This is a question mostly for Capt. Jim but some of you other Mac addicts may help. I fish here in Jackson Lake, Wy. The state recoed came from here,twice, at 51lbs. I have no problem catching smaller, suspended fish, usualy 45 feet down in 60 to 90 feet of water. They are all around the same size 14 to 24 inches. My first question is why are there so many fish in this size/age class??? They do stock the lake. Second question is where are all the bigger fish?? Right after ice-out, there are many 10 to 25 lb fish caught. Then around mid-May, they dissapear. Do i need to find stucture and leave the suspended fish alone??? Not many guys here catch any big fish in the summer. I'm not sure of the forage base here, I know there are suckers and maybe whitefish. I need a lesson in Lake Trout....Please enlighten me !!!
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I've only fished Jackson 20 or 30 times, which isn't enough to get the bigger fish dialed in. On most days, I couldn't keep the small ones off. Only caught a few big ones here and there, more or less by accident. I'm not sure why more bigger fish don't come from there. It either that they have so much to eat that they aren't interested in lures, there really aren't that many in there, or most likely, nobldy else has put in the time targeting the larger fish to figure out their patterns. There used to be a time at the Gorge that only a handful of fishermen could catch the big fish, even though it was full of them, and they weren't too educated. (ah, the good old days!) I just think there aren't too many "good" lake trout fishermen who fish it regularly, and those that do are very closed-lipped.
When I hear people talk about fishing there, I always hear them talking about fishing too shallow (IMO), and using some kind of meat on their jigs (Definitely NOT the way to catch the big ones on a regular basis!). Or, they just troll. (yawn)
It definitely has some bigger fish, but I don't really know how many. Since most are 14-24 inches, maybe fish get harvested when they're in the 10-25 pound range, and few make it to 30, 40, or 50?
If I had to put in a season or two to find and catch them, I'd use the biggest jigs/lures I could get to keep the small fish off, and I'd fish in water over 100 feet deep, even when the water was at its coldest. Also, forget about suspended fish. Look for big fat arches on the sonar, near the bottom, on and around the structure at that depth, and drop only to those. The reason you see more caught around ice out is probably because nobody fishes deep enough in the summer. For me, on every lake I've ever fished for lakers on from Colorado to Canada and Alaska, I've found it easier to catch the big fish during mid-summer when they're forced into deeper water and stack up. Ice-out is highly overrated in my opinion. The fish roam around too much. I'll take July over ice-out any day of the week, on any lake trout lake. Warm water pushes them deep where they stack up, are easy to find, and sittin' ducks. Especially if they're not getting hammered.
As for forage, I would think cutthroats would be their favorite, and smaller lake trout would be second. Whities and suckers would be next. Just a guess.
I'm sure there's guys out there that know much more about it than me, but getting them to tell you is probably going to be tough.
If I had the time, I'd love to give it a fair shot for a month or two some summer. It certainly is a million times more scenic than the Gorge, the wind blows less (from my experience), and I could spend my evenings on the Snake or Flat Creek tossing dry flies!
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Thanks for the reply Jim, I will try hunting them in deeper water. They have a ridiculous derby here in May where they weigh in many fish over 20lbs. Game and Fish in WY requires that you kill all fish kept in a live well for contests, so all fish weighed in are killed. For a couple of hundred dollar prize we take out a bunch of older, bigger fish ???...it totaly sucks ! So I think the big fish are here, I just gotta find 'em in summer. They also are NOT stocking the lake with Macs anymore, this may mean more forage for the fish that are there. I have talked to many guys that fish the lake with the same results as me, or they're not telling me how to get the big guys!! Thanks again Jim...JL
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We have a "rediculous" derby in May at the Gorge too. Why anyone allows lake trout to be an eligible species boggles the mind, but they do. People around here just don't know how to run a "derby." In Florida, there are catch-and-release contests every week for much of the year where fish are caught, released, and points scored for the fish. They do it for tarpon and billfish regularly. If lake trout must be used for a contest, that's how it should be done.
You have to remember that lake trout are not a fish that most fish and game managers like. They're "vicious predators" that are more difficult to manage. The fewer, the better, in their minds.
I'm sure Jackson has a few monsters in it, so persue your quest.
