Fishing Forum

My dad and I went to Fish Lake on 8-4-07 just for the day and it was great.
The bow's were on the small side, 12" to 14" but we did manage to catch two 18 inchers out of about 30 fish. Caught one splake and no Mac's. Not because we didn't try, but because I have never fished Fish Lake without the top being covered with ice. I found a stack of Mac's in about 70' of water and they would look at it but thats it, I tried perch meat,trout gravy,four colors of jigs and two different sizes and nothing! I even tried Captain Jim's style but no fish. I plan on going back before ice-on. I am very sure that it was my lack of technique that stopped the fish from biting. Most all the fisherman were trolling pop gear and catching bow's, one boat was using buzz bombs but in about 90 minutes, they never caught a fish. All we used was jigs and they worked great all day for the bow's. What a beautiful lake!! if only the Mac's would bit.

P.S.
I kept the two big bow's and cooked them on the BBQ, wrapped in tinfoil with a little butter and lemon pepper tonight and they tasted fine but the meat seemed mushy. All the fish I catch in the winter from there have been fried on the lake or smoked and were good or normal. This fish meat would not get firm.
Is it me or has anyone else noticed that?

P.S.S.
I would like to go back in October so if someone knows how to catch the Mac's and is interested in a free trip, it would be worth the gas to learn some new tricks and techniques. I have a 25' pontoon with lots of room and its great for jigging
[signature]

Sounds like a nice day on the lake, too bad the big boys did not want to play but at least you caught some nice bows. The only thing I can think about for the mushy fish would be the warm temperatures. I noticed the same thing with the fish I caught over the weekend, they were find when I caught them but several hours later when was cleaning them, they seemed mushy, just a thought. WH2
[signature]

hey richard.
great report but where are the pictures? just kidding. glad you and your dad had a good time. did you mark any spots for when the ice comes we can find them again? let me know when in october and maybe me and peck can tag along.
didn't you just get back from the gorge. man do you work at all.
LMAO [cool]
[signature]

In the spirit of "misery loves company," I'll confess that I've been fishing at Fish Lake every summer for over 50 years, and I have never caught a BIG mackinaw. Of course, most of the time I wasn't targeting them either. Catching the smaller rainbows, splake, and small macks is enough fun. The local lore is that you have to put in many hours or days of fishing with no action before you catch a big mackinaw even though that's what Fish Lake is famous for.
[signature]

I have noticed also that fish from Fish Lake were often mushy. Does any one know why? We caught rainbows and splake and I can't tell you if it was one or the other, just that some were mushy and some were not.
[signature]

Hi SkinnyLynnie

Richard here
What about the rainbows I cooking that seemed mushy.
the meat never got firm. I did steam it in foil but I have cooked lots of fish that way with no problems
[signature]

No camera at fish lake on this last trip. I think I like Fish Lake this time of year as much as winter.
As far as the Mac's go, I did have my hand held GPS and yes!, I did find two spots that had stacks of Mac's but there is no way to know if they will be there in February.
The Oct. trip is not planned yet but it will happen and I will let you know, and yes I do work except when I fish and I fish if I can get out of work and I work every hard at getting out of work so I can fish.

The gorge trip was over the 21 thru 24 of July and it was a good trip, we caught a lot of rainbows and smallmouth but only two small Mac's ( 6lbs & 8.5 lbs). My wife,dad and my mom love to jig for smallies and the bows but they got board fast when I tried to get on the Mac's. I found a lot of fish but I needed Captain Jim to catch em
[signature]

sounds good. [cool]
[signature]

The only fish I've ever caught at Fish Lake that seemed "mushy" were those that were totally worn out from spawning. Otherwise, the meat has always been just fine.
[signature]