Brown Trout Action on Lake Michigan Looks Good

When the weather gets cold, Lake Michigan brown trout fishing gets hot!

Lake Michigan brown trout tend to stay in the near shore harbor waters all winter long. The best spots to find them are places where warm water flows into cold water. Fishing near power plants which discharge warm water into Lake Michigan has been a successful winter trout fishing tactic for years.

Many anglers love to fish near the Oak Creek Power Plant and "The Boils," a series of underwater flows about a quarter mile offshore from the Milwaukee water treatment plant. There are also good spots near the mouth of the Milwaukee River where warm water flows into the lake from the Jones Island Treatment Plant.

In winter, warm water attracts gizzard shad and other baitfish which lure brown trout.

To catch these brown trout, try using a large jigging spoon on medium action spinning rod with 8-lb test line. There are several different jigging techniques (as described in the Trout Fishing Tips eBook), one of which involves flicking the wrist. This technique doesn't involve lifting the tip of the rod very much.

The trick to jigging is to make your lure look like a dying or injured baitfish. All trout like an easy meal and they are apt to strike a lure that looks like it will give them that. And they are most likely to strike when the lure is on the way down in the water.

You also want to find the depth where trout are most active. This can be tricky without a fish finder. But the best thing to do is start out fishing deep using this jigging technique. Then if nothing happens, reel some line in about 5 cranks and try again. Just keep repeating that process until you figure out where the fish are feeding at.

If you're having trouble, make sure you're not lifting the tip of the rod too much or letting the flutter down time take too long. Remember, you want your lure to look like an injured or dying fish. Be sure to keep trying this jigging technique at different depths too.