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Just got back from 3 days at the Gorge. 2 in Wyoming that I will post on the Wy. board as not to upset P-Hopper and his friend Randy. Randy has been know to run things over with a snowmobile and I can't run very fast. We started out walking and cutting our way out of the boat ramp at Lucerne Marina. 6" of beautiful ice. We then walked down off the camp ground point in Linwood and started cutting our way to third base off the point, that got old so we launched the sled at the boat ramp in Lucerne and while someone went out to scout the way around the point, someone else unloaded the gear. I chickened out at the south point off the Marina and went back to get my buddy. We took the sled to the end and walked south off the point. Let me put it this way, it ain't safe. You cannot go south or north out of the marina past the big pressure ridge. DON'T GO PAST THE TIRES AT THE MARINA! They do have heat in the bathroom thank god, a change of shorts was in order after that.
Oh, the report. Well lets see LINWOOD HAS SAFE ICE! 5 inches and you can run snowmobiles on it. Some stupid moron was the first to run on it, someone even dumber was riding on an Ice Condo behind the sled. Anyway, met some other guys with sleds and we all went together and launched out of the State Line camp ground. We took it slow on the way out, driving and cutting, got to the third mound and fished it for a while, no luck. Someone and a guy we met named Albert took off for third base after about an hour of no fish. Once it was determined that the ice could hold 5 sleds, everyone else joined in. We fished third base for about 5 hours with only three fish on the ice. 2 around 6 pounds and one nice one a kid with Alberts group got that was 15#s 7 oz. Not a monster but it was on a light weight spinning rod with 10# test. With coaching from my buddy he did a materfull job fighting and landing the fish. All three fish were caught on a Pumpkin seed tube, tipped with meat. None by me. Great day to be on the ice, no wind, sunshine after about noon and great company. My buddy will post the pictures soon.
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ICEFishingGod,
Thanks for the nice report! I have a couple of questions since I'm an avid Mac fisherman at the gorge. When you stated linwood bay had 5" of ice, was that the whole bay all the way across? I also fish the stateline ( Swim Beach) area, and north of it along the ( mound) ridge. Was this the area you were fishin, and how thick was the ice in the stateline area? I've got a bunch of good GPS coordinates saved from last fall in this area and was hoping to get out there with Sleds next weekend. [cool]
Again, thanks for the excellent report. I can't wait to see the pictures.
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The whole bay has 5" of ice all the way from the inlet to the 155' line. We fished the gravel mounds in Linwood, 3rd base is the where the ridge line ends off the very SE most portion of the bay. The guys we were with moved north along the ridge line and when we left at 4:30 they hadn't caught anything. Becarefull if you try to cross the main lake over to Antelope, we didn't go that far and there are some nasty looking pressure ridges out in the main chanel off the entrance to Horseshoe. We didn't go off of swim so I have no idea what the ice conditions are like, it's capped with no open water. I do know guys are fishing the pipeline on sleds, so swim "should" be safe. There is no snow on the ground so we just drove the trailer right onto the ice in Linwood. We ran into some guys fishing the 3rd mound and they didn't get anything, I don't know what they were using.
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][size 3]Here's a picture of the best fish caught on Sunday. The kid was excited but did a good job of keeping his wits and playing the laker just right. It's not a monster but it was fun to see him "shaking" with excitement while holding his trophy for the picture. Notice the shameless promotion on his head![/size][/font] [center][/center] [center] ![[Image: gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=2405;]](http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=2405;) [/center] [left]
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Shameless. Buy that kid a hat at least! [  ]
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[font "Lithograph"][#ff8000][size 4]IFG- I can't believe thats what I get for not fishing sunday and going back to school[mad][/size][/#ff8000][/font]
[font "Lithograph"][#ff8000][size 4]I guess i'll have to take it out on the squirrels and dogs.[/size][/#ff8000][/font]
[font "Lithograph"][#ff8000][size 4]latter [/size][/#ff8000][/font]
[font "Lithograph"][#ff8000][size 4]Gills[/size][/#ff8000][/font]
[font "Lithograph"][#ff8000][size 4][/size][/#ff8000][/font]
[font "Lithograph"][#ff8000][size 4]P.S. thanks for posting the WYO side[/size][/#ff8000][/font]
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O.K. IFG. This is what I've been talking about. I've fished up there for a few years and I have no idea of the places you are talking about. I know that there are humps in the bay, but which one is third mound, and where is third base?
If the hump you are talking about is the rise that normally comes up to about 50', which is about 37' this year, you would have been out in the bay a ways. I have never ice fished up there and would give my left...well I'd really like to ice fish up there. If you could give me any ideas, I would be ever so in your debt. Full credit for anything caught at the very least. Thanks in advance for anything you are willing to share.
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][size 3]Hey Randy![/size][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][size 3]I tried calling PHopper when we were sitting on the ice on Linwood but all's I got was his voice mail. I was going to rub it in a little for fun. We saw plenty of fish on sonar; mostly lookers not takers but it was pretty cool being the first on the Linwood gravel piles. The other two fish, about 7lbs, were worth taking pics of but the other was worth the effort to get the camera out.[/size][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][size 3]If you and Phopper are headed out again, give me and IFG a buzz. We'll go. In the mean time pile drive a few coyotes and brand a few tree squirrels for me... HA![/size][/font]
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CF,
Linwood has 4 mounds that were left over gravel from the building of the dam. Some people say 3 some 5, but I've found 4. If you don't have a map get one so you can see what I'm talking about.
