12-15-2010, 01:40 AM
[left][size 3]A friend of fishncoach caught a lake trout on a fly rod, talk about a fight-WOW he later wrote a report on it.[/size]
[center][font "Calibri"]Fly Fishing for Lake Trout[/font]
[center][font "Calibri"]By Allen Schaugaard[/font]
[font "Calibri"] A couple of years ago I decided I wanted to start fishing for more species using a fly rod, especially species that would require an 8wt. Ever since I started spey casting a two hander for steelhead, the 8wt has sat neglected in the closet. I started my search for new fish with Wipers and struck out a few times. I've still never caught one; however, anyone I go with hooks into them, so I guess I'm good luck. My next adventure was fishing for Tiger Musky, and I have been fortunate enough to hook into a couple. These fish provide and awesome fight and can make any fisherman nervous about removing a hook from a toothy mouth and it is all worth it, even when you leave a little flesh behind. Finally, last fall, I decided to try my luck on a big Mac. Conditions were less than optimal: the wind was blowing, the waves were big and after a couple hours of being beat up by the weather, we packed it up to head home.[/font]
[font "Calibri"] This fall I resumed my search of a big Mac with my fishing buddy Tim Patrick. We were on the water before it was light. Kicking our pontoon boats along the bank in about twelve feet of water, we could hear the occasional heavy splash of fish jumping nearby. About the time it got light, I felt a soft take. I set, and the rod doubled over, taking line off the reel. Several runs and a couple of minutes later the fish was almost straight below me, fighting with long, strong pulls. It took over five minutes to get it up to where I sat with my trout net. I made a couple attempts to net it, but I have never felt so useless with a net in my hands. Giving up on the net, we kicked to the bank where I was able to tail the fish in about two feet of water. I was fishing a Chubby Muffin (designed by Utah angler Nick Granato) and a Wiggle Bug (designed by Utah angler Larry Tullis). The fish took the foam backed wiggle bug and left enough tooth marks and tears in it to let me know that fly was meant to be breakfast. It was the kind of fight that I will remember every time I pick up my 8wt. After a quick picture and a couple of good laughs, we were back on the water searching for another one of Bear Lake’s monsters.[/font]
[font "Calibri"] Mackinaw are known as a fish that lives deep. If you look at Utah's three biggest lake trout lakes, Flaming George, Fish Lake and Bear Lake, it's no surprise that depths on these lakes reach a hundred feet or more, far too deep to fish with a fly rod. Due to a twist of fate, this fish from the deep comes in shallow to spawn and becomes accessible to fly anglers. Mackinaw like to spawn in rocky areas and off points. Early mornings and late nights are necessary when fishing for lake trout because they are most active in the mornings and evenings. When the fish are in shallow and ready to spawn, they can often be seen jumping to break up their egg sacs. It's exciting to hear the slap of ten pound fish hitting the water right next to your pontoon boat before it's light enough to see the tip of your fly rod. [/font]
[font "Calibri"] Whether fishing for lake trout while they're deep or when they come in shallow, it is necessary to get the fly to the bottom. A good ole' boy at Fish Lake told me one day that if your fishing more than five feet off the bottom fish won’t go for it—and I believe him. The Mac's I have marked on my depth finder have all been close to the bottom. I have used two lines for lake trout: a full sink type IV and a three hundred grain shooting head. Using the type IV line with a lead or tungsten head fly as a lead fly and a Wiggle Bug as a second fly I will occasionally hit bottom in twelve to fifteen feet of water. The three hundred grain line can hit bottom around twenty feet. The retrieve that seemed to work best for me is a long strip followed by a short pause. Most of my hits or takes have come on the pause, and each fish took far softer than I expected a thirty inch fish to take. Other flies to try are Double Bunnies, Sex Dungeons or any other big streamer patterns. Try them in red, white, yellow, tan, black or chartreuse.[/font]
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[center][font "Calibri"]Fly Fishing for Lake Trout[/font]
[center][font "Calibri"]By Allen Schaugaard[/font]
[font "Calibri"] A couple of years ago I decided I wanted to start fishing for more species using a fly rod, especially species that would require an 8wt. Ever since I started spey casting a two hander for steelhead, the 8wt has sat neglected in the closet. I started my search for new fish with Wipers and struck out a few times. I've still never caught one; however, anyone I go with hooks into them, so I guess I'm good luck. My next adventure was fishing for Tiger Musky, and I have been fortunate enough to hook into a couple. These fish provide and awesome fight and can make any fisherman nervous about removing a hook from a toothy mouth and it is all worth it, even when you leave a little flesh behind. Finally, last fall, I decided to try my luck on a big Mac. Conditions were less than optimal: the wind was blowing, the waves were big and after a couple hours of being beat up by the weather, we packed it up to head home.[/font]
[font "Calibri"] This fall I resumed my search of a big Mac with my fishing buddy Tim Patrick. We were on the water before it was light. Kicking our pontoon boats along the bank in about twelve feet of water, we could hear the occasional heavy splash of fish jumping nearby. About the time it got light, I felt a soft take. I set, and the rod doubled over, taking line off the reel. Several runs and a couple of minutes later the fish was almost straight below me, fighting with long, strong pulls. It took over five minutes to get it up to where I sat with my trout net. I made a couple attempts to net it, but I have never felt so useless with a net in my hands. Giving up on the net, we kicked to the bank where I was able to tail the fish in about two feet of water. I was fishing a Chubby Muffin (designed by Utah angler Nick Granato) and a Wiggle Bug (designed by Utah angler Larry Tullis). The fish took the foam backed wiggle bug and left enough tooth marks and tears in it to let me know that fly was meant to be breakfast. It was the kind of fight that I will remember every time I pick up my 8wt. After a quick picture and a couple of good laughs, we were back on the water searching for another one of Bear Lake’s monsters.[/font]
[font "Calibri"] Mackinaw are known as a fish that lives deep. If you look at Utah's three biggest lake trout lakes, Flaming George, Fish Lake and Bear Lake, it's no surprise that depths on these lakes reach a hundred feet or more, far too deep to fish with a fly rod. Due to a twist of fate, this fish from the deep comes in shallow to spawn and becomes accessible to fly anglers. Mackinaw like to spawn in rocky areas and off points. Early mornings and late nights are necessary when fishing for lake trout because they are most active in the mornings and evenings. When the fish are in shallow and ready to spawn, they can often be seen jumping to break up their egg sacs. It's exciting to hear the slap of ten pound fish hitting the water right next to your pontoon boat before it's light enough to see the tip of your fly rod. [/font]
[font "Calibri"] Whether fishing for lake trout while they're deep or when they come in shallow, it is necessary to get the fly to the bottom. A good ole' boy at Fish Lake told me one day that if your fishing more than five feet off the bottom fish won’t go for it—and I believe him. The Mac's I have marked on my depth finder have all been close to the bottom. I have used two lines for lake trout: a full sink type IV and a three hundred grain shooting head. Using the type IV line with a lead or tungsten head fly as a lead fly and a Wiggle Bug as a second fly I will occasionally hit bottom in twelve to fifteen feet of water. The three hundred grain line can hit bottom around twenty feet. The retrieve that seemed to work best for me is a long strip followed by a short pause. Most of my hits or takes have come on the pause, and each fish took far softer than I expected a thirty inch fish to take. Other flies to try are Double Bunnies, Sex Dungeons or any other big streamer patterns. Try them in red, white, yellow, tan, black or chartreuse.[/font]
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