What's your favorite lure for Lakers?

[Wood2turn]

My son and I will be visiting the Gorge res. this summer and are planning on fishing for Kokes and Lakers. We will be in inflatable Pontoon boats. We've never been there and have no knowledge of the lake. SO...

What's your favorite lure for Lakers? Hopefully it's a jig, but no matter...what colors work best?

Is one end of the lake better than another or are the fish that transitory?

Any help is appreciated, Thanks!
Terry B.

 

[SmokeOnTheWater]

Yes, jigs work well. There are PLENTY of small ones (18" range) and they all seem to compete for the same food supply. Tubes in watermellon, white and pearl in the 3-4" length are producers right on the bottom. Lakers are transitory from shallow feeding areas to deeper water during the day. I don't know if they migrate up or down the lake throughout the season and I haven't heard of any studies examining this.

Be extremely careful on your pontoons! It's BIG water and BIG boats that can create BIG wakes not to mention the wind. Anyone heard how the wind blows in Wyoming???? Seriously, watch the weather closely as afternoon thunderstorms build in a hurry and can turn a calm lake into 4' waves. You don't want to be out on a pontoon when the wind picks up!

 

[lowe1648mt]

Wind

Sounds just like fishing at Yellowstone Lake. When you see the wind start to show at the end of the lake farthest from you, it's time to start moving out.

 

[Ryno]

What's your favorite lure for Lakers? Hopefully it's a jig, but no matter...what colors work best?

Is one end of the lake better than another or are the fish that transitory?

I like 3-4 inch Berkley Gulp minnows rigged on a 3/8 oz jighead. Cast 'em or vertically jig 'em. You'll also catch smallmouth bass, rainbows, and I've even gotten the occasional kokanee on them.

You can still find lakers shallow in the morning and evening during early summer (June). If you have a graph on your toon, look for concentrations in 50-100ft off main channel points and breaks, later in the day. If you're tooning you could consider the lower reaches of the lake which is a deep canyon. It can still get windy, but not as treacherous for small watercraft as the upper lake where you find more rolling sage brush hills with less cover. You'll find some good access and cover at Sheep Creek, Cedar Springs, and Mustang Ridge launch areas.

Good luck!