My best Mac ever, Fish Lake 03-05-2014

[TopH2O]

I had a chance to make a return trip to Fish Lake while the conditions are still conducive to ice fishing. We arrived Tuesday at 1000 and fished the whole day with mixed results. My friend Will and I caught some splake, a few pup Macs and some rainbows. We got chased off the lake by horizontal snow and very strong W**ds.

Wednesday dawned clear and very cold. It was below zero when we headed out from the cabin. At 0845 I dropped my glow in the dark 3/8 oz. tube jig tipped with a chub strip down to just off the bottom in 65 feet of water. Almost immediately a large target appeared on my Showdown and it went directly to the jig and hit it. I set the hook and I knew this was no ordinary fish. I could tell it was heavy and I was thankful I was using my "Mac" rod that I built years ago to ice fish at the Gorge. My prior biggest mac was a 16 pound fish caught many moons ago at the Gorge. My "mac" rod is 44" and was built using an old Fenwick glass Lunkerstick shorten by slamming the tip in my truck door. I was using a Quantum PTi20 reel with 30# PowerPro braid with a 12 pound leader.

My friend Will came running and took my transducer out of the water and out of the way. The fish made several good runs pulling drag and I think it was about 3-4 minutes before I got it to the hole and could see it. There is something very exciting about being able to see parts of a fish in all three holes I use that are spaced a distance of about three to four feet. I finally got the head started up the hole and Will was able to carefully lift the trophy out of the water and onto the ice.
I knew I wanted to release this fish so we measured and photographed the fish and got it back down the hole in about a minute.


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The fish was 40 inches long and the girth was 23.5 inches. I haven't looked at the charts yet but I estimated the weight at about 26-27 pounds based solely on my experience with hundreds of King salmon in that size range.

I put the mac in the hole and moved it back and forth a few times. I held the trail briefly to gauge the fish's condition. It was very lively and it swam off with good energy and it will be ready soon to hit someone else's jig.[font "Times New Roman"]
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This was the best way I could imagine to end the ice fishing season. Now my attention will turn to my new Mercury 150 ProXS and the Lund for soft water action.[font "Times New Roman"]
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Mike

I just checked one of the websites with a calculator for Lake Trout based on length and girth. They say a fish that size should weigh about 27.6 pounds, so my estimate was pretty darn close.
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[TopH2O]

I neglected the conditions report. The ice is holding up well. It is about 15-18 inches with frozen slush on top of good, solid ice. We did encounter a few small sections of slush on Wednesday afternoon on the way over to the northeast shore. Thursday morning the slush areas had refrozen. I would say there are still several weeks of ice action available at Fish Lake.

Mike
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[brookieguy1]

Great story and even greater fish. Thank you for releasing it. Nice job!
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[Flyfishinglover]

That face is just priceless like you never caught a fish that big [laugh]. Nice one by the way. My buddies on my last trip only manage a scronny 20".
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[Tibbz]

Yes. Good tale. How old do you think that beast would be? I know lakers live a long time. Maybe 18 years old? Just guessing. Awsome fish dude
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[JustJim]

Nice fish Mike! Thanks for the report.
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[cutthroat_bill]

Nice picture of a fine trophy. Those are the same conditions we encountered Sat and Sunday. Isn't,t Fish Lake a great place? You can target panfish or trophies, we were trying to replenish our perch taco stash and were completely successful.
Tight lines
Bill
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[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]Excellent![/#0000FF]
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[TopH2O]

I really don't have much information about age of the macs in Fish Lake. I know the aquatics guys have collected scales on some large fish and they probably have a good handle of the age of a fish this size.

My totally uneducated guess would be about 14-18 years old based only on some talk I heard years ago about fish growth in Fish Lake. One of the biologists from the Price DWR office spent some time over there netting lakers and the big splake. I know the splake were growing very well back in the late 90's and early 2000's.

Perhaps PBH could chime in. His brother is now the head fish squeezer for the Southern Region and I know he is familiar with Fish Lake.

Mike
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[Bovineowner]

That made my morning! A tip of my hat to you for releasing that fine fish. I'd plumb pass out if I caught a fish anywhere close to that size. all I can say is WOW! and Thanks!
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[wormandbobber]

The tricky thing about fish lake macs is that their age can vary so greatly…that fish could be relatively young or really old. Once big lake trout convert to a fish diet, they grow really fast…but how long it takes is the question…!
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[wyoguy]

Congrats Mike, a very fine fish! Glad you and Will had a good time. Soon I will have all my family stuff done and be able to get back fishing. Again, way to go!
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[PBH]

nice fish Mike.


As you are very well aware, estimating the age of a fish based on size is extremely difficult. Especially when estimating a lake trout from Fish Lake.

lake trout in Fish Lake grow based on their forage, not age. The big change happens when a fish reaches around 24-26". If that fish makes a 100% switch from a mixed diet (fish, plankton, insects, etc.) to a strictly pisciverous diet (fish only) then the fish will VERY QUICKLY become a large fish (jump from 26" --> 35"+). However, if that fish does not make the conversion, and continues to prey on plankton, shrimp, insects, etc., then that fish may spend it's entire life (25 years?) as a 24-26" fish.

Averages may give us a number -- for example: on average it might take a lake trout 20 years to reach 20lbs. That would average out to 1lb per year, right? But, in actuality that fish might have grown to 5lbs in it's first 5 years, then spent the next 13 years as a 5lb fish, and on year 18 made the conversion to a pisciverous diet, then ballooned over those last 2 years into a 20lb fish.

That fish might have been 7 years old. It might have been 15. It might have been 30. My personal guess is that it was relatively young: it was caught hook-and-line by an angler (topH20!)! Those older fish are smarter than that!!
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[TheScout]

Awesome! Well deserved, way to go!
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[Tarponjim]

That's how its done. Class act. Your estimate of weight is very close based on the picture and the measurements. Nice.
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[liv2hunt]

TopH2O, I am glad you let the biggest Mac of your life return to Fish Lake. That is a damn nice fish!! It is nice when things work out for you.
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[MasterDaad]

Terrific story and great fish!

I'll have to remember that tip for custom Mac Rods in the future [sly]
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[wiperhunter2]

Very nice fish Mike, thanks for sharing your report and pic. Not many of those big fish are caught out of FL in the Winter.
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[Willhunt22]

As my buddy Mike seems to tell all of us who are graced by his fishing excellency......[:p]...."Even a blind hog can find a mushroom." All kidding aside, it was a blast watching Mike try to hold that sweet Mack so gingerly. Only if the women from his past had been caressed so sweetly...lol.....he did a fine job with the release. It was so cool seeing that pig swim back and forth across all three holes. It amazes me to see a fish that size come out of a 10" hole. The delicate touch it takes to get that huge nose into the hole and then be able to grab that jaw and lift a fish that size up and out is a thrill. Thanks Mike for the opportunity to be there and experience it with you. We are even on the trophies....you helped me with my trophy bull elk and I with your trophy Mack. Good times with good friends!
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[albinotrout]

Sweet looking Mac there! Way to go...[cool]
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