Blue Mesa Fishing Report: More of the same!!!

This report is going to sound like a broken record of the last several reports, but it’s true….the fishing is still hot!  Every day is different as far as what the kokanee on Blue Mesa want and when the best bite times are, but a little bit of hard work will usually put you in a good to excellent bite most days.  We had a couple of days where the bite seemed a little “off”, but we were still gettting 25-50 bites a day during this period!  These fish are full of zip and 40-50 bites never equates to 40-50 fish, but if you take your time and know how to use a smooth drag, your hook to land ratio can be fairly high.  We use Shimano reels with very smooth drags.  We don’t use any cowbells or snubbers; these only hinder your ability to feel what the fish is doing.  Every once in a while we are getting a few surprises!

Trout– Rainbows are showing up from the surface down to 35′.  We are mostly catching these fish on kokanee tackle while fishing for salmon.  Some anglers have been doing well trolling z-rays and tazmanian devils in 1-15′ of water for more rainbows.  Browns can be found most consistently in 5-35 feet of water along rip rap shorelines and off of the points. They are shallow early and late in the day and then they drop back down into deeper water.  Crankbaits, jerkbaits, and maribou jigs have been consistent producers as well as kastmasters, krocodiles, and blue fox spinners.

Lake Trout– Mackinaw fishing has been fair to good.  These fish are running 40-130 deep right now.  These fish are roaming several different types of structure such as points, humps, sunken islands, and flats.  Trolling some type of rainbow or salmon imitation or jigging a tube jig with sucker meat or Berkley gulp! minnow has been most effective.

Kokanee Salmon– As usual, every day on the lake has been a little bit different, but these fish are hanging out in 1-80′ of water with lots of action from 15-45′.  Change depths frequently until you find results.  These fish move up and down a lot depending on the conditions so don’t lock yourself in to a certain depth.  Knowing how to read your fish finder is a critical skill in consistently catching these fish.  All colors have been producing depending on the day, but pink, orange, white, and green have been the most consistent.  Rocky Mountain Tackle squids and spinners and our Lazer hooks from Eagle Claw have been hot!  We had a 22 lbs lake trout slap at our kokanee rig and get hooked in the dorsal fin with some of our Lazer Sharp hooks and thanks to these hooks we landed that fish!  As usual, tip your offering with white shoe peg corn and run them behind a Rocky Mountain Tackle dodger.