Flaming Gorge Browns

[300win]

He pushed his minnow lures. He said he fished after Christmas until March. Sounded like the hour before daylight was his favorite. It's to bad the Gorge will never be like that again.
[signature]

[300win]

Here you go Fish.
[signature]

[wiperhunter2]

Wow that last pic is a monster brown, was it caught at the Gorge?
[signature]

[300win]

Yes that is one of the pics from Ray Johnson book back in the 70s when they caught all those giant browns. There are pictures of dozens of browns like that in his book.
[signature]

[wiperhunter2]

I heard that a guy by the name of Twitchel held the record for a while during that time, have you heard that as well?
[signature]

[300win]

I haven't heard that name before. I know Robert Bringhurst has the state record of 33 pounds caught in 77 out of the gorge. It sounds like there were alot of fisherman after the browns back then. I think the biggest Ray ever caught was 29 pounds. He was the most famous for fishing for the browns there I believe. I wish they still planted the browns there even though the chubs are gone. Maybe we would still get a few big ones. The Gorge is a pretty amazing reservoir. It sounds like it was something special in the 70 though. When you read his book you cant believe how many big browns they caught and he even said the Fish and Game netted a 48 pound brown[fishon] that was released. That would have been something to hook into.[fishon]
[signature]

[Flyfishinglover]

Ya for sure browns do put a better fight then those cutties [].
[signature]

[jacksonlaker]

There are still brown trout in the Gorge. They are few and far between , I have caught a few trolling for rainbows. The Gorge is a top 5 lake trout fishery, maybe the number 1 Kokanee lake in the country, holds the state record brown , rainbow, laker, smallmouth and Kokanee for Wyoming. I'm not sure why anyone would want to put more fish in that lake. We should enjoy the Gorge, for these are the glory days of that lake !
[signature]

[wiperhunter2]

I use to work with one of his sons (Twitchell) and he told me that his Dad held the state record for browns back in the day. Must have been before Robert Bringhurst or Ray. There are still plenty of Browns in the Gorge but without the chubs to feed on, they will never get to the size they once were, even if they stocked them. I think lake browns hug the shore line more and those big ones rarely go out into the open water chasing fish like kokanee. That being said, I also know that browns up to 6 or 7 lbs do chase kokes in lakes like Porcupine because I know members that have caught them there while trolling for kokes. In the tournaments at the Gorge, Browns are caught every year up to 4 or 5lbs and it is likely that there are 10 lbers in the lake, few people target them though.
Hopefully Ryno will chime in here and tell us what are the largest Browns he has seen caught at the Gorge while they are doing the gill net surveys.
[signature]

[300win]

I hope Ryno does. That would be interesting to here what they get in the nets.
[signature]

[Gemcityslayer]

Don't forget too that Tiger Trout have been stocked in the Gorge over the past few years.

I'd love to see that effort continue. Wonder how big a tiger trout can get feeding on burbot?[]
[signature]

[brookieguy1]

Tiger trout. What a waste of fishflesh! They stock 'em so small all they'll become are feeders. But that's a good thing, other than they could have stocked 'bows, browns, or some worthwhile fish instead of wasting money.
[signature]

[Ryno]

Curt,

We rarely sample browns on the Utah side of the Gorge. The only "big brown" we've sampled in the last 7-years was a 12lber out of Sheep Creek Bay, in May of 2007. It was an extremely impressive fish and pulled out of about 30ft of water. And yes, it was released successfully, so it still could be out there swimming around.

We occasionally sample browns throughout the reservoir in spring or fall nets and even have some run up Sheep Creek into our kokanee trap in the fall. Most of these fish are probably 16-24 inches. I've personally only caught one brown from the reservoir, actually in the back of South Skull Creek while targeting spring rainbows.

WGFD used to stock brown trout on the north end of the reservoir. They stocked about 90K 3-inch browns in 2013, but if I recall that's the last year they will be stocking them. I think it was something to do with the availability of those fish?

Like you stated, some anglers still target and catch them and there are brown trout weighed in at the derbies. I think those anglers hold their techniques sacred, but shallow, near shore presentations on the north end of the reservoir are a good place to start.

Hope that helps, Ryno
[signature]

[wiperhunter2]

Thanks for the added info Ryan, I knew you would have some answers to the Brown trout in the Gorge questions. Also good to get first hand info.
[signature]

[TT600]

I have wondered about fishing at night around the ramps after the stocker truck dumps in a bunch of rainbows. Easy pickings for a few days there for predators.
Is the rainbow supply from Jones Hole still secure? I had heard rumors it was on the chopping block.
[signature]

[wiperhunter2]

You need to ask Ryno that question, not me, I haven't got a clue.
[signature]

[300win]

Ryno thanks for answering about the netting. I have one more question for you. Do you know why Utah doesn't plant Browns in the Gorge? It seems like minimal stocking every year could make it a even better fishery. Without impacting the current fishery. What are your thoughts?
[signature]

[DrewT]

Utah has been hesitant to stock browns in reservoirs because they show up at a significantly lower catch rate in surveys (lakes and reservoirs, not rivers) than other stocked cold water fish. This gives the state a significantly lower ROI on them. Remember, for stocked gamefish, if they don't show up in the creel eventually (even C&R, as that is accounted for), it's lost money.
[signature]

[Gemcityslayer]

I personally don't think stocking tiger trout is any more of a waste than stocking anything else. Yes tiger trout are more expensive to raise from what I understand...

But they are a neat fish and while some hate them, others love them... I think if the G/F keeps putting them in there people will eventually catch some nice ones (15+lbs)

It might not be the best lake I can think of to put them in, because it is such a large reservoir - even with the stocking I have not heard of anyone catching any of the tigers.

Ryno - What is the deal w/ Gorge Tiger Trout? How many have been stocked? How are they doing? Are they going to continually be stocked or was it a one time effort to see if anything could be done about the burbs?
[signature]

[Therapist]

I imagine that the main reason that we don't hear about big browns coming out of the Gorge, Starvation, or Deer Creek is that no one take the time to fish for them.

Bringhurst and the crew, yes even Ray, spent hours and hours trolling the shoreline upthere, after dark, in the middle of some very cold and nasty weather.

There was a small, dedicated group that concentrated on those big browns and they were very successful at it. Some of those fish may have been stocked, but I would guess is that the majority of them came down the Green from up stream in Wyoming. Like Ryno stated, they don't stock anymore because the Federal Hatchery where they got the fry was shut down.

If you want to chase some big browns, learn to drag those big Rapala's, at night, from now till ice up. Deer Creek has some, Jordanelle, and Starvation. The fish are still there, you just have to go after them.

Regarding the Chub problem. The Lakers and browns did not remove the chubs from the Gorge, it was the SMB. Yes, the Browns and Lakers did their share of damage, but the main predator were the SMB.