, or keep on chewing on it.
The sad thing about these lures is that they don’t really last.
Each hit pulls them apart and you’re leaving plastic in your trout waters, something we all know we need to avoid doing.
Specs
- Type: Soft Jerk Bait
- Weight: Depends on your jig head
- Length: 1 – 10 inch
- Colors: 50 plus to choose from
- Hooks: 1 x jig head
Pros
- Comes in a huge range of sizes and colors to match baitfish
- Soft so lake trout think it’s real when they bite
- Filled with a scent that attracts lake trout
- Can be fished shallow or deep
- Hook sits up so you can fish near cover without getting snagged
- Looks like a fleeing baitfish in the water
Cons
- Soft means they need changing after two or three caught lake trout
- Need to have your own hooks
Best On A Budget
Blue Fox Classic Vibrax Plated Spinner
It works in every water type from lakes to rivers, small or big, dirty or clean.
Blue Fox Classic Vibrax Plated Spinner
The Blue Fox Classic Vibrax Plated Spinner is a must-have lure when lake trout fishing. It works in every water type from lakes to rivers, small or big, dirty or clean.
Being a spinner, it has a shiny metal plate that catches the light with its spinning action and vibrates to attract trout in the area, meaning it works in both dirty and clean waters.
You can use it trolling from a boat or cast it from the lakeshore and since it sinks, work it at different water depths.
Build
It is made from brass, so no matter how many lake trout hit it, big or small, it can handle it. The spinner also comes with a treble hook for a solid catch rate and is the ideal size to match the small bait fish that lake trout love.
The hook included with the lures will rust when used in saltwater so be sure to give it a rinse if you fish it in the sea.
Size
Unfortunately, it comes in just one size but there are a few colors to choose from.
Either way, this is a highly effective spinner and is one you should get for lake trout fishing.
Specs
- Type: Spinner
- Weight: 3/16 Oz
- Length: 1.6 inches
- Colors: 4 to choose from
- Hooks: 1 x treble hook
Pros
- Durably made from brass and last a lot of lake trout bites
- Spinning action attracts fish from far away
- Vibrates to attract fish in murky water
- Good size for lake trout and bass love it too
- Can be trolled or cast and fishes well with both
- Sinks so you can fish deep or shallow
- Treble hooks make for a good catch rate
Cons
- The hook will rust in saltwater without a fresh water rinse
- Only comes in one size
Things to consider when buying the best lake trout lures
Types Of Lures
There are a few main types of lures that lake trout love, and it’s best to own a few of each so you’ve always got what the trout want in your box.
Spoons
Spoons are a must-have.
They can be fished deep or shallow, fast or slow, trolled or cast. Lake trout love sitting in deeper water and with a smooth you can get down to that cool zone and hook-up a big lake trout.
Jigs
Jigs look like spoons but they are meant to be fished vertically.
This means you can send them down to the bottom and work them upwards, always keeping them in those deeper depths that lake trout love.
They are also a must-have lure.
Flatfish
Flatfish lures look a bit like a bent Rapala and have an action trout can not resist.
A flatfish is great in combination with a downrigger when trout are sitting deep and do well in the shallows on their own.
Here is a sample of a Flatfish Lure
What are the best lures for winter, spring, and summer?
Lake trout love cold water, so in summer they will sit deep and you should be fishing lures that will get down to their depths such as a jig, spoon, or flatfish with a downrigger.
NOTE
In winter and spring, the water will be cold enough for them to come into the shallows and you should be fishing lures that move between 10-30ft such as spoons, spinners, or flatfish.
What is the best bait or lure for autumn lake trout fishing?
In autumn the water cools and the lake trout come up to spawn in the shallows. You can spot groups of up to 100 along a shoreline.
TIP
Your best choice of lure is one that runs shallow and spoons seem to do the trick, particularly in bright colors.
Luring up
Thanks for reading my article on the best lures for lake trout, I hope you enjoyed it.
The key to success when targeting lake trout is to have your bases covered, as their feeding habits change quickly.
I’d recommend owning all the lures in the article for fishing trout but if I had to select a few, these would be the ones I’d choose.
Top Pick
The best one in my eyes is Mack’s 09125 Wedding Ring.
It’s tough, durable, versatile, and it seems to be the thing lake trout eat when nothing else works. It’s also great for big trout due to its size.
So make sure you have one or two of these in your box when lake fishing.
Best On A Budget
For anyone looking for an effective lure on a budget, the Blue Fox Classic Vibrax Plated Spinner is your best choice.
These lures are made from brass and will last years with care, plus you can fish them in any lake or river, trolling or with a cast, and trout love them. If you’re into trout trolling, check out these trolling lures for trout.
Happy Lake Trout Fishing!
Thanks again for reading my article and I hope you found it useful.
Please share it with your lake trout fishing friends.
You might enjoy checking out some of my other articles too. I cover everything from lures to rods, reels, and depth sounders.
