ll kaidoy ll
Well-known member
Hey everyone,
I just returned from my annual trip to beautiful Flaming Gorge. Fishing was tough with the water tea colored from the rains that have been pounding the area on and off for the past couple months. The water was rising 4 inches a day while I was there. The amount of catching per day compared to previous years was down for us, but the quality was superb and the best so far!
I can't complain! Here's a day-by-day summary of our 5 days of fishing.
Monday, July 13th:
My dad and I left the marina around 6:30 and had lines in the water around 7. For the next 90 minutes, we had steady action bringing 8 fish to the boat. The first 4 fish were smaller juvenile fish between 14 and 16 inches. The next 4 were much larger however. I started things off by landing a 3 lb. 13 oz Kokanee, and then my dad followed with one that went 3 lb. 10 oz and also one that went 3 lb 9 oz. The next fish ended up to be a beautiful 4 lb. Rainbow Trout that we released. After that, we faced a 2 hour dry spell where I couldn’t even buy a hit. Around 10:30, I found a small pod of fish that wanted to play. In one hour, we landed a 3 lb. 3 oz fish and 3 smaller 14 to 16 inch fish to end the day for us at 11:30 before the wind picked up. The surface temperatures were between 66.8 degrees to nearly 69. The water clarity was tea colored. We caught fish between 30 and 50 feet with 35 and 40 feet bring the most consistent. We used the following setups tipped with meal worms and garlic and Kokanee special ProCure super gels for our fish:
• Silver with green tape Shasta Tackle 5.5” dodger with a green/yellow squid hoochie
• White glow Shasta Tackle 5.5” dodger with a pink/natural Radical Glow tube
• Copper melon Shasta Tackle 5.5” dodger with a homemade orange glow spinner
• Pink/green Rocky Mountain Tackle 4” dodger with a pink Rocky Mountain Tackle spoon
• UV pink splatter Rocky Mountain Tackle 4” dodger with a UV pink Rocky Mountain Tackle spinner
• Silver with green tape Vance’s Tackle dodger with a pink Radical Glow tube
Tuesday, July 14th:
The weather report said that it was supposed to be windy, and boy was it ever! At 6:30 AM when we left the marina, it was already white caps and had sustained winds of 20 mph with gusts into the 30s. We decided to go out and give it a shot before the weather got any worse. Running to the spot was fine as we were going in the same direction as the wind and the waves. We put the lines down around 7:00 with the winds at our backs. Within 10 minutes, the sustained winds were now into the 30s and 3 to 4 foot swells were crashing onto the swim platform on the back of the boat. We had our first fish on shortly after. Fighting it on ultralight gear and the wind pushing us at 1.8 mph made it tough. However, we were able to get it to the boat with the help of a 4 foot wave that literally picked the fish up and threw it on the swim platform for us. It was a 4 pound mackinaw. Not what we wanted, but that was the highlight of the day. We tried to make a pass into the wind. It worked out somewhat okay. We were able to maintain our heading with the autopilot on the bow. However, the waves were so big that it kept coming out of the water. By this time the wind was getting stronger and waves were coming over the bow (and I was getting a little scared for both myself and my dad). I made the decision to run north above the marina to some cliffs and bluffs that will provide wind protection. We made it, but just imagine the boats in “The Deadliest Catch” television show. That’s how the ride was for us. The water at the bluffs was flat calm, but no Kokanee were found. We only caught two more mackinaw for the day before we waived the white flag in defeat around 11:30 battered and beaten from Mother Nature. The water conditions were almost identical to Monday. . The surface temperatures were between 65.0 degrees to nearly 67. The water clarity was tea colored. We caught fish between 30 and 50 feet again. We used the following setups tipped with meal worms and garlic and Kokanee special ProCure super gels for our fish:
• White glow Shasta Tackle 5.5” dodger with a pink/natural Radical Glow tube
• Copper melon Shasta Tackle 5.5” dodger with a homemade orange glow spinner
• Silver with green tape Shasta Tackle 5.5” dodger with a pink Radical Glow tube
Wednesday, July 15th:
