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Hit Echo this morning and had decent, steady action until quitting when the wind kicked up about noon. Most of the good marks were between 30-50 feet so I split the difference at 40 feet. Pink and white seemed to be the color of choice. All the fish on the downrigger were nice, fat 18-20 inch bows except for one very nice 23 incher. Some of the bows had sores -- not sure what that is about...
I also flat lined a white jig but had a heck of a time keeping the planters off and almost gave up on it. However, the bigger fish seemed to move up as the morning went on and I ended up with a couple of nice bows up top. I didn't note the water temp, but the water level is really up compared to the last time I was there 3 weeks ago. It isn't full, but another couple weeks of rain and it might be.
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Nice report, thanks! I'm thinking about bringing my boat up on Monday... I've never trolled up there, is any one spot more productive than another? Were you pulling squids behind dodgers/pop gear? I was thinking of dropping some cranks down on the rigger...
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I pulled a pink and white spinner with a few beads tipped with a white gulp tail. I had two poles with the same setup ready to go. One had a dodger, the other did not. Just for grins, about halfway through the day I swapped poles to the one with the dodger. Honestly I could not tell the difference. The fish were hitting both setups.
As far as where to find the fish, I've only fished Echo a few times. However, it seems like every time I go I end up catching fish in a different spot. Mostly I just move around scouting for marks when I find them, work that area the rest of the day. Today I was out in the middle.
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[quote RBF] All the fish on the downrigger were nice, fat 18-20 inch bows except for one very nice 23 incher. Some of the bows had sores -- not sure what that is about...
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Those sores are from anchor worms or at least I think that is what their called, they are in all the bows from that drainage. Rockport, East canyon and Echo all have that problem with the rainbows. Lost creek is the only lake in that area that doesn't have they in the bows. They come out of the fish in the Fall, when the water temps get below a certain temp. The anchor worms spend the Winter in the mud bottoms of the lakes, then they come out of the mud when the water temp gets warm enough and get into the fish again. The DWR claim it will not hurt you to eat the fish because the anchor worms is only in the skin but it differently cause the fish to look pretty bad, especially in the Fall when the anchor worms comes out of the fish.
Nice report and pics, sounds like you had a good day. One question, do they still charge a water user fee to launch your boat on Echo?
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Thanks for the info about the worms. I guess that is good news...looks awful though.
It costs $15 to launch. There is a season pass available but I am not sure what is costs. It seems a little sketchy -- hit or miss whether anyone is there to take your money and no honor envelopes available in the dispenser.
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yeah, anchor worms don't scare me! The trout taste just as good as any others around, even if there is a little added protein!
So, does the state parks season pass work at Echo or is it one of those crazy expensive private lakes like Pineview?
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