Weather: No wind, hot-90's
Moon Phase: 98% Moon
Location: Flaming Gorge - Linwood Bay
Water Temp: 66 degrees
Bait: 7-inch rainbow tube jig
Method: Inch-jig
Who Went: Bobber John, Rick, Me
After coming home from Flaming Gorge and flaunting the pictures of the lake trout we caught a couple weeks ago, my friends did everything they could to get me back up there and show them how it’s done. With limited time and conflicting schedules the only remedy was to do an extreme all day and one night trip. We left at 2:15 a.m. on Saturday morning and were on the lake by 6 a.m. With it being the 24th of July weekend I knew it was going to be busy, but I never expected the amount of fishing boats that were actually on the water. Luckily we got there early enough to get a head start on them. Just as it was starting to get busy, John landed the first lake trout he’s ever caught with a nice 24 pounder.
He was ecstatic with the catch and is now addicted to lake trout fishing the same way I am. It took him 15-20 minutes to reel in and this is probably about 10 minutes longer than the normal fight for a 24 pound lake trout, so I thought it was going to be a 30+ pound fish, but it wasn’t to be. Either way it was a great fish and especially for your first lake trout ever!
About an hour later John hooked up again and landed another lake trout, but this one was smaller at around 8 pounds!
The presentation we used on this trip is what I call the inch-jig method and was taught to me by Captain Jim Williams. Jim is the best fishing guide Flaming Gorge has to offer and has taught me more about the big lake trout up there than I could have learned in a lifetime of fishing there. They are truly a difficult species to catch consistently, and I am not there yet, but I seem to get a little better each time I go. We finished the rest of the day without getting another hit and unfortunately Rick still hasn’t been lucky enough to enjoy the feeling of a big laker on the end of his line, but it will happen! The barrage of fishing boats on Flaming Gorge over the 24th is what I think killed the fishing, and I now realize why Captain Jim always tells me to run as far away from Flaming Gorge as you possibly can on a holiday weekend. Unfortunately for me, I have to go when I get the chance and can’t be picky choosy like he has the luxury of being! There was a considerable difference in the mood of the fish below us in the early morning hours on Saturday, compared to later in the day when there were 50 other boats dropping jigs on them.
The fish showed no interest in our jigs once the clan of other fisherman showed up. Live and learn I suppose! We woke up early on Sunday and fished for 2 hours before we had to be home for other commitments, but the fish were still in a cranky mood and again I think it had to do with all the fishing pressure from the day before. We loaded up and were off the lake by 8 a.m. and home by 11:30. Now I’m being tortured everyday with the thought of when I will get back up there. I just hope it’s sooner rather than later!
He was ecstatic with the catch and is now addicted to lake trout fishing the same way I am. It took him 15-20 minutes to reel in and this is probably about 10 minutes longer than the normal fight for a 24 pound lake trout, so I thought it was going to be a 30+ pound fish, but it wasn’t to be. Either way it was a great fish and especially for your first lake trout ever! About an hour later John hooked up again and landed another lake trout, but this one was smaller at around 8 pounds! The presentation we used on this trip is what I call the inch-jig method and was taught to me by Captain Jim Williams. Jim is the best fishing guide Flaming Gorge has to offer and has taught me more about the big lake trout up there than I could have learned in a lifetime of fishing there. They are truly a difficult species to catch consistently, and I am not there yet, but I seem to get a little better each time I go. We finished the rest of the day without getting another hit and unfortunately Rick still hasn’t been lucky enough to enjoy the feeling of a big laker on the end of his line, but it will happen! The barrage of fishing boats on Flaming Gorge over the 24th is what I think killed the fishing, and I now realize why Captain Jim always tells me to run as far away from Flaming Gorge as you possibly can on a holiday weekend. Unfortunately for me, I have to go when I get the chance and can’t be picky choosy like he has the luxury of being! There was a considerable difference in the mood of the fish below us in the early morning hours on Saturday, compared to later in the day when there were 50 other boats dropping jigs on them. The fish showed no interest in our jigs once the clan of other fisherman showed up. Live and learn I suppose! We woke up early on Sunday and fished for 2 hours before we had to be home for other commitments, but the fish were still in a cranky mood and again I think it had to do with all the fishing pressure from the day before. We loaded up and were off the lake by 8 a.m. and home by 11:30. Now I’m being tortured everyday with the thought of when I will get back up there. I just hope it’s sooner rather than later! 
