Gorge laker

[wiperhunter2]

Just got back from the Gorge, what a long day. We left at 3:30am and got back at 9pm. We iced 20 plus smaller lakers up to 22 inches and a couple of burbot. One of the macks had these orange fins that I have never seen before, has anyone ever seen this?
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[utwalleye]

sounds like you guys had a good time. that colored fin just about looks like a brookie in the spawn. later chuck
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[wiperhunter2]

Thats what I was thinking when I first looked at it, there was even a touch of white along some of the fins, just like a brookie. The only thing I could think was that both the brookie and mack are from the char family, so maybe that was why but it was the first time I have ever seen that color in a Mac. Even when I have seen that color on the brookies it is during the spawn, so it seems strange this time of the year. One of those mysteries of life I guess[crazy].
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[CROSSINEYES]

bingo. char family. even some of the big old mac,s have orange fins. looks like fun.
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[wiperhunter2]

Yea it was, we tried for the big ones for a while but most of the guys just wanted to catch some fish, so we moved shallow to catch the smaller macks. It was strange to catch a couple of burbot during the middle of the day, I guess it just goes to show how many of these slimy fish there are in the Gorge[unsure].
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[trfishin]

hey wiperhunter thanks for the report. How was the ice holding up when you were there. As for the orange fins on the macks I have been fishing the gorge a lot for 25+ years and I don't remember that many macks having the bright orange fins as a lot of them have now as I have caught this year and the past few years. A lot of the macks in the past growing up fishin for them had a little pink on the fins but now seem to have a lot of bright orange on the fins. They sure a pretty. thanks again
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[wiperhunter2]

Thanks for the reply TF, the ice is in good shape(15" plus), as far as the thickness goes. There are several pressure ridges we went across in the Anvil area, that had opened up a 1ft or more when we left at 5:30pm, so we had to be very careful and we went around them. The ice was very slick in the morning and up till about noon, then it started to melt and the surface started breaking up just enough that it made walking easier because it made the glassy surface melt. I'm not sure why but the water level appears to be dropping, when we drilled our holes the water was two inches below the ice level.
This was the first time I have seen a mack with the bright orange fins and the body was almost a bronze color. Of the 25 or so macks we caught, it was the only one like that. It almost makes me think there is a new strain of them in the lake. Either that or its a genetic thing that only shows up every so often. Your right though, it was cool looking color for a mac.
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[trout_slayer]

WH2,
Your fin question is probably a question that TarponJim could answer. I have seen quite a few just like that, that some of his clients have caught. Go to fishflaminggorge.com and check out some of his catches on there and you will see a few with those fins, but as far as how they get them or why, like I said ask him, he should know!!!
TS
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]I can toss in a little insight here, Bro. The coloration is mostly the result of natural changes during spawning, and which can hang on for awhile. It may happen in only a few fish and not all of them. And, it is more pronounced in males.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I have seen pictures of spawn-period lake trout taken from the shallower cold waters of the far north that almost look like brook trout they are so bright. (No, not arctic char). They seem to get more color when they are exposed to more light in shallower waters.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]There is no separate species involved. Macks, like most trout and char, can vary widely in color from water to water and from one time of year to another. And, the combination of available food sources, water chemistry, water clarity and light intensity can all work together to create different colors and brighter patterns.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Purty fins.[/#0000ff]
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[Tarponjim]

All I know is that some are lit up like a Christmas tree, and some are pale as a ghost, and some are very dark. The variables TD outlined are likely on target. I've seem 'em bright and colorful during every month of the year, and I've also had fish spewing eggs in my boat in May and June, when they spawn in November. ??? Some don't drop the eggs, the Wyo. biologists have said. I do notice more that are colorful during the fall spawning season and right after, so that seems to be a factor. Some likely are just that way, with the bright orange fins and white outline. It's definitely a common characteristic.
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[trout_slayer]

Good to hear from you Jim. How is Florida treating you? The Gorge going to be open for you in May? We have had a pretty good winter, so hopefully we get some stiff winds and milder/warmer weather to knock some of the ice off the old pond huh?
TS
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[utwalleye]

the char are closely related to salmon and trout but they are their own species of fish. they are salt water and fresh water swimmers.
they are salvelinus alpinus, not like the trout and salmon they are salmonidae. later chuck
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[wiperhunter2]

Thanks for the input Pat and Jim, on closer inspection of another picture I took, it appears they all have the orange fins. On the one I first took the picture of, they are just a brighter color[crazy]. This is not the best picture but I could still make it out when I enlarged it.
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]After making my last post, I watched a segment of "North to Alaska"...with Larry Czonka. They were fly fishing for lake trout (macks) on Grosvenor Lake, in the Katmai area of Alaska. The fish were at the mouth of an incoming river, gorging on salmon smolts migrating down river, and actually feeding on or near the surface. They were catching lakers on almost every cast with a white zonker?[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]My point? Every one of those lake trout had coppery colored bellies and the orange fins with white edges. Some were much darker than others. Cold, shallow water with lots of light penetration.[/#0000ff]
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