New to KFF and going to Flaming Gorge

Hi All,
I am a new member of KP and KFF. I have fished few of the lakes in the Fresno, Ca area Shaver, Bass Lake ect. I have been fishing Koknee for about 4 years.
We as a family have decided to make our vacation destination Flaming Gorge Utah/WY We have got a house boat for the first week in Aug. and will be taking the 16' Koknee troller with us...I guess I am looking for any information on Flaming Gorge. What should we take, weather, temp, boat rigging, rods, lures, line size, Licensing, Bait, VHF Channels, Good fishing spots to get us started, ect...

Thanks
Dave B

This is a picture of my 8 year olds first Kok on tuesday at shaver lake
we did limit out with a bunch released!

Well.......................... Welcome abord.

Weather: It should be very nice for you this time of year. the evening are very pleasant and the days warm up very nice temps during the day can reach high 80s to low 90s. Higher altitudes, fater sunburn. However, we have a thing up here called Wind. It can be nasty. Speacilly out in a 17' boat. keep an eye to the sky. when and if you see the clouds building and and the wind picking up, GET OFF THE WATER. Period. Dont chance it, its not worth it. Mornings will be your best bet for great fishing and great weather.

Tackle. Most anything that you use down in your part of he woods works well up here.

Tocky mountain tackle is many of us around heres tackle of choice. Bahama mama dodgers, Hyper plad dodgers, Watermelon, Pink,pearlescent and chartruse colors work well. Depths for fish will range from 20-60 feet. There is a plethora of tackle out there that catches fish up there. ,most all of the local stores and Marinas are well stocked with what you will need if you dont have it. Pro cure scents will enhance your catch rate.thumbsup

Line size: most guys run 10-12 pound test.

Rods: Most all guys run a light weight kokanee rod. 7' with light action. baitcaster reels with a quality drag set up.

Licenseing: You can purchase your licenses at the marinas where you pick up your boat and such. Depending on what state you plan to fish. Go on line to the state web sites for both Wyo and Utah and you can get the price info on things.


You can pick up a nice bunch of kokes anywhere from the dam North. Just look for the boats and you will find fish. Just respect the distance of others and there is plenty of water to fish and you will be getting fat rainbows, kokes and some small lake trout. Depending on where your getting your house boat out of, you will more than likely spend a good deal of time close.

VHF radio main channel is 16 around there. the marinas all monitor that channel for emergencys and stuff.

With this being your first trip to the gorge, you would enjoy a trip down lake from Lucerne to the canyons area toward sheep creek. The scenery is spectacular.

There is more you need to know that some others will help out with, I cant remember all that you wanted to know, So hoild on, you should continue to get more info and enjoy your trip. good luck.

Dave

If your eight-year-old can boat fish like that, you'll have no problem at "The Gorge". Just be very mindfull of the afternoon thunderstorms during the summer months. If you're fishing allong the cliffs or in the canyons you may not see the storms comming until it's too late. Keep yur eye on the Western sky. I was fishing along the western cliffs across from the ranch house a couple of years ago, downriggers set and trolling nicely when a microburst wind came off the cliffs above and spun my 17' Smokercraft in a 360 before I could get it under control. Then it took me about a half hour to untangle the mess. One last thing from me, take plenty of sun block, sun screen or some shade with you on the boat. It can get real toasty during mid-day (10am - 6pm) and you can get a serious burn in about 45 minutes. Have a GREAT Time!

Dave - Where are you getting your houseboat out of? This will help dictate where you go fishing as well. Also get yourself the Fish-N-Map Flaming Gorge version as it will serve you well to know a few spots on the map or if you hear them on the radio. The popular spots will always have boats around them but there are so many spots with fish you shouldn't have to worry too much about specifics.

Kevin

Thank you all,

Kevin: we will be picking up the house boat at Lucerne and we were thinking of covering the water from Lucerne to Buckboard marina... any spots come to mind?... lon/lat# would be helpful so that I can pre enter them in the GPS and not wast time...Just looking for good starting points. as I will have 4 kids to make happy and thats a chore...I think the girls and tuffer then the boys when it comes to fishing
we mainly do Catch and Relese fishing as we do not freeze fish so it is a hold up snap a picture and let it go trip....

From what I understand the koknee limit is 3 fish per person after we are done playing with the koknee we also would like to target a few larger mac's any ideas?

As far as bait? as I know one cannot use sp.corn up there
and what flavor pro-cure?

