Hooking Mortality of Lake Trout Angled through Ice by Jigging and Set-Lining

Abstract

Abstract Hooking mortality was determined for 96 lake trout Salvelinus namaycush caught through the ice by jigging and by set-lining with large dead baits on Gunflint Lake, Cook County, Minnesota, in January 1991. The estimated mortality rate for all released lake trout was 24%; estimated mortality rates for lake trout caught by set-lining and jigging were 32 and 9%, respectively. Hooking location strongly influenced lake trout mortality. Mortalities of lake trout hooked in the gills or gut, inside the mouth, or in the lip were 36, 29, and 0%, respectively. Seventy percent of the lake trout caught by set-lining were hooked in the gills or gut, compared with 9% of the lake trout caught by jigging. The lack of mortality for lip-hooked lake trout suggested that capturing fish from deep water (25–50 ft), handling in cold temperatures (–20 to 20°F), fin-clipping, and cribbing had little effect on mortality during the study. High hooking mortality rates for lake trout taken by set-lining suggested that the use ...