Weather: Warm, slight breeze on second morning, 90's
Who Went: Dad, Me
After many trips to Flaming Gorge chasing the elusive, Monster Lake Trout, I realized that it could take a lifetime to figure out. So I decided to cheat a little and hire a guide to take my old man and I out on the lake, to show us how it's done! I booked this trip in July of 2007. That's how popular this guide is, he has to be booked over a year in advance! My dad reserved a little cabin just outside of Manilla, Utah and this is where we called home for a few days. We met Captain Jim our guide at the docks at 7:30 a.m., where he informed us that we were late and that the best fishing was already over. I was bummed for sure, but he assured us we would still catch fish! After about 2 hours of learning and incorporating our guides instructions I finally hooked up with the fish I have waited my whole life to catch. When I set the hook it was instant zing from my drag! It dove down about 30 feet to the bottom of a 100 foot floor. I didn't even make up any ground for the first 5 minutes he was on. I just held my pole as tight as I could and made sure I didn't give him any slack! I finally got him to give a little and the battle began. I would gain about 20 feet of line and then he would go back down 30! When I finally won the battle and this monster surfaced I was as happy as a fisherman could be. It was over 30 inches long and weighed in at a whopping 26 pounds. My first trophy Lake Trout!
Once you catch a fish like this, the only thing on your mind is, lets get our poles back in the water and do it again! We fished for a few more hours with a couple missed bites and then my dad hooked up with a 4 pound Mack. Not exactly what we were looking for so no pic was taken and on with the fishing. Soon after, I got a hit, and WHAM! The fight was on again. This one fought very different than the 26 pound fish. Although it was an unbelievable fight, I was able to reel him in almost halfway to the boat from 80 feet, but then he decided he didn't like that and ran on me. Now it felt just like the 26 pound laker caught earlier. I finally got him right to the boat and snap! The hook came flying out of his mouth! I was really angry but it really doesn't matter! I was in it for the fight, which I got, and I would have let him go anyway. The only thing I am missing is a picture. Captain Jim said it was around an eighteen pound fish and that he is usually dead on within a pound or two of estimating the weight of these things, so that's what I'm going with! We fished the rest of the day with a few more hits but no hook-ups. We payed and thanked Captain Jim for his services and then we ran back to our cabin, grabbed my boat and we were back on the water within a couple hours! We had one hit from my boat all evening and it produced this 13 pound Lake Trout!
It was a gorgeous evening with an unbelievable sunset and I'm hooked on Mack fishing for life!
The next morning we got up early and were welcomed with a stiff breeze! This is exactly what you don't want while jigging for Lake Trout but we gave it our best anyway! I had one really good hit that I missed and that was it for the day! We had fished hard for 2 straight days with only a few bites, so we decided to travel up lake for the evening and try our luck at some kokanee fishing! We caught a few small kokanee and it ended up being a very beautiful evening! This is a trip I will never forget, and I have learned a special art in learning how to locate and catch large Lake Trout! I just want to be there right now!!!
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