As Far as VHF channel I was looking for more of a fishing info channel that the locals use. As I know Ch 9 and 16 are call and emergency channels

I am a rod builder and have 35+ years experience ocean fishing and running a boat in the ocean so wind on a lake shouldn't be a problem...As I am kind of use to winds and 2' to 20'+ swells in everything from a 11' zodiac to a 93' Donaldson long range boat. My last boat was a 30' skipjack out of Dana Point,Ca

For the Koknee I fish all Shimano Calcutta's 250 and 400 and Tica's reels
for rods I use Calstar blank custom wrapped rods... I was really wondering if I needed to bring along anything bigger than the BT130 calstars #4 to #12 rods?. As I have everything up to stand up tuna rods #130 class...I just want to make sure we bring what we need and nothing that we don't need as space is at a premium on our little boat

Dave B
16 crestliner angler, 2 scotty elec, pro-troll 900, humminbird798SI, old style black box, and more rods and reels then one could count, bigger boat in the works thumbsup

Sounds like you have great reels, no problem there. 16 is the main channel. Nine for emergency but everyone pretty much monitors 16.

Kokaholic said:

Sounds like you have great reels, no problem there. 16 is the main channel. Nine for emergency but everyone pretty much monitors 16.

Click to expand...

There is a flaming gorge map that you can get that has many lons and Lats in it along with contours and good fishing info it it.


There are marks on these maps that you can target the larger macs on. Troll large rapalas, flatfish for the large macs,

Carp spit is about number one, with kokanee special and trophy trout, Gulp maggots are good bait

Like I said before, run your light rods for the kokes and anything medium heavy will work good for your macs. Points with structure drop offs will produce fish

The question is how large of Rapalas?
and what color?
as I have sizes that one would use in the ocean from 4" to 15" in many colors

DaveB

Black and White
Black and Gold,
Rainbow trout
Brown trout
Blue and White

9 to 11 on size

Frog flat fish, perch scale, etc

Hi Dave - On the trip las year we fished last year it was from Buckboard to Middle Marsh. Middle Marsh is about 9 miles north of Lucerne on the Fish-n-Map. Definitely order up that map and you'll be able get familiar with the layout and names of places in advance. Upper Marsh and Skunk Cliffs were some other areas as well. You will see a lot of boats at the popular spots but don't be afraid to explore as well.

Kevin

I don't know if anyone metioned, in aug you are going to need to get deep. without a rigger your going to need help with a diver or weight.

Brownbagger,
I have riggers...

Brownbagger,
I have riggers...

sorry to get off topic but is there any where close to Fresno to look at a North River boat the wife gave me the thums up and said she wanted to look in to one...either a 21'x84" or a 22'x 84" with a 200 yah and a kicker...
Dave B

Dave - Are you looking for used or New? I'm from Fresno and purchased mine in Sac, however I think there not in operation any more, I think there was one in redding buy not to sure. Check on line. I have seen a few for sale on Craigslist. Good luck.

Ok, now I have gotten the Fish-n-map for Flaming Gorge, CD9 and CD11 in the colors listed , also got a few pancake rigger weights thought I would give them a try , 20 jars of Gulp maggits...anything else anyone can think of ?

what about a good place to get grocerys on our way in from CA?

Looks like we are planning on moving the house boat up the lake from spot to spot so that we are not too far from our base camp at any one time that takes care of the storm problems.
Does the lake level change from day to day?...something I kinda need to know when beaching a house boat I don't want to be stuck high and dry when i wake up one morning
how about snakes as the kids will want to explore or is that not a good idea?
we live out side of Yosemite park we have a few rattlers but not that many just wondering if I need to keep a close eye on them knowing my boys they will bring them back to the boat unless I tell them not to touch(it has happened with a baby rattler) we live in a house of never ending excitment tooexcited

Joetech) We are looking at new boats North River or Boulton I would really like to look them both over to decide then start the hunt. from what I understand North River is out of business so I may need a few other ideas of high end alum boats as a last resort I may end up building my own the money savings would be big but the time frame would put us back some...

Dave B

Dave,

Sounds like you have a good trip planned. Not sure on the groceries but as far as the water levels you don't have to worry about beaching or anchoring a boat and coming up high and dry the next morning. Water doesn't fluctuate that much and it has been rising a lot lately. What you need to be careful for are areas that look deep but will take the bottom of your motor off. If you stay pretty much in the middle of the lake when bombing from one location to another you will be fine. When going in close to shore there are just places I wouldn't be hauling through. Watch you f.f. or sounder and you will see those spots. Good luck, sounds like things might be picking up out there.

For groceries that you will need,there is a Smith's groc store here in Green River,it be your last real chance to get what you need,before you get you Lucerne. Goggle it and you prolly can get maps and directions.
As for the water level,this has been a banner year for water in the gorge. As a local I haven't seen this much water in the gorge since the early 80's. . The high levels definitely have the fish confused. By the time you get here the level will possibly of dropped some what. We don't have daily fluctuations in water level. We have seasonal fluctuations. Sounds like you have every thing else covered as to what you need. Wyoming has the fish,,but Utah has the scenery,I hope you get plenty of both.thumbsup

Dave....I have a Northriver Seahawk for sale...2008 18.6.....I sent a message
to your private message center on this site, but if you don't get it...just call me at 805-441-5743......My name is Mike and I'm in San Luis Obispo.....