Fish Lake- mac

[bigbusta]

When we got to fish lake at about 8:00 it was -10 outside, but the fishin was good. We fished the north-east end of the lake. between 4 of us we caght over 100 fish mostly 14-16" splake but a few decent bows, we fished from 60-90' of water and most fish were suspended at about 40'.

only 1 mac but a pretty good one.. 17.3 lbs 36" and 20" girth.. [cool]

ice is about 20" thick and solid as a rock-



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[orvis1]

Great fish thanks for posting!
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[RyanCreek]

Everytime I see a pic like that I'm reminded of how good the fishing is in Utah!
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[christopher30]

Man, i hate being right all the time.....I figured someone would post a good fish from fishlake this month. Nice fish too, can't ask for much better than that through the ice. This is the time of year, i wouldn't be surprised to see a few more posted on here within the next three weeks. Great Fish!
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[fuzzyfisher]

nice fish dude!! good job!![sly] i was headed that way my self this weekend but something else just came up.[unimpressed]. darn it!! i'll be there soon to chace them mac's around tho!!
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[Marathonman]

Good one! How'd you get that fish thru the hole. I'm heading down there friday for a few morning hours.
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[trfishin]

[cool] great report and dandy fish congratulations on the big one
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[Hooter_Patrol]

Nice Job bigbusta !!!!!!!!!
love thought big macks [fishin][]
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[Theekillerbee]

What a great lookin' fish! Nice work man.
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[SkinnyLynnie]

Just when I thought the ice fishing was over for this year, I get news like this. Thanks for the encouragement! Maybe I'll manage one more ice-fishing trip (to Fish Lake) this season.
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[liv2hunt]

Hell of a fish!! I am waiting for my turn to pull one of those out of fish lake! Looks like a great day at fish lake.. congrats!
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[bigfishwanted]

I'll agree that was a nice looking mac.Nice job!Who can tell me why the mac caught out of fish lake are darker in color than the ones caught at the gorge?



Rapala that which is irresistible to fish will always be irresistible to the fisherman....................................[fishin]
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[bigbusta]

thanks for all the kind words- thats my buddy Robert in the pic, hes the one who caught it. He caught it on a 24" berkley lightning rod with 6lb test-

I would also like to know why the fish lake macs are so much darker than ones out of the gorge or bear lake?

-Robert thought he caught the worlds biggest splake because it had so much color....

by the way- mine will be posted next week.... we are goin back down tuesday and wednesday.. It should be a little bigger!
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[Weekend_Warrior]

Wow.... thats a fish I only dream of!! Great job and sweet pics. Two more months and i'll be chasing em.
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[bigfishwanted]

I'm glad I'm wearing my boots...lol..Not really I'll be waiting to see the picture...................Thats a hell of a job using 6lb test on a 24" pole.That must of been a fun fight.[cool]



If you aim at nothing your sure to hit it...............[fishin]
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[hossr]

Very nice fish Thanks for sharing the pics [fishin]
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[christopher30]

bigfish and bigbusta,
All of the sizeable macs i've seen come out of fishlake have that chocolate brown tint to their sides, and the ones i've seen pulled through the ice have been even darker. They lighten up a little bit in the late spring, but when they spawn they darken up again. According to a taxidermist i use/know in richfield, the macks in fishlake are the only macks in the world that exhibit that dark brown color. Can't explain why, i've heard people say it's because fishlake is soooo deep, but i don't think thats it.
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[bigfishwanted]

Thanks for you reply................Nice fish in picture!!!!!!!!!!
Is that from this winter?How big was it?Do you catch a lot like that in fish lake?


Rapalas R rated G for everyone.......................[fishin]
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[RyanCreek]

I have no idea exactly why the Fish Lake lakers would be generally darker in color, however that darker coloring is more common with lake trout in the north, such as in Canada. They do have alot of variability in color.

"Back and sides usually dark green liberally sprinkled with whitish to yellowish (never pink or red) spots; overall color varies from light green to gray, brown, dark green or nearly black; belly white; pale spots present on dorsal, adipose and caudal fins and usually on base of anal; sometimes orange-red on paired fins, especially in northern populations; anterior edge of paired and anal fins sometimes with a white border. At spawning time, males develop a dark lateral stripe and become paler on the back (Ref. 27547). "

I'm going out on a limb here, but it could be that the fish in Fish Lake and in Flaming Gorge are from different ancestral populations of lake trout. Fish Lake was first stocked with Lake Trout over 100 years ago, in 1900 [url "http://wildlife.utah.gov/fishing/fish_lake/fish_lake_lake_trout.pdf"]http://wildlife.utah.gov/..._lake_lake_trout.pdf[/url] , and has been largely self sustaining ever since. Plantings have occurred, but a recent study showed that 97% of the Fish Lake lake trout had no adipose fin clippings (so they had not been stocked). Flaming Gorge was not completed until 1962. Supposedly, the Lake Trout in Flaming Gorge drifted down from the Green River drainage and then took hold [url "http://www.utahfishinginfo.com/utahlakes/flaminggorge.php"]http://www.utahfishinginfo.com/...kes/flaminggorge.php[/url].

The Fish Lake population of piscivorous lake trout eat mainly small rainbow trout. They used to eat chubs, but the illegal perch planting outcompeted the chubs and forced lakers to eat more trout. In contrast, the Flaming Gorge population of trophy lake trout eat mainly Kokanee. They could make a difference, but maybe not.

I do know that simple differences in dissolved minerals in the water and PH levels can make a difference in fish coloring.

Here are some pics of other dark lake trout from Canada.



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[christopher30]

I don't catch alot by any means, but that fish is my 2nd biggest and the 4th one over 20lbs i've pulled out of there in the last two years. It's not like the gorge, when someone catches a fish over 20lbs at fishlake it's a "trophy", but there are some close to 40 in there. Not many, but some (lake record is 42lbs and 42 inches).....Bigbustas fish is a trophy for sure, only a handful of people catch fish like that at fishlake in a lifetime.
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