Fishing Forum

Fishing Guru's,

I'm heading out whitewater rafting through the "Gates of Lodore" This starts in Colorado and goes to Vernal i believe. We'll be floating for 5 days through the gates on the Green River. My woman is a huge river rat and loves to boat. As i'll be on a 16' raft riding along while she man's the helm through the rapids, I'd like to fish a bit through the calmer sections. As i'm not a fly fisher man and only have a spinner rod, does anybody have any suggestions on what i should use for lures/bait and such? I'm willing to go buy some more items to build up my tackle box, but not sure what to get.

If anybody can throw me some good ideas or point me to a site that'll send me some lovin, please let me know. We're going to start heading there midday Sunday so i'll need to acquire my gear tomorrow.

Any suggestions will be great. I've a few larger flies for the "fly and a bubble." I was thinking maybe some pop gear and troll while we are on some faster sections. Other than that, i'm drawing blanks for anything that might be useful.

Looking to catch and release and honestly am up to catch any fish.

Thanks in advance for the help!!!

-Jer
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Think catfish. 5/0 hooks with a little weight above it. Bait the hook with some chub meat. You'll have instant success.
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Jones hole creek.
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I ran that same stretch of river last summer. It is a narrow canyon that most don't get to see due to it's remoteness. Also, you have to have a permit or pay big money to run with a commercial company.
Before launching, I was asking a couple of the river guides about fishing.
They said that the biologists occasionally do some sampling through there, and their report (3rd hand mind you) was that there are not a lot of fish, but there are some good sized ones.
This time of year, the water will be lower, so your experience may vary from my own.
The Gates of Lodore are below Brown's Park on the river. Generally, the water in heavier flows is not as clear as right below the dam, and the trout populations are more sparse. I was actually hoping to catch the rogue pike or smallmouth, but that didn't happen for me. Through several days of running the river, I saw only carp.
My advice would be to use spinnerbaits or bait. The river is not very deep in most places, even in higher flows, unless it was a narrow stretch of river. Trolling won't really work, because of the shallow river, and because you are floating with the water. This would be similar to dropping pop gear over the side of a stationary boat. Except you will be floating over a shallow riverbed full of rocks. If you take pop gear, take a lot of it.
You will pass by the confluence with the Yampa river, which I understand is the source of some of the undesired catch/kill species. Again, flows are likely low enough not to have a drastic effect on water clarity, but it might become much murkier.
When you pass the confluence (day 3 or 4 I think), you may be fortunate enough to camp at Jones Hole Creek. All of the camping is regulated in the canyon, so there is a good chance you could find out where you are assigned to camp already. The creek has some slot limit regulations,(2 fish, only one brown over 15 inches) but it is loaded with healthy trout. You could cast spinners, which worked for me, but it is fly and artificial only, so no bait. I also fished at the river before the creek water blended, and caught a few there.
Be aware that you will be in motion for a good part of each day. Fishing rods may interfere with boat operation at times, so be prepared to put up your rod at a moment's notice, and to have the boat turn you away from your line often.
Check the regs and license requirements. Most of the trip you will be in Colorado, from the Gates to the state line just before you reach Jones Hole Creek. Really only your last day or two will be in Utah.
Last comment would be that there are several protected species in that stretch of river. You aren't likely to catch any of the rare ones, but you should either release everything you don't recognize, or learn what they look like.
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That is some good info. Nice to learn something about an area I've never been to.
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the furthest down you can catch a trout is about Jones hole. I have caught a grand total of 1 brown trout about a mile down from there during the winter when the river is low and clear. I did see 2 pike and some carp. Once you pass the Yampa (if you go that far down) you can start picking up small mouth in larger numbers.
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