Flaming Gorge is probably one of my favorite lakes to fish, camp and boat. Lake Powell has always been number one in my heart, but Flaming Gorge is making a good push for the lead. One year ago in August my buddy JJ's dad Ed called me and asked if I knew any good guides for Lake Trout at Flaming Gorge. It was an easy question to answer as there is only one guide at Flamining Gorge I would recommend to anybody and that is Captain Jim Williams. No one knows lake trout at Flaming Gorge like he does. I asked Ed why he was inquiring of a guide service and he told me that he was going to book him as a Christmas present to surprise JJ with. I told him that was a great idea and left it at that. Christmas morning I woke up and went through the usual hoopla of gift exchanging and spending time with family when I got a phone call from JJ. I answered the phone and said "Merry Christmas, I bet it was a good one for you,"and he replied back and said, "it's about to be for you too!" I asked him what he meant and he told me that his dad paid for an extra spot on the boat with the guide so that JJ could invite a buddy to go with him. I was that buddy! It was a long wait but we finally made it to that magical date of Monday July 12, 2010. Of course we had to go up early and spend the weekend fishing before going out with the guide on Monday. We got there Friday night and within 5 minutes of being at camp we were already on the water.
Friday was more of a find fish evening and no lake trout were landed, but we did get a good idea on where they were hanging out. Saturday was just one of those days that stick in your craw for awhile because we didn't get a hit all day long. We saw tons of fish and had them interested but they just wouldn't take the bait! By Saturday night I was pretty bummed out and I gave my dad a call to give him the report. He did his best to keep me in good spirits by telling me it was just one of those days and that tomorrow would be better. He helped my confidence by telling me he knew I could catch them because I have helped him and his buddy Mike catch them last year. It revived me a bit and I got a good nights rest and we were on the water again by 6:00 a.m. Sunday morning started just like Saturday with no bites and by 9:00 a.m. my hopes began to fade. Then I saw a racing mackinaw on my fish finder coming straight for my jig, I prepared for him to do as the rest of them had done and come up fast to take a look and then head on back down to the bottom, but this time he hammered my jig and I set the hook. JJ was taking a nap and I yelled fish on! It was a good but short fight until I landed this 9 pound mack.
Soon after letting the 9 pounder go I got hit again and pulled in a small 3-4 pound lake trout. This was it for the day, but at least we didn't get lake trout skunked. We did get to spend some time bass fishing, but I mostly caught rainbows. I put on a small crankbait and couldn't keep the rainbows off. They were nice healthy 17 inchers and fought well.
We caught a few bass as well, but with all the storms rolling in and out all day I think it effected the bass fishing drastically.
JJ began to wonder if we would even catch lake trout with our guide and I laughed at him and said, "you haven't met Captain Jim Williams!" This guy has spent 30 years perfecting techniques that will catch big lake trout at Flaming Gorge. JJ was biteless for lake trout for the entire weekend and he was pretty discouraged about it. Monday morning came around and I promised him that this was his day to land a big laker! He said all he wanted was a bite! We got on the water with the guide and we instantly started seeing fish everywhere! This guide knows exactly where to go and where the fish are at all times of the year. Ed was the first to get hit, and in fact he got 3 hits in a row, but couldn't quite put anything in the boat. I was the next to get hit and landed this 18 pound lake trout.
It was 10:00 a.m. by this time and we had two nice fish in the boat. Captain Jim is unbelievable at how he has you sitting on top of fish all morning long. I think that is the biggest difference between him and myself. I can master the methods needed to land them, but he knows the lake so well and always has you sitting on top of fish, while I have to do a little more searching in order to find them. I guess thats the advantage he has being out there everyday, and doing this for 30 years! It was a good trip as usual at the gorge and all I can think about is when I get to go back. I will leave you with pictures of all the storms we endured over the weekend. We never did get to much rain or wind so the storms were nice as they kept it cool and bearable.