Tuesday we were battling the wind and windburn, and Wednesday we were trying to prevent sunburn. It was literally a “night-and-day” change from Tuesday. It was flat calm the entire morning we were fishing. I could not believe it. We left the marina again around 6:30 and had the lines in shortly after 7. Within 15 minutes, the first rod goes off. I tell my dad to grab it as I knew it was a big fish. It hit, popped the clip, and was already peeling line and heading to the other side of the boat. After a 12 minute battle, the fish was in the net. It turned out to be a monster Kokanee (even bigger than I imagined). We put it on my IGFA certified scale, and it topped around 4 lbs., 15 oz. It bounced between 5 lbs. even and 4 lbs., 14 oz. So just as an average, I’ll say it went 1 oz. shy of 5 lbs. We boxed it, and immediately had a double. They were just a small Mackinaw and a Kokanee that were released. The bite was not red hot, but we continued to bring fish in here and there until 11:30. We brought 15 fish to the boat – 11 Kokanee and 4 Mackinaw. Eight of the Kokanee were 14 and 16 inch fish, but my dad and I did manage to catch two Kokanee that went 4 lb. 3 oz. and 3 lbs. even to accompany the 4 lb. 15 oz. that was caught earlier. The biggest Mackinaw was about 6 lbs. The surface temperatures ranged from 66 to 69 degrees depending on the time of day, and it was tea colored. We caught fish between 33 and 50 feet with 35 and 40 feet being the most consistent for us. We used the following setups tipped with meal worms and garlic and Kokanee special ProCure super gels for our fish:
• Silver with green tape Shasta Tackle 5.5” dodger with a green/yellow squid hoochie
• White glow Shasta Tackle 5.5” dodger with a pink/natural Radical Glow tube
• Silver with green tape Shasta Tackle 5.5” dodger with a pink Radical Glow tube
• Silver with green tape Shasta Tackle 5.5” dodger with a clown colored squid hoochie
• Copper melon Shasta Tackle 5.5” dodger with a homemade orange glow spinner
• Pink/green Rocky Mountain Tackle 4” dodger with a pink Rocky Mountain Tackle spoon
• Pink/green Rocky Mountain Tackle 4” dodger with a watermelon Rocky Mountain Tackle spoon
• Rocky Mountain Tackle Bahama Mama 5.5” dodger with a blue Radical Glow hoochie mama
Thursday, July 16th:
My dad and I did the normal routine like always. We left the marina around 6:30 and had the lines in the water around 7. The bite had turned off and was pretty tough. I think that it is due to the water level in the lake continuing to rise 4 inches a day. It has the fished spread out and moving around the 90 mile lake, which is abnormal for this time of year. My dad and I worked hard for our fish and managed to bring 11 to the boat – 9 Kokanee and 2 Mackinaw. All the Kokanee were small (around 14 inches), but I did manage to bring in a 4 lb. 3 oz. Kokanee. The biggest Mackinaw was about 7 lbs. We quit at 12:30 PM. The water is still tea colored, and the surface temperatures ranged from 67 degrees in the morning to nearly 70 in the afternoon. The depths we fished today were from 33 down to 50 feet. All the fish were spread out between that range, and not one specific depth was superior over the other. We used the following setups tipped with meal worms and garlic and Kokanee special ProCure super gels for our fish:
• White glow Shasta Tackle 5.5” dodger with a pink/natural Radical Glow tube
• White glow Shasta Tackle 5.5” dodger with a black/white Rocky Mountain Tackle spinner
• Silver with green tape Shasta Tackle 5.5” dodger with a pink Radical Glow tube
• Copper melon Shasta Tackle 5.5” dodger with a homemade orange glow spinner
• All pink with glow tape Shasta Tackle 4” dodger with a Vance’s Tackle pink Sockeye Slammer
• Rocky Mountain Tackle Bahama Mama 5.5” dodger with a blue Radical Glow hoochie mama
Friday, July 17th:
Even though I was expecting it, it is still sad to think that this day is the end of my fishing at Flaming Gorge. We weren’t planning to leave Buckboard Marina until around 1:00 PM, so that left a little bit of fishing during the early morning before having to clean up the boat and packing everything in the RV to head home. My dad and I had the lines in the water shortly after 7, and it only took 5 minutes before we had our first fish to the boat. It was a 14 inch Kokanee that we released. For the next 90 minutes, we had bites here and there. We brought 7 Kokanee to the boat, and all were 14 inchers except for the 3 lb. 9 oz. Kokanee that we kept. It was our last fish, and it was a great way to end the 5 days of fishing. After cleaning up and saying our goodbyes to a few people that I met, we were back at the ramp and loading the boat on its trailer by 9 AM. The water conditions were exactly like Thursday in every way, shape, or form. The fish were caught at 33 and 35 feet. They didn’t want anything deeper or shallower. We used the following setups tipped with meal worms and garlic and Kokanee special ProCure super gels for our fish:
• White glow Shasta Tackle 5.5” dodger with a pink/natural Radical Glow tube
• Silver with green tape Shasta Tackle 5.5” dodger with a pink Radical Glow tube
• Copper melon Shasta Tackle 5.5” dodger with a homemade orange glow spinner
• All pink with glow tape Shasta Tackle 4” dodger with a Vance’s Tackle pink Sockeye Slammer
That’s it for this year, and I’m already looking forward to next year!
