I NOW HAVE A PLACE UP AT THE GORGE AND I HAVE BEEN OUT 4-7 TIMES FISHING WITH DOWNRIGGERS AND CANNOT SEEM TO HOOK ANY THING,WHAT ARE SOME TIPS FOR SPEED AND DEPTHS,AND LURES ,AND COLORS .AND WEARS SOME GOOD PLACES TO GO AND HOW DEEP IS THE WATER IN THESE PLACES,IF ANY ONE HAS ANY I WOULD APPRECIATE ANY AND ALL HELP,THANKS KELLY
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From what I just read, you don't have a fishfinder. I would say that's your first step. It's kinda hard to optimize your Downriggers without knowing what's going on below you. Fishfinders will tell you depth, identify structure and bait fish, show surface temps and some show the thermocline(which normally hold bait fish), And more importantly help keep you from tearing something up on your boat incase you find a shallow spot.
Next, lure selection should match what ever type of local forage is in that particular lake. Size and color should match, or be similar.
As far as speed, it would depend on the species you're targeting and the water temp. The color the water, the slower you troll. The warmer that water, the larger of a strike zone a fish has and the faster most preditory fish like the bait moving. Using those basic rules of thumb should alone bring up your catch rate.
DON'T FORGET A GOOD FISH FINDER. Don't be cheap, get a good one. It's worth the money.
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Since this is not the Utah board but a general freshwater fishing board, I guess I'll mention that the 'Gorge' is referring to Flaming Gorge Reservoir in Northeastern Utah.
The only thing I've ever "fished" for there is crawdads[url "http://www.utahfishinginfo.com/utahfish/crawdads.php"][/url]! But they sure are fun to catch and they come up from the deep by the MILLIONS in the marina near the dam during the summertime!
A good ol' KFC chicken bone does wonders to catch hundreds of them!
Sorry I know that has nothing to do with macs.
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Time Of Day
[font "Times New Roman"]Fish early and late. Concentrate efforts during the first three hours of light in the morning and the last two hours of light in the evening. [/font] Use A Fish Finder
[font "Times New Roman"]A good fish finder is essential when you are after lake trout. You want to focus on the area just off the bottom. Generally you will be fishing in water 80-120 feet deep, and you should adjust your fish finder to show the area from 60 feet to the bottom. With most fish finders you should set it to manual, and lock in on those depths. [/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]You also want to turn the sensitivity up (generally as high as it will go). It is ideal if the graph will show a jig when it is down near the bottom. [/font] [font "Times New Roman"]How to Fish[/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]Trolling is usually best. Jigging can be good when you find a concentration of fish. You need to see 10 or more fish at once to make it worth your time to stop and jig. Remember, the fish finder transducer shoots down at an angle, so at 100 feet it shows a wide section of bottom. Fish that appear together on the fish finder may actually be a considerable distance apart.[/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]To catch lake trout consistently you need to get a lure down to the active fish. That is difficult because the fish stay so deep, and because they are usually found on or just above rock piles, drop-offs, ridges and other structure. You need to constantly vary the depth of your downrigger ball, attempting to keep your lure about three feet off the bottom. That’s not always possible — you will snag occasionally. If you aren’t snagging you aren’t getting deep enough.[/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]Pay attention to little things. You’ve got to learn to control your lure depth with precision. Three feet may mean the difference between catching a trophy and going home skunked.[/font] [font "Times New Roman"]Trolling Tips [/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]Troll slowly (.8 to 1.8 mph). Use a heavy ball (10 pound). Watch it to estimate its angle of descent, so you can guess how far behind the boat it will be and how much cable you need to let out to reach your target depth. Test it on a flat. Note the depth on your fish finder. Then lower the ball until it just bumps bottom and note how much cable you've let out. You might need to let out 105 feet of cable to reach a depth of 100 feet. If your boat speed is consistent, the angle of descent should be uniform and you can estimate the depth of the ball at any given time. [/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]Develop "under-water eyes" so you can predict what your lure is doing. With your boat at trolling speed, drag a lure in the water alongside and watch what it does. Does it track straight? Does it dive - or not dive - as expected? Some lures will stay at the same depth as the ball, others will dive below it. You will need to take that action into account as you vary ball depth to stay close to the bottom. [/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]The easiest way to keep your ball near the bottom is to use an electronic downrigger. It uses sonar to track the bottom, and automatically raises or lowers the ball to maintain the proper depth. You can program it to keep your ball three feet off the bottom. The technology works well, and really helps anglers catch fish. However, such down- riggers are expensive, and don't work perfectly. Trees, cliffs and other sudden changes on the bottom can fool the electronics and cause problems. [/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]Electric downriggers are the second best choice. They are much cheaper than the electronic models, and it is easy to control them by simply pushing a button. You watch your fish finder and raise or lower the ball as soon as you see a change on the bottom.[/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]Manual downriggers can also be used, but they require considerable work. In many places you are raising and lowering the ball almost continually, and it is very hard to do that while operating the boat and controlling your rod.[/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]It’s important to start with a good bend in your rod when fishing with a downrigger. You want the tip of your rod just inches above the water. If a fish hits and causes your downrigger to release, the bow in the rod will pull your line tight and help set the hook.[/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]If you start with your rod tip near the water’s surface, you can raise the downrigger ball a considerable distance and still have some bend in your rod. If your downrigger pops when there is little bend in your rod then immediately speed up the boat to take the slack out of your line. As the line comes tight then give the rod a good pop to set the hook. Most people instinctively put the boat into neutral as soon as the downrigger pops and that can lead to lost fish because of slack line.[/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]Keep your drag set so it will release line with light pressure. If you lower the ball, the drag will play out line but still keep your rod bent. When you hook a fish, tighten down the drag but keep it where the fish can take line if needed.