Flaming Gorge First Visit

[Hail2dskins]

My wife and I will be making our first trip to Flaming Gorge this spring(May2020?) I was hoping someone would provide me with some general knowledge.  I am overwhelmed with all the basics I need to pull this trip off. My first concern before I can really start planning this process is deciding what month and which week to fish for lake trout? My next concern is what arrangements (special permits, fees?) do I need to have in place to launch my Colorado boat on Flaming Gorge. My first thought is that we will be staying in Manila and launching out of Lucerene Valley Marina. I do know that I will require a fishing license and second rod stamp from both Utah and Wyoming. Unless I can talk my wife into fishing I do not have to worry about licenses for her. I have spent the last couple of months researching everything I can get my hands on off the internet but still have not found the information that makes me feel comfortable about this trip. I have already ordered several lake maps in order to at least have a general idea where we are fishing.  From what I have gathered on the internet I assume we will be spending the majority of my time searching for lake trout around the Lucerene, Atelope Flats and Pipeline areas.  I have a 17ft Tracker boat with electronics and gear that I use to fish lake trout in Colorado.  I prefer to jig for these wonderful fish and I am not setup to troll. I am most certainly not asking for anyone to share there secret spots for lake trout, but just hoping for a starting point and any other requirements I may have not even considered before heading out on this trip.

Can anyone on this site respond or point me in the right direction to get some general help?

I will be grateful for any tips and advice that anyone is willing to offer.


Thanks, Hail2dskins

[FishwithKids]

Hail2dskins,
I fish the gorge regularly during the spring and summer. I live in Wyoming and my boat is licensed there and regularly launch at lucerne without any issues. We stay in the Forest Service Camp Ground at Lucerne. I primarily target kokanee but do enjoy lake trout fishing now and again. Jigging is my primary method. Antelope Flats, Swim Beach are probably the most popular spots for lakers if launched out of Lucerne. I've usually used tubes in white, pearl and green to catch them. Obviously look for underwater structure and use your electronics.

[Hail2dskins]

Hail2dskins,
I fish the gorge regularly during the spring and summer.  I live in Wyoming and my boat is licensed there and regularly launch at lucerne without any issues.  We stay in the Forest Service Camp Ground at Lucerne.  I primarily target kokanee but do enjoy lake trout fishing now and again.  Jigging is my primary method.  Antelope Flats, Swim Beach are probably the most popular spots for lakers if launched out of Lucerne. I've usually used tubes in white, pearl and green to catch them.  Obviously look for underwater structure and use your electronics.

FishwithKids thanks for the response.  I appreciate your help!

Hope some folks will reply.

Thanks!

[SkunkedAgain]

I think your choice of May is a great time to fish the gorge... I never get a chance to make it out then, but that's usually one of the best times of the year for fishing there. I'm not qualified to tell you much about the gorge but I hope Ryno or Jim will respond from down there, they will be able to get you all the info you need... Have a little patience I don't think TarponJim or Ryno hit the site real often, but when they get on line they are a wealth of knowledge, so hang tight and you'll get some good info... Later Jeff

[Bduck]

First of all to fish the Gorge you need to know what side of the fence your going to fish. If your fishing Utah the nonresident license includes a 2nd rod. There is a boat fee now for AIS I believe is $20 and an online AIS test that is now required can be found thru the Utah DWR web. If your fishing both Wyoming & Utah you will need licenses from both states, pay $30 for AIS decal from Wyoming & the Utah fee too, these fees are good for the calendar year. As far as laker fishing someone should be able to chime in to guide you where to go. 

[Hail2dskins]

First of all to fish the Gorge you need to know what side of the fence your going to fish. If your fishing Utah the nonresident license includes a 2nd rod. There is a boat fee now for AIS I believe is $20 and an online AIS test that is now required can be found thru the Utah DWR web. If your fishing both Wyoming & Utah you will need licenses from both states, pay $30 for AIS decal from Wyoming & the Utah fee too, these fees are good for the calendar year. As far as laker fishing someone should be able to chime in to guide you where to go. 

Thanks Bduck, I appreciate any and all information possible.

[Ryno]

Just a few suggestions to build on what others have said.

Being Flaming Gorge is a National Recreation Area, and providing you don't have some type of Interagency Pass, you'll need a Recreation Pass to launch.  They can be purchased at local vendors or the US Forest Service office in Manila, or if you're going to just do daily passes ($5), they're also available at the fee tube at the top of the launch ramp.

