Lake trout are suddenly hot, and Ely is the place to be this winter for anglers with visions of potential trophies. A steady stream of the deep water hogs have been showing up at Ely area bait shops in recent weeks, as anglers stop in to show off their impressive catches.

“The word definitely got out,” said Steve Foss, an Ely area fishing guide who specializes in Burntside lakers. Since the season opened last month, Foss said he’s iced 27 lake trout, and that doesn’t include the fish caught by the 16 parties he’s booked this winter for guiding.

Whether the trout action is that much better than usual is open to debate. Captain Russ, who operates Babe’s Bait in Ely said a lackluster walleye bite this season seems to have more people concentrating on trout.

And so far, the trout have been cooperating. “We’re getting good numbers of fish reported from both Burntside and Snowbank. Lots are in the three to six-pound range,” said Russ.

According to Russ, the trout action typically tails off in February, before picking back up later on. But whether that’s because the bite slows, or anglers tend to shift to crappies this time of year isn’t clear. With the crappie bite also running slower than usual, more anglers are likely shifting to trout.

Excellent travel conditions on area lakes are likely also contributing to the angling success. Last winter, anglers had to contend with heavy slush on many area lakes, which limited travel. This year, with light snowfall, slush is rare and anglers can drive just about anywhere.

While lakes like Burntside and Snowbank are producing good numbers of eater-sized lake trout, some of the potential wall mounts are coming from Boundary Waters lakes. With most lakes in the wilderness accessible only by mushing this time of year, fishing pressure is invariably lighter— and that has apparently allowed the return of some real trophy fish to the area.

For those able to get into the backcountry, the fishing can be excellent, as David Larsen and two friends recently discovered on a wilderness trip with White Wilderness Outfitters. Their 19.5-pound laker certainly wasn’t the first fifteen-plus pound trout to show up in Ely this year, but according to Russ, it was the biggest one he’s seen so far.

And there are bigger ones out there. Foss said he caught and released a 21.5-pounder on Burntside this past summer. If that prospect doesn’t get your fishermen’s blood pumping, there’s just no hope for you.