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hi, im new to bigfishtackle, but have been impressed by the posts that ive read. im always online looking for tips and sharing my own reports. this is the best, as far as ive seen. the dwr sight is okay, but i never seem to get answers when i need them. i am also tired of all of the contention that seems to always be going on. you cant even give a report/tip without being critisized to death. i havent seen that here, so i thought id join up.
im heading up to the gorge next week. last year was my first year of trolling it, and i did real well on kokes and some rainbows. i fished mostly sheep creek, and linwood. i have an electric downrigger now, and would really love to catch a mac. i dont care what size right now, i just want to get into one. ive been reading all i can on the fish, and the lake. ive had a hard time finding resources. does anyone know of books or videos i can get on the lake? (not only for learning how to fish the lake, but also just to enjoy watching) i got a video from shasta tackle that isnt too bad- but it doesnt give any info on lakers or the gorge.
any tips for fishing for the macs this time of year? ive heard that jigging is the way to go right now. is that right? what colors are effective? do you tip them with sucker meat? how about smelly jelly?
how about trolling for the macs? is it good this time of year? ive tried rapalas in the past in frog and silver, and had no luck. ive read that the macs move north in the winter. are they still up around buckboard/big bend? or have they spread down lake now? what depths would you suggest right now?
any tips will be appreciated. ill report on my success, or lack thereof, when i return. i hope joining this forum will give me what im looking for- a good exchange with fellow fisherman who can treat each other right...that appears to be whats going on here- so here we go. thanks in advace, bkidder.
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Welcome aboard bkidder, very glad to have you. If you are looking for good people who are sportsmanlike, friendly and willing to share what they know, this is the place.
Wish I could help you with the mac questions, but I just got my first boat and am looking to learn a lot myself this coming year. There have been a lot posts about mack hunting though, so you should search the old threads. There are even a few on this board who seem to get into the really big ones quite regularly (then they start calling the 15lb macks "DINKS" . . . How would THAT be?)
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Welcome Brett-
Fishing for macks is my passion. I have some ideas for you. Check your private message.
J.
GoFish
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thanks for the welcomes guys. i checked my private messages and their isnt anything there. i hope im checking it right!
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Sorry Brett. I got distracted and didn't finish the message until now. Try it again.
J. GoFish
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thanks for the tips gofish. you seem to have some real good experice/expertise. hopefully i can use your tips to have a little success! this is great- ive been a member of bft for less than a day- and ive already gotten more useful info then from a year of the other message boards!
does anyone have any mac trolling tips?
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first of all welcome .... sounds like you have a good start on gettin the big one.Big macks like structure and they arent a constant feeder,they pig out then get lazy til they are hurgry again.
Finding where big fish are is half the battle ,look for big drop offs and rising humps in the bottom structure.Then get your bait down to where they are.Big rapalas,flat fish,spoons all work good from time to time.
Also having a good map of the gorge is very helpful.it tells where the river channel is ,and some times big fish hang in the channel .Good luck and let us know how you did.
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this is the last time ill purposefully reply to my message to get it back up to the top. i appologize if anyone is sick of seeing it their...im just so excited for my trip, and desperate for trolling tips. thanks for your patience!
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I fish for macs religiously, and my one most important piece of advice is to have a GPS. When you finally find the fish and mark them on the GPS, fish that stack until they have moved on or they have won the patience battle. Macs are hard to find in concentated schools so when you find some stay with them.
Good luck- Macman
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thanks for the tip macman. i have been thinking of getting a gps. any suggestions as to brand/type? i dont know anything about them and could use suggestions as to what features are important to have.
also, since im leaving wed morning for this trip- i was wondering if i can use my second pole permit in wyoming? i have a utah licence, and a utah second pole permit. i will be getting a wyoming reciprocal stamp. (im told i can get that at maverick in mountain view).
