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+--- Thread: Flaming Gorge (Report) (/showthread.php?tid=40990)
Flaming Gorge (Report) - Curtisfish - 04-28-2003
For the short report, scroll to the bottom.
Put the boat on about 8:00. Surface temp was 41.5. We headed into Linwood Bay and started searching for fish on the electronics. The fish were scattered along the drops as usual. We found them at three levels instead of the normal two. They were on the bottom at 45', 55', and 65'. We saw a few larger fish suspended at 60' over 90-95' of water. Made me wish I had downriggers.
We tried a number of jigs and lures throughout the day. Root beer colored 4" rattlesnake tubes were the hot ticket. Chad H. caught 3 small Lakers (1.5-3lbs) on that before I decided to take off my bunny hunny jig and tie something else on. I did not get a single hit on either the black or the white rabbit jigs. I tied on a 3" Storm wildeye minnow in rainbow, and got one strike, but missed the hookset. Seconds later (and right next to me) Chad H. struck again on the root beer with the big fish for the day. A 4.5lb. 23" laker. Cody H. was fishing with a 1oz. rainbow 5: tube and had managed to hook, and lose 3 on the way to the boat. I tied on a 1oz. dressed castmaster and landed a 2lb. laker. The wind was off and on through the day. It would blow for about 30 min. and then stop for about 30 min. Changing direction each time.
The Lake trout fishing slowed about 1:00. By this time the surface temp was at 42.5. We had caught 5 and lost 4 on the way to the boat. We headed up the channel into Rainbow canyon. The rainbows were in spawn and prespawn. We caught a number of fish very quickly using a worm under a float. They were right up to the shore, in 4-8' of water. All of the rainbows were between 2 and 3.5 lbs except one 12 incher. The biggest being a nice 3.5 lb. 19" hook-jawed male that more resembled a king salmon, than a rainbow. There were longer ones caught, but they weren't as heavy.
A first for me at the Gorge, we were surveyed by DWR. They were very nice about it and quickly measured and weighed the fish that we had kept (5 lakers and 1 rainbow), thanked us for keeping the smaller lakers, and went on their way.
We left the lake around 5:00. There were 4 guys fishing the boat ramp at Lurcerne Valley when we came in. Just in the 7-10 min. We were waiting for Cody to bring the truck down the ramp, I watched these guys catch 3 rainbows and miss at least 2 others. Shore fishing for rainbows has got to be as good as it gets up there right now. I only kept 2 that felt firm enough to be pre-spawn. I don't like the meat when it softens from the spawning process.
Short end of things.
Lake Trout - 5 caught and kept 17-23 inch, 1.5-4.5 lbs. All caught on the gravel humps in Linwood Bay 43-60 feet deep.
Rainbows - lost track of number caught. Guessing 11 or 12. One 12" and the rest 2-3.5lbs. 6 kept. All caught in the first bay to the left, up Rainbow Canyon.
Surface temp. 41.5 to 42.5
Lures that worked - root beer 4" rattlesnake tube, 1oz. chrome castmaster with bucktail, both with chub meat, for Lake Trout. Crawler 4-5 feet under a bubble for Rainbows.
Sorry, no pictures. I forgot to grab film on our way up.
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