If you launch or boat in Utah as a non-resident, you'll need to complete the Mussel Awareness Certification and purchase a $20 launch permit.  More information, the test, and the online purchase option, go to the following website.  You may also interact with an AIS specialist at the launch who will record your information, make sure you're displaying your certification and permit, and also adhering to the "removed bilge plug" rule. 

https://stdofthesea.utah.gov/

Finally, if you launch in Wyoming, you'll need to purchase the Wyoming Game and Fish (WGFD) AIS decal ($30) and have a mandatory boat inspection.  Anvil Draw, north of Manila, is the closest inspection location.  If you launch in Utah and boat into Wyoming, you don't need a WGFD mandatory inspection but you'll still need the AIS decal.  You can find out more information and purchase a decal at the following WGFD website.

https://wgfd.wyo.gov/Fishing-and-Boating...Prevention

Lastly, there's no longer reciprocity for non residents fishing Flaming Gorge, so you'll need the fishing license for the state you're fishing.  Neither state has a 2-pole permit, so no worries there, you can fish two poles per license in the open water.

In terms of fishing, you've selected some good areas.  A map is helpful, like the Flaming Gorge Reservoir Map by Fish-n-Map Co., but I also recommend Navionics or something of that nature to find lake trout haunts.  May is a good time to target lake trout, and you'll likely find fewer people on the lake, but June is also a good time and catch rates are usually a little higher.

Hope that helps and you have a great trip.  Ryno

[Hail2dskins]

Just a few suggestions to build on what others have said.

Being Flaming Gorge is a National Recreation Area, and providing you don't have some type of Interagency Pass, you'll need a Recreation Pass to launch.  They can be purchased at local vendors or the US Forest Service office in Manila, or if you're going to just do daily passes ($5), they're also available at the fee tube at the top of the launch ramp.

If you launch or boat in Utah as a non-resident, you'll need to complete the Mussel Awareness Certification and purchase a $20 launch permit.  More information, the test, and the online purchase option, go to the following website.  You may also interact with an AIS specialist at the launch who will record your information, make sure you're displaying your certification and permit, and also adhering to the "removed bilge plug" rule. 

https://stdofthesea.utah.gov/

Finally, if you launch in Wyoming, you'll need to purchase the Wyoming Game and Fish (WGFD) AIS decal ($30) and have a mandatory boat inspection.  Anvil Draw, north of Manila, is the closest inspection location.  If you launch in Utah and boat into Wyoming, you don't need a WGFD mandatory inspection but you'll still need the AIS decal.  You can find out more information and purchase a decal at the following WGFD website.

https://wgfd.wyo.gov/Fishing-and-Boating...Prevention

Lastly, there's no longer reciprocity for non residents fishing Flaming Gorge, so you'll need the fishing license for the state you're fishing.  Neither state has a 2-pole permit, so no worries there, you can fish two poles per license in the open water.

In terms of fishing, you've selected some good areas.  A map is helpful, like the Flaming Gorge Reservoir Map by Fish-n-Map Co., but I also recommend Navionics or something of that nature to find lake trout haunts.  May is a good time to target lake trout, and you'll likely find fewer people on the lake, but June is also a good time and catch rates are usually a little higher.

Hope that helps and you have a great trip.  Ryno

Ryno,

Wow, thanks for taking the time to share all this information.  This is very helpful and makes my up coming trip much less stressful.

Thanks!!!  

[Hail2dskins]

I wanted to thank everyone on this thread that provided valuable information for my trip. I just got back from from this beautiful Flaming Gorge vacation. I wished I could claim that we caught a lot of fish but that was not the case. As a matter of fact we fished hard for 4 days and only caught one lake trout (12lbs) the entire trip. I was really surprised that we could not find the pup lake trout that everyone claims were out of control? The weather was spectacular and the wind was very minimal the entire 4 days of our visit.

I must say that the biggest surprise of the entire trip was the lack of boat inspections at the Lucerne boat ramp when we arrived. Prior to making this trip it appeared that the inspection process was going to be very detailed and that I must have all my ducks in a row. On Monday morning we arrived at the boat ramp and no inspections or employees were on hand? Everyone else launching boats told us not to worry and just go ahead and launch our out of state boat and have a good time. We fished for 4 days and never once did we get inspected coming or going from from the lake. Besides this awkward situation we still had a great time.

As I mentioned we did not do well at all when it came to catching lake trout but you can bet that I will be back again next spring to try this again!

Thanks,