[/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]Most people don’t set the hook hard enough. When you are fishing at 100-foot depths, there is considerable stretch in your line and you need to jerk it hard to get a solid hook set.[/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]In general, trail lures 40-50 yards behind your downrigger ball.[/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]Vary your trolling speed. Run it up to three mph for a minute, then slow back down.[/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]Don’t troll in a straight line. Follow the contours you see on the bottom. Try to stay on the edge of the river channel, on the side of a ridge, or along some other feature.[/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]Another way to get lures down to the fish is to use steel line with heavy tackle. Such a rig is tough enough to drag the bottom. [/font] [font "Times New Roman"]What To Use[/font][font "Times New Roman"] [/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]Lures should resemble a small kokanee - the primary forage for lake trout at the Gorge. [/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]The single best lure is a J-13 broken back Rapala. Colors vary somewhat. Silver and black are usually best. In the fall, when kokanee are spawning, orange Rapalas with gold bellies can be effective. Chartreuse can be good when other colors aren't working. [/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]Big flatfish and spoons may also be effective. [/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]A deep-diving crankbait can be effective at times. If the fish are nervous, a downrigger ball may spook them. With a deep diver, the lure may be going through the fish while the ball is 20 feet higher. [/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]People with manual downriggers may want to use a diving lure so they don't have to continuously raise and lower the ball. Measure how deep your lure dives at trolling speed, then position the ball so the lure will bump the bottom. Diving lures usually bounce off the bottom without snagging. [/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]Keep hooks sharp. Sharpen them every time you snag. [/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]Smelly jelly smeared on top of the lure can help produce more hits. Anchovy (salt/glitter) and crayfish flavors are good. [/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]Lighter line is better. If you know how to play a fish, use 10-12 pound line. If you don't, use 14-20 pound. [/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]Use the Rapala knot to tie on a Rapala. The knot leaves a loop in the line that allows the lure to move freely. (Tying instructions are included in the box with each Rapala sold.) Don't use swivels or rings with a Rapala. [/font] [font "Times New Roman"]Jigging[/font][font "Times New Roman"] [/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]Jigging is the best way to fish for lake trout through the ice, and can be effective year-round when you can hold over a concentration of fish. [/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]It is important to stay right over the fish - you want to jig vertically and keep slack out of the line or you won't be able to feel a bite. [/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]Use low-stretch line. The new synthetic lines work well.[/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]Use small jigging movements. Just pop your wrist, even when the fish are active. Lake trout are lazy; they don't want to chase a lure. [/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]Big gitzits (3-4 inch) on heavy jig heads (1/4 to 1/2 ounce) are effective. Motor-oil is usually the best color. Glow-in-the-dark can also be effective. Sometimes burnt orange and brown work well. Load Smelly Jelly on the jig head and shaft before inserting it inside the gitzit. [/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]Make sure the tentacles on the gitzit don't stick together - they need to move freely. If action is slow then try tipping the jig with a piece of sucker meat. [/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]The fish will be looking up, so jig just above them. Watch them on your fish finder. If you see one come up to the level of your lure then try setting the hook, even if you don't feel anything. A strike may not feel like much - perhaps just resistance on the end of your line. If you feel anything different then try to set the hook. [/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]Lake trout fishing is work. You've got to pay your dues before you can expect to catch a fish consistently. But it's worth it.[/font]
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im sorry i didnt respond to your questions earlier. ive been on flaming gorge for the last few days. id be glad to answer a few of your basic questions, and point you in some good directions.
id start out reading the basic overview of the lake, if you havent already. also, the weekly fishing report on this page gives decent info.(although it is pretty much a canned response they issue every year)
check this link-
[url "http://www.wildlife.utah.gov/fishing/flaming_gorge.html"]http://www.wildlife.utah.gov/fishing/flaming_gorge.html[/url]
the article that daymere posted, by bill furniss, came from the following website. there are a few articles that arent too bad. the info is slightly old, but you should find some useful tidbits.
check this link-
[url "http://utahoutdoors.com/pages/indexflaming.htm"]http://utahoutdoors.com/pages/indexflaming.htm[/url]
the utah flaming gorge archive is also great. you'll find that a lot of the questions you have asked have been asked before. lots of good info on there.
check this link-
[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?forum=95"]http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?forum=95[/url];
i saw that you had some good chatter going on the utah board. youre getting some good answers there. id look for "sockeyslayer" and "fishley". they are the best, and if they have time should be a great help! also, visit kokeking- the wyoming moderator- on the following wyoming board (link follows) he can give you some help and is always glad to do so.
check this link-
[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=forum_view_collapsed;forum=64;page=1;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;mh=25"]http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=forum_view_collapsed;forum=64;page=1;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;mh=25[/url];
as far as me- im kind of in the same boat as you i guess. only maybe a year or two ahead. bft has been a great resource and ive seen my success rate go way up. we fished mainly for macs over this weekend and caught several "pups". (still looking for the big boys!) we also caught plenty of bows and kokes near the surface. it was a great weekend, but very windy! still fun though. good luck to ya! take care, bkidder
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