Richardson Lakes Sept Fishing

[G4Camper]

Looking for help on new fishing techniques I'll need during a week long remote camping trip on the Richardson Lakes. Been doing some research and have learned the two primary species abundant in the lake are land-locked salmon and brook trout. Also some lake trout.

I'm assuming that the 3rd week in Sept will be a late summer early fall kind of distribution of fish meaning they are unlikely to be in less than 20' of water. Not sure how deep the lake is but I'm assuming I may need to troll deep ... 20+ maybe as deep as 50'?

I'm not set up for this and will need to buy some new equipment. Downriggers or leaded line to achieve depth? Other alternatives?

Seems streamers are the choice for trolling. They come in a gazillion colors and sizes. I see the grey ghost is popular in this area. Looking for any suggestions on how to effectively prepare for this trip without breaking the bank. Rod, reel, line, leaders, etc.

Also anyone who knows this lake can you advise on any special fishing regulation? I know the upper dam pond area is fly fishing only.

Thanks!
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[wiperhunter2]

Welcome to the site.
For general fishing info, try posting on our Freshwater fishing boards, a lot of our state fishing boards get little regular members posting here, so that would be your best source for info. Here is a link to those boards:
http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gfo...gi?forum=2
I can give you a little help but since I don't live in your state, I can't help you on the lakes you are interested in.
Again, I can't speak for your area but where I live the salmon are spawning at the time you want to go, so catching them might be tough but not impossible. Here is what I would try, if you don't have downrigges and you want to fish deep water. Leadcore line is your best option because downriggers are expensive and unless you are going to use them on a regular bases, they just aren't worth the expense. Although not the best setup, I've seen people put lead core line on spinning reels, that they had anyway but leadcore line takes up a bunch of space on a reel, so its best to have a big reel, that will hold 10 colors of line to get you as deep as you want to fish. That will still cost you some money but not as much as downriggers. Last thing are banana weights, they are far and away the cheapest method for getting deep while trolling, you will need 3 to 6 oz weight maybe more to get down to 50 ft or deeper. As far as lures, small spinners or spoons should work for brook trout but for salmon, pink or orange squid lures are best behind a dodger. In our area we use Kokanee creek tackle or Rocky Mountain tackle dodgers and squid. Here is a link to those two companies web sites.
http://shop.kokaneecreektacklecompany.com/

http://rockymountaintackle.com/

Hope this helps, let me know if you have more questions.
WH2
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[G4Camper]

Thanks for the help. I've been researching this for a while, and since posting this thread I am gearing up to do both leaded line and 1-3+ oz. sinkers to get deep enough to fish brook trout and salmon. A local told me that spawning might be starting around the time I'm there, and the water may be cooling enough to begin bringing the fish up from the summer depths.
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[wiperhunter2]

Another option for the Brook trout is to use flies, 3 to 4ft behind a casting bubble. The bubble helps keep the fly close to the surface and the chugging bubble attracts the fish but you need to troll slow, using this method around 1 mph or less. If you don't have an electric trolling motor that speed might be hard but this method will work early in the morning when the trout are still near the surface feeding on flies. Even though the salmon will be spawning, there will always be the next year class of kokes that you can catch, they will likely be smaller but still fun to catch, they are great fighters. Check the regulations in your area about fishing for salmon, some states have Regs that don't allow you to fish for them during the spawn. Again, good luck, hope you catch a bunch.
WH2
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