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[black][size 3]I haven't fished Jackson Lake for macks, but there are a few things that apply to all fish that should be considered.[/size][/black]
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[size 3]It should be intuitive to Match The Forage. Next time they have one of the derbys, where they kill the fish (unbelievable), watch the "killing fields", and see what the stomach contents are.[/size]
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[size 3]In California, during the past few years, bass fishermen have been using 8 and 10 inch replicates of rainbow trout, and have been landing some giant bass.[/size]
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[size 3]Also, like any good hunter, spend some time locating the fish. This is very true for macks, something that I consider hunting rather than fishing.[/size]
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[size 3]I haven't checked the stomach contents of a mack since the late 80's, and at that time the major forage at the Gorge was chubs. Both of the fish that I kept that day had 10 inchers in them. More recently, I have caught macks that disgorged large kokanee near the surface. However, I have caught them on 3 inch tubes (my only mack bait) go figure.[/size]
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[size 3]I think that the trick really maybe to spend time on the water, and pay attention to what you see on your electronics. As I have posted before, it has been my experience that macks seem to spend time in pods, and are usually just up off the bottom.[/size]
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[size 3]I can't believe that the Wyo F&G requires the killing of those fish. It takes so many years for a mack to get large. What a waste of a wonderful resource.[/size]
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"More recently, I have caught macks that disgorged large kokanee near the surface. However, I have caught them on 3 inch tubes (my only mack bait) go figure."
Saber: I can't figure that one out either. 30 and 40 pound fish that eat other big fish, and a little tube jig works better than anything day in and day out. ????? I guess that's why they call it fishing. I think some of it is that the little tube jig looks less-threatening to a fish that is trying to avoid being caught again. Generally, smaller baits catch more-educated fish. Maybe that's it, but those little dinky tubes sure work a lot of the time. There's more big lakers caught from the Gorge on small tubes than all other jigs combined.
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WY Game and Fish is trying to prevent the spread of whirling disease. they feel if you put a fish in your live well, it could contain whirling disease from another body of water in which you have water in your live well from. Therefore they want you to release or kill. Saberfish you bring up a good point with fish hunting. I really need to get to know the lake more. I just purchased the Navionics west map for my GPS. It worked awesomw on Lake Powell last week, that should help....Thanks Guys
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[cool][#0000ff]I have taken a lot of large fish on small lures, and have observed much larger prey in their gullets or guts. It has always been interesting to speculate "WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?"[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Best possible answer might be that their dentists tell them to floss after big meals. Either that or they are having a light dessert.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I gave up trying to figure out fish and females a long time ago. Too frustrating and just when you think you know the rules, they change the game.[/#0000ff]
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Ok, speaking of this, little lure catching big fish, witch does work. but here's another one, a 7 in. lure catching a 8 in. fish, and not just once either more then a dozen times I've caught bass or walleye just a inch or 2 bigger then the lure. whats that fish thinking ??,(if I eat that I don't have to eat for a week, what a deal) I guess your right, thats why it's called fishing.
maybe it's like eating dinner, 3 pounds of what ever, and then a small snack later. when you catch a fish on a big lure, that was dinner. when you catch a fish on a small lure, thats a snack.
makes sense to me. if only fish could talk, lol. later chuck
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[cool][#0000ff]Any angler who has ever thrown big rapalas or jerk baits has dragged in fish barely bigger than the lure...or even smaller.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]No definitive explanation but a couple of possibles: 1. Reaction Bite...munch now and check the details (size) later. 2. Territorial or nest protection response. Many fish do not like other fish of any species getting into their space. When they chase them off they often nip at the tail...as a punishment. Hookup.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]And then there are some fish that just suffer from the syndrome of having "eyes bigger than their stomach". Walleyes are a good example. I have seen lots of small walleyes swimming around with half a fish sticking out their mouths. They grab a large perch minnow, swallow the head and then work the rest down as it digests. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Sometimes that proves fatal in larger walleyes. I have found wallies floating on the surface with crappies (Willard) or white bass (Utah Lake) stuck in their throats. The walleyes evidently are more optimistic than realistic when they snarf a large spiny fish and both fish pay the price.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff] 2. Territorial or nest protection response. Many fish do not like other fish of any species getting into their space. When they chase them off they often nip at the tail...as a punishment. Hookup.[/#0000ff]
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Right on the nail head old buddy.. Anyone thats had tropical fish tanks for any length of time will testify to this. Big or small,, territorial species will that a poke at any fish (large or small) that wanders into its space.
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very good explanation Pat. I know fish are territorial when it comes to their space, but I thought that was more so at the spawn times. and other times they school up and mingle around with differant species. I've watched perch, walleye, smallmouth and largemouth all swimming around with each other in the fall in 40 feet of water at deer creek. they most let their gaurd down at some times of the year. just another thought to thorw out there. later chuck
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[cool][#0000ff]As you well know, fish are subject to moods or modes...active, neutral or negative. They might also be subject to just plain irritation at times.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]FMS??? Fishy Mood Syndrome?[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I think we have all seen previously inactive fish suddenly go on the feed...and vice versa. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Like females, I quit trying to figure fish out a long time ago.[/#0000ff]
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The more I learn about women, the more I love to fish!
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FMS I like that. yea, trying to figure out fish just makes my brain hurt. too many controversials with the fish world to make sense about everything all the time. later chuck
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