0h ya, one more thing- i forgot to get sucker meat when i was at sportmans today. can i get it anywhere up their? has anyone used frozen shiners for macs? any info on where to get my bait would be appreciated.
hope youre all enjoying spring fishing, and ill be back on here early next week! wish me luck, bkidder
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You may want to check with the state of Wyoming to see if a Utah second pole permit is valid while fishing in Wyoming? To answer your GPS question requires more info: Do you want a hand-held or one to mount to your boat? If you happen to have a fish finder (which I would recommend on the Gorge) it may have the capability of adding the GPS feature - already built in to it, which is more or less buying a receiver that cables into your unit. Can't help you with the bait question. Good Luck and enjoy your trip. [  ]
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not sure where you got your info that the second pole could not be used on the gorge? but in the utah proc in the list of lakes that a second pole is alowed flaming gorge is listed!!..
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GPS is a cool thing ! It's the best method available to determine your trolling speed. It also is good to precisely mark locations where you can return to.
The features are what determines the price of the GPS unit. I have a Garmin 76S map. It have the ability to hold in memory most of the TOPO maps of Utah concurrently, it also has barometric pressure and elevation or altitude information. That may not be a necessary feature for you. Cheaper ones are available though.
I also have a Humminbird fish finder matrix 37 that has a GPS attached that I just got last winter. This unit will replace the need to bring my Garmin GPS. It does not have all of the features that my Garmin has, but it does everything I need on my boat- namely speed, distance, time elapsed and location marking ability.
If you need more info, let me know.
BTW - you really should have a fish finder for the Gorge, especially if you want to fish deep.
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Thanks fuzzy fisher for bringing that to my attention, I stand corrected. Flaming Gorge does allow a second pole permit at least on th Utah side, but does the state of Wyoming acknowledge it?
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Wyoming fishing license holders do not need a second pole permit, they just get the second pole. I would assume that when in Wyoming that you wouldn't need the second pole permit, but I am not sure how it works for nonresidents with a recripricol stamp.
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I talked to the Wyoming fish & game before I went up ice fishing the first time this year. When you buy a reciprocal stamp you become the same as a regular wyoming angler when you are fishing in wyoming. You are subject to their proclomation and all their rules, not utah's. So, inded you can have two poles all the time and you wouldn't even need a two-pole permit from Utah. You can also CHUM with anything except CORN! There are other differences in the Wyoming proc., so I'd suggest anyone planning on fishing in Wyoming get a copy and read it thoroughly.
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thanks for all of the tips guys. im heading out in the morning. as far as wyoming 2nd poles are concerned, ill ask an officer up their if i can. if your right and you dont need a permit, then that is pretty cool. i plan on trolling in utah, and wyoming. ive gotten a lot of good tips, especially about jigging. i hope to spend at least one or two mornings jigging. hopefully ill find some fish. i do have a finder. i have the humminbird 565 with speed and temp. the temp is cool, but the speed on it is not great. because it only measures 2-75...so not great for slow trolling. but, it sounds like a gps is the way to go for speed anyways. ill definately look into them when i get home. ill let you all know how the trip went! thanks again, and wish me luck!
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well, ive been back since saturday night, but today is my first day back at my computer. we had a great trip to the gorge. it was a little stormy, but not too bad. the cold doesnt bother me much.
all in all we caught a ton of rainbows, a few kokes, and a some macs. i was very happy to catch my first mac on this trip! i caught 7 or 8 of them total.(my brother got around 5) the largest i caught was a mere 4 lbs. (which i was incredibly pleased with!) i was also happy to find out that they taste pretty good off the grill.
we trolled pretty much the whole time. using flashers/dodgers trailed by about anything worked for the macs. the rainbows and kokes went crazy for cripplelures, humdingers, and kokenuts. that kokenut is now my favorite! put behind a sling blade it is incredible! it caught macs, rainbows, and kokes. super dupers also produced on this trip.
hopefully ill get up for a good trip in may! good luck to all who are lucky enough to spend some time on the gorge! (and thank you all for the great tips!)
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What is a kokenut?
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its a little lure made by shasta tackle. pm sockeyslayer and im sure he'll give some good details. also you can check them out at [url "http://sales.shastatackle.com/new.htm"]http://sales.shastatackle.com/new.htm[/url]
they work really well behind shastas sling blade dodgers. good luck!
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