I just returned from my annual trip to beautiful Flaming Gorge. Fishing was tough with the water tea colored from the rains that have been pounding the area on and off for the past couple months. The water was rising 4 inches a day while I was there. The amount of catching per day compared to previous years was down for us, but the quality was superb and the best so far!
I can't complain! Here's a day-by-day summary of our 5 days of fishing.Monday, July 13th:
My dad and I left the marina around 6:30 and had lines in the water around 7. For the next 90 minutes, we had steady action bringing 8 fish to the boat. The first 4 fish were smaller juvenile fish between 14 and 16 inches. The next 4 were much larger however. I started things off by landing a 3 lb. 13 oz Kokanee, and then my dad followed with one that went 3 lb. 10 oz and also one that went 3 lb 9 oz. The next fish ended up to be a beautiful 4 lb. Rainbow Trout that we released. After that, we faced a 2 hour dry spell where I couldn’t even buy a hit. Around 10:30, I found a small pod of fish that wanted to play. In one hour, we landed a 3 lb. 3 oz fish and 3 smaller 14 to 16 inch fish to end the day for us at 11:30 before the wind picked up. The surface temperatures were between 66.8 degrees to nearly 69. The water clarity was tea colored. We caught fish between 30 and 50 feet with 35 and 40 feet bring the most consistent. We used the following setups tipped with meal worms and garlic and Kokanee special ProCure super gels for our fish:
• Silver with green tape Shasta Tackle 5.5” dodger with a green/yellow squid hoochie
• White glow Shasta Tackle 5.5” dodger with a pink/natural Radical Glow tube
• Copper melon Shasta Tackle 5.5” dodger with a homemade orange glow spinner
• Pink/green Rocky Mountain Tackle 4” dodger with a pink Rocky Mountain Tackle spoon
• UV pink splatter Rocky Mountain Tackle 4” dodger with a UV pink Rocky Mountain Tackle spinner
• Silver with green tape Vance’s Tackle dodger with a pink Radical Glow tube
Tuesday, July 14th:
The weather report said that it was supposed to be windy, and boy was it ever! At 6:30 AM when we left the marina, it was already white caps and had sustained winds of 20 mph with gusts into the 30s. We decided to go out and give it a shot before the weather got any worse. Running to the spot was fine as we were going in the same direction as the wind and the waves. We put the lines down around 7:00 with the winds at our backs. Within 10 minutes, the sustained winds were now into the 30s and 3 to 4 foot swells were crashing onto the swim platform on the back of the boat. We had our first fish on shortly after. Fighting it on ultralight gear and the wind pushing us at 1.8 mph made it tough. However, we were able to get it to the boat with the help of a 4 foot wave that literally picked the fish up and threw it on the swim platform for us. It was a 4 pound mackinaw. Not what we wanted, but that was the highlight of the day. We tried to make a pass into the wind. It worked out somewhat okay. We were able to maintain our heading with the autopilot on the bow. However, the waves were so big that it kept coming out of the water. By this time the wind was getting stronger and waves were coming over the bow (and I was getting a little scared for both myself and my dad). I made the decision to run north above the marina to some cliffs and bluffs that will provide wind protection. We made it, but just imagine the boats in “The Deadliest Catch” television show. That’s how the ride was for us. The water at the bluffs was flat calm, but no Kokanee were found. We only caught two more mackinaw for the day before we waived the white flag in defeat around 11:30 battered and beaten from Mother Nature. The water conditions were almost identical to Monday. . The surface temperatures were between 65.0 degrees to nearly 67. The water clarity was tea colored. We caught fish between 30 and 50 feet again. We used the following setups tipped with meal worms and garlic and Kokanee special ProCure super gels for our fish:
• White glow Shasta Tackle 5.5” dodger with a pink/natural Radical Glow tube
• Copper melon Shasta Tackle 5.5” dodger with a homemade orange glow spinner
• Silver with green tape Shasta Tackle 5.5” dodger with a pink Radical Glow tube
Wednesday, July 15th:
