What do lake trout eat?
In a healthy big lake: coldwater baitfish, overwhelmingly. Adult lakers are built around pelagic prey — cisco (lake herring) and smelt where they occur, plus whitefish, sculpins, and burbot — and the cisco connection is the master key to laker location, because the trout simply live where those schools live, inside the cold band. This diet is also the growth engine behind 15–20 kg (33–44 lb) fish. The revealing exception: in lakes without pelagic baitfish, lake trout eat plankton and insects their whole lives and stay small and slim — two lakes a few kilometers (a couple of miles) apart can hold 20 kg (44 lb) fish and 1.5 kg (3 lb) fish of the same species and age. Before targeting trophies, ask one question: does this lake have cisco or smelt?
The full story
This answer is one piece of a longer lesson — setups, diagrams and the reasoning behind it.
More questions about Diet
Same topic, other species
- Why do such tiny jigs catch such big crappie? — Crappie
- Do big largemouth only eat big baits? — Largemouth Bass
- How often does a muskie eat? — Muskellunge (Muskie)
- How does a shiner or shad forage base change the game? — Yellow Perch
- Dead or alive — does a pike care? — Northern Pike
- What do young smallmouth eat before they switch to fish and craws? — Smallmouth Bass
- What size bait should I use for walleye? — Walleye