Fished the still very frozen Pali
es thursday night from 4 to 7 p.m. Not a super hot bite, but I ended up catching a limit of fish and missed a half dozen more. Ice is still very thick with no slush on top. Getting on is a little tricky, you need a good 10 foot plank. Anyway, I'm done with the ice for the year and itching to get the boat out. Hopefully Ririe will be ice free in the next couple of weeks. It might be mid June before the ice comes off Pali
es.
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Thanks for the report, I am also waiting for Ririe to ice off. I just got a little fishing boat last year and haven't had time to really fish out of it. I've heard that trolling right after ice off can be really good. Have you ever trolled for kokanee in the spring? That is what I am hoping to do, if you have any tips I would appreciate it. I Ice fished Ririe 6 different times and only caught my limit of Kokanee once so I am hoping to teach them a lesson this spring. My dad went with me most of the time and he only ended up catching one Kokanee all winter. We always seemed to go on the wrong day when the sun was bright and the fish didn't seem hungry, and everybody would say oh you should have been here yesterday we had our limit in 15 minutes. That seemed to be our luck every where we went this winter so we are hoping to redeem our selfs trolling this spring and summer.
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Great! You just had to post a report like this! I just put my gear in storage for the year. I may just have to get it out for a trip next weekend. [
] I have enjoyed all your reports this winter and I am glad you appreciate the greatest bite in East Idaho!
OvidCreek
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Well, I usually don't troll for the kokanee at Ririe but I always end up catching quite a few. I troll ninety percent of the time in the bay right in front of the campground just down from Blacktail. Usually you catch lots of cutts there but last fall the kokanee were stacked in there too. They seem to be a slightly larger version than the ones you catch down by the dam while ice fishing. Sometimes you will pick up a few smallies off the rocky points also. When we get tired of trolling we shoot up Meadow creek and tie off to the party dock and jig for perch. I troll with leadcore line, usually two to three colors down. Last fall the Kokanee were smacking the crap out of the rainbow pattern Blue Fox spinners. The cutts were taking yellow and gold Panther Martins or a gold silver combo colorado spoon. Can't wait to get up there. Ice be gone!
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I thought you were not giving out any more of your secret spots and fishing tips hookedlikeu? You just killed the honey holes at ririe now.[
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Well wait a minute, southforksly is criticizing hookedlikeu for giving someone a tip? Is that how things go on this forum?[unsure]
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Sorry about the confusion jbaldwinblkft....You see, hookedlikeu is my big brother, and long time fishing partner. A couple of weeks ago he swore off posting about specifics, because when he did, we always found too many people in the "secret" holes. I was merely poking fun at him for flapping his gums. I usually am not too bashful about spraying to everyone how good the fishing is, but tend not to get into such detail. Ririe is a big place with tons of fish. I don't mind sharing! Good luck with the info provided.
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Okay, I get it. [
] Thanks for the clarification. Since I'm not very skilled, and usually not too lucky, I'm one of the guys who appreciates the specifics. A desperate outdoorsman sometimes needs all the help he can get.
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Thanks for clarifying everything. That is one of the tricky things about an open forum like this. Everyone has a feeling about how much information is good to give out.
My personal feeling is that large bodies of water are no secret and they can take a larger crowd. There certainly are no secret places on the southfork, Henrysfork, Ririe, Pali
es etc... Fishing is more than just location. You have to put your time in so that you understand location, depth, bait, current, and a ton of other variables.
I choose not to give details on smaller rivers and creeks, because they can be fished out quickly.
Some of the best infomation is shared in P.M.s if you build a relationship of trust with people by helping with what you can then others are more willing to share information.
One little tip that I have seen people do lately is if they want to show a picture of a fish that has been caught in a "secret" hole, they take the picture with a neutral background so as not to give away their honey hole.
Windriver
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I agree with you both. I have put in my time and paid my dues, but am always happy to lend a few tips to everyone else. I hope that I have not caused too much heartache and confusion here. I will continue to post about the good days....and the bad.[
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I am also including a fishy photo from a hard nights work on the South Fork. I love the cutts, but look for the browns!
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Hey that's a beauty!
As I explained in one of my steelhead posts, I'm beginning to be fascinated by night fishing. Could you tell me a little about it?
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I agree with Windriver, on a large body of water, there are no secret spots, just secret methods. I dont mind sharing any info...fishing is supposed to be fun, not competetive. If any of you guys want to fish Pali
es or Jackson Lake this spring (if the ice ever melts !!) I will glady tell what I have been using and where I found 'em. Heck, just P.M. me and you can tag along. I had a guy from the Utah board come with me last year and we had a great time...JL
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Night fishing seems to be the best time for me to avoid crowds. I find an area that should be loaded with fish and then huck rapallas at them. Seems to work best on cloudy nights for some reason. Depending on current and depth, I use a CD-5,7, or 9. Most color patterns will work, but have had my best luck with the gold, silver, and rainbow patterns. The secret is in how you fish the rapalla though![
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Jackson Laker- I would be interested in knowing how you do at Jackson Lake right after ice out. My grandfather was from Star Valley and used to fish there quite a bit. They use a technique called long lining. Have you heard of it? What is your preferred method for finding the macs after ice out? Thanks for the help.
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Southforksly, We do very good after ice-out, but the funny thing is the bigger macs are fairly deep. We troll the "slab" which is 45 to 60 feet deep with flatfish for larger fish. I dont mind the little guys so I use planer boards and troll the shore line, sometomes in as little as 6 feet of water. As for long lining, I run 150' behind the board, and a little closer as each line is to the boat. To find macs or cuts or browns, just find water that is a little warmer than anything else. This means close to shore, or very shallow. Last year we deep trolled for big guys with no sucess, so we tryed a shallow flat near the dam...4 to 10 feet...we caught a nice mixed bag in that area that you would not think woould hold fish. The difference was temp. 39 in the middle of the lake, 42 on the shallow flat. If you want to go , PM me when we get closer. I'm thinking end of May !!
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Yeah, with the way the weather is going, end of May, early june will most likely be the ticket. Thanks for the info. I will see if I can get hookedlikeu to take his boat up and give it a try.
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Yep, this sounds familiar. A silver cd7 is one of my favorites. This night thing is interesting enough to me I think I'll make a main post about it and see what information comes up. Thanks for the coaching!
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