The depths I'm talking about are actual, the ones on the map may be 27' deeper, but you get the idea.
At the entrance to Linwood draw a straight line between the last green shelter on the campground and the set of 4 T-poles on the west side of the entrance to Rainbow canyon (the entrance to Horseshoe) (you can't see these on a map but will see them when your up there).
On a map you will see a rise in depth from 155' (main green river channel), entering Rainbow, go west you will see a rise climbing to 86'. Look south of that rise you will see a channel that is 126' deep, (this is the old Henery Fork River channel). The spot where the old river channels meet is 3rd base. It's called 3rd base because if you were to draw a line between the tops of the four big rises in Linwood it looks like a baseball diamond (somewhat distorted).
Home plate is directly north of 3rd base. It's were the ridge line ends, drops to 112', then comes back up to 66'.
First base is center of the bay, about 3/4 of mile west of the center between home and 3rd. It is the 3rd mound. It is 61' deep at the top.
Second base is off the HF channel, and isn't a gravel mound, it's a natural rise (best I can figure, I haven't dove on this one). It goes from 122' to 82' in a big hurry. It's about 1/2 mile southeast of 3rd base.
The second mound (pitchers mound) is between 3rd and first, slightly north of center. I haven't fished the second mound in a couple years. Doing math in public it should be around 68' at the top.
The fourth mound is farther east in the bay and has no name.
Points to remember: These are names my buddies and I use. Some others use them too since they used to hear us on the VHF talking and I like to share info at the boat ramp (before I was turned on to this site). The map isn't all that accurate, but it's close. The best way to learn Linwood is to keep the trolling gear stored, drive back and forth and mark the points on a GPS. BLM has a chart plotter and it helps immeauseably, we use it all the time. I didn't have one. The mounds don't look like volcanos, they are somewhat elongated with steps up the side. Drive by an active gravel mine and you'll get a good idea of what they look like. Spend a day looking at the contour of the bay on your FF and you'll be surprised how much your fishing will improve, (although it hasn't helped me this year and I know the bay).
Remember what IFG always says, if you ain't losin gear, it's because you ain't fishin it right. I don't have auto-riggers so I can say that. I jig now since rigger balls and K-15's get spendy after a while. I'm renting a dry suit, talking BLM into it and diving Linwood this year to recoup my loses. Between me and him we put 100 Schenules worth of gear on the bottom this year, and that was in only 8 days of fishing. Hope this helps.
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[font "Technical"][#0000ff][size 4]BLM, I am glad all you got was my voice mail, not sure I could handle you rubbing it in. I wish I could have stayed and fished with you guys. It was a blast. [/size][/#0000ff][/font]
[font "Technical"][#0000ff][size 4]I have some friends heading over tomorrow morning for two days and I am trying to get things squared away so I can go with them. Not sure if I will be able to break away but I want to hit the state line area and hope the ice is good enough. [/size][/#0000ff][/font]
[font "Technical"][#0000ff][size 4]P. Hopper [/size][/#0000ff][/font]
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Thank you IFG!!!!
I don't carry, or own, a GPS, so I have just gone by line of sight. I have fished half of the spots you named, but didn't know that they had been given names by anyone. I'll have to get an idea of the baseball diamond. I have not paid enough attention to the layout of the bay to notice it before. I've just paid attention to "spots" in the bay. That should make it a lot easier to use the maps, and sonar, to locate the smaller structure that can be very productive.
I haven't counted the humps in the bay, but I have jigged most of the structure I can find by sonar. Now I can at least line up the markers. I use the flat-faced rock across the bay from the State campground to mark the back of the last good hump. I have found that the Macks seem to hold on the deep side drops of the humps. I like to jig vertically or just barely drift so that you still keep the jig almost vertical off the "wall" side of the humps.
There is a small channel right as you enter the bay. I don't know how to explain it other than this. If you leave the boat launch and stay to the right, as you enter the bay, go just past the last point as you enter the bay, turn due South, and watch the depth drop from 40' or less to about 85' real fast. Criss-cross the area and you will see a V. Takes a minute to pinpoint the end of the channel, but there are always fish holding in it. I have caught them there every trip in the last two years. I haven't pulled any monsters out of there, but I have been told it is a good spot for big Browns.
I have two OK maps, nothing great. The "fishin map" that shows basic contour, and the good ol' Ray Johnson map showing where he and his family have caught the monsters. Between the two, I can usually find structure close to the markings on Ray's map using the contour map and start jigging.
I would love to dive the bay to get a fish-eye view of the structure. My lady friend is certified (what am I saying, she's with me, of course she's certifiable) and her uncle is an instructor. Refresher course for her, and certification for me, is on the agenda for the year. He usually does the open dive portion at Red Fleet or Flaming Gorge. I'll let you know how that goes.
Thanks again IFG. I might drag a few folks up there after the Fish Lake trip. I am still hoping that I can get the money together to make that one. I love Fish Lake and usually do quite well there in open water or on the ice.
[ ]What if your tips help me win the contest? That wouldn't exactly seem fair, would it? Not that I wouldn't take the prize and gloat, but it would seem a little unfair.
Honestly, I don't think you have anything to worry about from me. I seem to be able to be there when others catch the bigger fish(especially when I'm paying for the trip for some strange reason), but not catch them very often myself. Just enough to keep the fever alive and kicking. I hope to fish with you and BLM somewhere, sometime. Hope to see you on the water.
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