Tuesday we were battling the wind and windburn, and Wednesday we were trying to prevent sunburn. It was literally a “night-and-day” change from Tuesday. It was flat calm the entire morning we were fishing. I could not believe it. We left the marina again around 6:30 and had the lines in shortly after 7. Within 15 minutes, the first rod goes off. I tell my dad to grab it as I knew it was a big fish. It hit, popped the clip, and was already peeling line and heading to the other side of the boat. After a 12 minute battle, the fish was in the net. It turned out to be a monster Kokanee (even bigger than I imagined). We put it on my IGFA certified scale, and it topped around 4 lbs., 15 oz. It bounced between 5 lbs. even and 4 lbs., 14 oz. So just as an average, I’ll say it went 1 oz. shy of 5 lbs. We boxed it, and immediately had a double. They were just a small Mackinaw and a Kokanee that were released. The bite was not red hot, but we continued to bring fish in here and there until 11:30. We brought 15 fish to the boat – 11 Kokanee and 4 Mackinaw. Eight of the Kokanee were 14 and 16 inch fish, but my dad and I did manage to catch two Kokanee that went 4 lb. 3 oz. and 3 lbs. even to accompany the 4 lb. 15 oz. that was caught earlier. The biggest Mackinaw was about 6 lbs. The surface temperatures ranged from 66 to 69 degrees depending on the time of day, and it was tea colored. We caught fish between 33 and 50 feet with 35 and 40 feet being the most consistent for us. We used the following setups tipped with meal worms and garlic and Kokanee special ProCure super gels for our fish:
• Silver with green tape Shasta Tackle 5.5” dodger with a green/yellow squid hoochie
• White glow Shasta Tackle 5.5” dodger with a pink/natural Radical Glow tube
• Silver with green tape Shasta Tackle 5.5” dodger with a pink Radical Glow tube
• Silver with green tape Shasta Tackle 5.5” dodger with a clown colored squid hoochie
• Copper melon Shasta Tackle 5.5” dodger with a homemade orange glow spinner
• Pink/green Rocky Mountain Tackle 4” dodger with a pink Rocky Mountain Tackle spoon
• Pink/green Rocky Mountain Tackle 4” dodger with a watermelon Rocky Mountain Tackle spoon
• Rocky Mountain Tackle Bahama Mama 5.5” dodger with a blue Radical Glow hoochie mama
Thursday, July 16th:
My dad and I did the normal routine like always. We left the marina around 6:30 and had the lines in the water around 7. The bite had turned off and was pretty tough. I think that it is due to the water level in the lake continuing to rise 4 inches a day. It has the fished spread out and moving around the 90 mile lake, which is abnormal for this time of year. My dad and I worked hard for our fish and managed to bring 11 to the boat – 9 Kokanee and 2 Mackinaw. All the Kokanee were small (around 14 inches), but I did manage to bring in a 4 lb. 3 oz. Kokanee. The biggest Mackinaw was about 7 lbs. We quit at 12:30 PM. The water is still tea colored, and the surface temperatures ranged from 67 degrees in the morning to nearly 70 in the afternoon. The depths we fished today were from 33 down to 50 feet. All the fish were spread out between that range, and not one specific depth was superior over the other. We used the following setups tipped with meal worms and garlic and Kokanee special ProCure super gels for our fish:
• White glow Shasta Tackle 5.5” dodger with a pink/natural Radical Glow tube
• White glow Shasta Tackle 5.5” dodger with a black/white Rocky Mountain Tackle spinner
• Silver with green tape Shasta Tackle 5.5” dodger with a pink Radical Glow tube
• Copper melon Shasta Tackle 5.5” dodger with a homemade orange glow spinner
• All pink with glow tape Shasta Tackle 4” dodger with a Vance’s Tackle pink Sockeye Slammer
• Rocky Mountain Tackle Bahama Mama 5.5” dodger with a blue Radical Glow hoochie mama
Friday, July 17th:
Even though I was expecting it, it is still sad to think that this day is the end of my fishing at Flaming Gorge. We weren’t planning to leave Buckboard Marina until around 1:00 PM, so that left a little bit of fishing during the early morning before having to clean up the boat and packing everything in the RV to head home. My dad and I had the lines in the water shortly after 7, and it only took 5 minutes before we had our first fish to the boat. It was a 14 inch Kokanee that we released. For the next 90 minutes, we had bites here and there. We brought 7 Kokanee to the boat, and all were 14 inchers except for the 3 lb. 9 oz. Kokanee that we kept. It was our last fish, and it was a great way to end the 5 days of fishing. After cleaning up and saying our goodbyes to a few people that I met, we were back at the ramp and loading the boat on its trailer by 9 AM. The water conditions were exactly like Thursday in every way, shape, or form. The fish were caught at 33 and 35 feet. They didn’t want anything deeper or shallower. We used the following setups tipped with meal worms and garlic and Kokanee special ProCure super gels for our fish:
• White glow Shasta Tackle 5.5” dodger with a pink/natural Radical Glow tube
• Silver with green tape Shasta Tackle 5.5” dodger with a pink Radical Glow tube
• Copper melon Shasta Tackle 5.5” dodger with a homemade orange glow spinner
• All pink with glow tape Shasta Tackle 4” dodger with a Vance’s Tackle pink Sockeye Slammer
That’s it for this year, and I’m already looking forward to next year!
