Summer Recap and Fall Forecast!

The summer salmon bite ended just like it started with some great fishing! Unfortunately, everything in between was a rollercoaster ride as far as consistency goes.  As of last saturday, there were still some salmon schools to jig and if you found the right school the fishing could be fast and furious!  Over the last week, the schools have mostly been very small and on the move.  The lake has been consistently dropping over the last few weeks and the water level is about 26 feet low.  There are several areas of the lake that are seeing minor algae blooms.  The Lake Fork Marina is closed and Elk Creek Marina will be closing Oct 1st!  Fall is in the air and the colors are starting to get pretty, especially around the west end of the lake.  From here on out we should see the water temperatures slowly start to drop and fish activity will increase as they do!  Rainbow, brown, and perch fishing should continue to be good and once our water temps get down into the 50’s we should see some lake trout activity as well as some better trolling for younger salmon.

Kokanee Salmon- Over all the bite is slow.  Your best shot at salmon is trolling 15-50 deep from Cebolla basin west.  There are still a few schools of bigger fish coming together, but it really depends on the day.  Most schools have been in the 70-100′ range.  Have you ever seen a kokanee with a yellow belly?  (See below)

 Rainbow & Brown Trout- Trolling has been good for rainbow trout all across the lake!  Fish are being caught from the surface down to 35 feet on Radical Glow spinners behind a Rocky Mountain Tackle Dodger and/or Pop gear followed by an Arnies and tipped with a worm. Browns and rainbows can be caught casting small tube jigs, maribou jigs, kastmasters, and jerk baits along shoreline structure.  Mornings and evenings are best, but that doesn’t mean the middle of the day hasn’t been producing.

Mackinaw Lake Trout-  Slow; the fish are still deep and take some dedication to catch.  Trolling is the best approach if you find a concentration of fish.  Targeting the big fish this time of year can be very harmful if not fatal and is not the best idea.  Always remember the importance of releasing trophy lake trout to ensure future generations get the same opportunities we get!  And despite no bag limit on the smaller lake trout, only take what you can eat! These fish are the future of the trophy generation!

Perch- Good! The perch seem to be everywhere this year and in good number! Elk Creek, Lake Fork, and Bay of Chickens are just a few of the areas holding fish.   Smaller perch can be found in the backs of brushy coves in 8-25′ of water.  They will be hard to see on your electronics due to all of the brush, but a small jig and a piece of night crawler will quickly tell you if they are in the area!