The bite gets tougher!?

The water level has continued to drop (5′ total so far) as the BOR is now “flushing” water through the Black Canon to simulate a high run off year and clean out built up sediment.  It appears as if Blue Mesa has reached its highest point and is now heading the other way for good. Water temps have finally started to rise over the last few days as we are seeing warmer weather.  In the morning, surface temps are around 59-60 and climbing to 63-64 during the day.  The fishing took an absolute turn for the worse over the last week.  Floating debris continues to be a potential problem across the lake and Iola seems to be the worst.  Be careful and pay attention to where you are driving!  Shore fishing continues to be a challenge, but rocky and sandy areas that don’t have brush can produce!  Good luck and God Bless!

Kokanee Salmon- Same story, tougher bite!  The salmon are still SHALLOW and spread out!  The surface to 35′ holds fish depending on the time of day.  The tough part is that no particular depth seems to be the answer.  No particular area seems to hold greater numbers of fish.  These fish are really picky so be sure to wash several lures in search of one they like!  They will zone in on a few lures each day and if you can figure those lures out you will have a decent day.  If not, you might luck in to a few fish.  Days that start off sunny seem to be FAR better than days that start off cloudy.  A little bit of everything has been working in every color.  I know that doesn’t help narrow anything down, but it truly has been a guessing game each day to figure out any kind of a pattern. Rocky Mountain Tackle and Radical glow spinners and squids have been top producers as well as kokanee killers, arnies, wedding rings, and wee tads.  If you can’t seem to get a bite, pick out the lure you have the least amount of confidence in and give it a try!

Rainbow & Brown Trout– While good numbers can be seen on the fish finder from 20-60′ the bite for trout was very tough for several days!  The last two days we’ve seen a lot more trout willing to play ball, but not without some experimentation.  Rocky Mountain Tackle, Venator lures, Arnies, Needle Fish, Taz’s and Radical Glow spinners have all been producing. Use your electronics to your advantage as some areas are stacked with trout!

Mackinaw Lake Trout-  We are catching some smaller lake trout mixed in with the kokanee salmon occasionally on the same baits.  You can improve your odds greatly by fishing 45-80 feet of water.  Once again, watch your electronics as some areas seem to have “layers” of fish at these depths!  The bigger fish are suspended at 50-110′ over deeper water. 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- The perch are in the coves.  With all of the brush that has been covered with the rise of the lake, the perch should have an excellent spawn and the fry should have plenty of places to hide!  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!