Mackinaw help/advice

[Buckmark]

In a few months the ice will be off a lake i like to fish, it has Mackinaw in it and i would really like to hook into one but have really no idea what i need? Any help or advice would be nice. You can PM if you'd like..
PS: i have a boat but no down riggers, i fish it for kokanee, rainbows, brookies and bass, i tried for the macks one year but dont think i had anywhere near the correct setup. It's not a big body of water, alumunim car topper size lake.
No fish finder either, but that may change this year.

[kbyers]

It is hard to make any suggestions with out knowing what lake, but I would start with getting a decent graph.  If you are on a budget craigslist is a good place to look.  After that I would say that you could try jigging for them.  Try tipping the jig with some kind of bait, Pikeminnow I think would be the best.  You could troll for them if you had a down rigger.  Again, craigslist is where you can save money.  A $100 down rigger investment will not only allow you to be able to target lake trout but help out with the kokes and bows too.

[superdown]

 we use a 1/2 ounce egg/slip weight with a #10 black barrel swivel w/o safety snaps and a gamakatsu size 8 sneld baitholder with using all the leader. with a whole large nightcrawler and a plain mini marshmallow. we just fish the deep bottom when nothing else is hitting and this seems to produce .

[STIKNSTRINGBOW]

If you are lucky enough to be there as the ice breaks, fish the shallows with a J-8 RB Rapala (or larger) ! when the ice breaks up and starts melting the lake "turns over" and these fish will be cruising the shallows looking for food.
Invest in a good ''Depth Sounder/fish-finder'' for any other time.

[STIKNSTRINGBOW]

I have a "secret" trick that works for me out on Lake Bonapate, but I haven't tried it anywhere else.......It also requires a depth-sounder.

[Buckmark]

Thanks for the replies
I have never heard of using a whole night crawler and marshmellows off the bottom for macks?
Yes i fish it every year at ice out, i get there right before it melts off, best time to catch the brookies i think.
I might have to get a finder and rigger it sounds like.
The lake is only 170 surface acres and does not come out of ice till the end of april most years (may be a week sooner this year) sits at 3600ft

[GoldTip]

If I was you, I'd be hitting them through the ice as we speak instead of waiting for ice-off to occur.  Fish them with a large jig that makes noise as you jig it or a large lead head #4 hook yarn or rubber kurly tailed jig and a large piece of squaw fish or white fish for bait.  Works like a charm and you don't need the boat, the down rigger or the fish finder.  If you've been on the lake before you know where the ridges of the lake run I'd guess, get right on an edge where the shallow drops into the deep and drop down to about 18" off the bottom and make about a 3-4 foot jig stroke.  We used to ice fish the heck outta the Macks back home in Flathead and Whitefish lake.  Watch for them to hit as your jig starts it's drop.