My luck with big MAC's is all bad. Next week I'm headed for manila for the weekend and was hoping for some info. I have a pontoon boat without a trolling motor (no trolling). My plan is to jig so maybe someone has got the perfect pattern,color,size & prefered scent if any to change my LUCK!
THANKS - The New Guy
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[cool][#0000ff]Things have kinda been in transition at the Gorge...soft water to ice and back to soft water again. The fish are there, if you can find 'em. Be sure you have sonar on your rig. And watch out for the W.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I'm sure you will get some response from the few who have fished it during the past week or so.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]For jigging, you will need the old reliable tubes, with various weights for different depths of water or breeze conditions. Also different sizes and colors of tubes...mostly whites and trout (kokanee) colors.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]As you have discovered, the macks in Da Gorge are not friendly. They get worked over pretty good and the big ones are a bit shy. Even the Gorge specialists don't score big on every trip. That is a lake on which skill and experience make a big difference.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]That being said, everybody who fishes it has a story of some newbie on their boat that hangs a 30 plus on their first trip. Luck is always a factor. But, you have to have a line in the water to give luck a chance.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]You really should go back through the Gorge archives to pick up what you can of tackle and techniques. Also, looking for posts from the past, at this time of year, might give you some more clues as to what you should have in your toon's pockets.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Have fun and be safe.[/#0000ff]
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hey tapper, welcome aboard the best fishing board around.
hope you get into the mac's and if so we want pictures.
good luck.
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Thank you for the info. I went to the archive board, you were right, the dated info. should be very useful. One thing I was
about was I couldn't get the pictures to open, the files might be to old.
There was one jig that intrigued me and that was a 2 oz jig with rabbit fur on it. It sounded like Jim Williams the guide in Manila was using it with Doug Miller with some luck and I'm sure the fish don't see rabbit fur every day so it might work. I might try to tie something up
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[cool][#0000ff]A lot of our older threads contained pics that were stored in a BFT website file that was discontinued. All the pics disappeared when that site went down.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]We have either restored the pics or reposted on a lot of them. [url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?post=38658;#38658"]HERE IS A LINK[/url] to a post I put up a while back on making bunny fur jigs, including some of the big ones for macks. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Just a word on the bunny fur jigs. They have a time and place. That is usually when the fish are hitting "dead stick", without a lot of action on the jig. You just drift along, keeping the tip of your rod virtually motionless, letting the natural live action of the bunny fur wiggle and pulse. That is all the movement the fish will tolerate. If you start jigging, you will see the fish marks disappear from your sonar screen.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Most of the time the fish are active enough that the tried and true plastics work best. You can always have some fur in your tackle box, to try on those days when the fish are in a neutral or inactive mode.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Don't know if you have tried bunny fur jigs before but they are great for many species. I have been a marabou fan for years but sometimes I thing a strip of fur looks even better under water.[/#0000ff]
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Thanks for the link TubeDude those jigs are different than I thought but I should be able to tie a couple of them up without any problems. I found the rabbit fur at Zims Craft store for 3 bucks each so I bought a white one and will give it a shot. By the looks of the jigs in the pictures, you take pride in what you do. THANKS again for the pictures
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Hey Red, we need to go fishing sometime soon. I'm hoping to figure out the MAC's at the gorge and then maybe get a group together and go catch some BIG ONES
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[cool][#0000ff]Glad you found some fur. There are several suppliers that carry everything from whole skins to strips in different widths. If you ever want a special color, not always available at craft stores, go to [url "http://www.flyfishusa.com/fly-tying/rabbit.htm"]BUNNY FUR[/url] (link). They are about the only place I have been able to find whole skins in chartreuse.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Just a hint on cutting the strips from the whole hide. Lay the skin down fur side down, and work on an old scrap of carpet, to help catch all of the flying fur fibers. Use a very sharp razor blade or craft knife to cut lengthwise, with the lay of the fur. You will be cutting on the skin side. Go slowly and only cut through the skin. If you press too hard you will cut off some of the fur too.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]If you need to do any gluing (tube bunnies) you can get a good waterproof fabric glue in the craft stores too. Most of them are clear and flexible after they cure.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The one thing you will not like about bunny jigs is that they do not last forever. After a couple of soakings, the skin gets hard and brittle. But, once you have the materials, it is a simple matter to strip them down and redo them on the jig head.[/#0000ff]
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hey richard. i agree 100%
maybe next weekend hitting the berry again.
figure out the mac's and we will do it.
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well good luck fish are scares and so is open water from pipe too the mouthof the canyon is open but eny thing else is still hard with opening's allover so pray for some hurricane wind's and some sun good luck with the hair thay dont get too see it nearly as much as thay did yr ago so thay may fool a few of the dumb one's later fish
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 1]Yeah that's what i've heart too fishley, a couple of my friends went out, and went all over the open water looking, and ended up trying for some bows, and couldn't even find any of them either, and these guys are no slouches when it comes to fishing the gorge (WY or UT) I've been having a tough time getting a bite the last two weeks also, the fish will come out of it soon, though and I'm not going to give up! heh have a good one kid. LBD[/size][/black][/font]
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