Preseason planning

[bigjigs]

Hello, I'm trying to get a game plan going for my 8th annual trip to Blue Mesa. I'm from eastern NE but my parents live in Gunnison so I get to ice fish a week every year. I'm always trying to find ways to target big macks but always end up chasing the smaller mix of fish over deeper water (60-80fow). I generally do pretty well for fish up to 20" using a mix of spoons, jigging raps, tube/sucker meat and jig/gulp. In NE I generally fish shallow in waders after dark for walleyes and am amazed at the mix of bigger predators (big crappies/bluegill, bass, catfish) that show up on shallow flats/point bars after the sun goes down. I'm wondering if the bigger lakers 20"+ possibly follow a similar pattern. I don't mind sitting for hours waiting for a good bite to happen if the fish have a larger average size and are actively hunting baitfish. Anybody ever night fish for bigger lakers in skinny water that would be willing to share/pm some general info? I practice selective harvest and release all big trout.

[IFF]

Haven't ever tried night fishing out there for Mac's

[stinkyfingers]

Personally, I have an encyclopedic ignorance of lake trout nocturnal habits. You might try Robby Richardson at Sport Fish Colorado. He guides for lakers out of Gunnison/Blue Mesa and might know the answer. Tell your folks that a guided trip would make a great gift idea for Christmas. You might also try posting your question on the Chit Chat forum. I know there are some Canadian readers who are wise on lakers. I've often wondered if the swim bladder in those Blue Mesa fish is harmed by bringing them up from 90 fow. They might not want to make the trip to the shallows at night to feed.

[Bigassbassman]

I've never fished for lakers after dark, but I went to a Lake Trout seminar last December at Cabela's with Beernie Keefe, and if I remember correctly, he was saying that he's noticed the laker bite really dies after dark.  I think that was Bernie saying that.  The early morning and pre-dark hours seem to be the best times for lakers, and big mamma lakers seem to ascend from the deep holes in the late afternoon chasing bait onto shallower flats or points.  So best chances for a LARGE fish to come shallow probably occur late afternoon through just around dark.  I've read and done some searching on the forum, and some people have found good success in the early pre-dawn hours, right before sunup --- but a majority of people seem to say that lakers don't actively feed at night.  I definitely target my laker fishing early dawn or late afternoon.  Hope that helps, and welcome to the forum!

[skifisher]

bigjigs,

I have fished Twin Lakes for several years and agree the bite is best early morning and late afternoon. I did find however, the first one to two hours after dark were also productive. After that, the bite just seemed to shut down completely. I don't think an "all-nighter" would be produce much action. Good Icing!

Ski

[basschaserII]

Not much of a laker chaser. But I follow the flaming gorge ice. They fish all nite for burbot but I don't read about a lot of lakers being caught after dark.

[bigjigs]

Thanks for all of the replies guys! Everything you've said has pretty much correlated with what I've read. Maybe if the water is really clear and I find a good flat under 20' I'll try it on a bright night. I've caught a few lakers over 20" but have yet to get one over 30". I'm always looking for ways to target the bigger predators and avoid the small ones but on blue mesa it seems there are fish everywhere. Anybody have any info at all on features and prey that big fish use and small fish avoid on blue mesa? I promise not to blab any info I receive and I will release any big macks I catch. My plans this year so far are to still hit the high percentage flats in bottleneck areas, but I also want to try to find the small perch in the mouths of bays and maybe find some bigger lakers snacking on them. Thanks again for the info guys!

[arkansas angler]

I just hope there is more ice this season. Last year I don't think you could go much west of elk creek

[lefty2053]

The whole lake froze. I saw people fishing at the dam area last year. Me,NO not a chance in Hell would I test it. I sharpened 2 sets of Auger Blades today and put new fuel in the auger. Got new line spooled up and new lures and jigs. And of course I have my new Side view Sonar setup and ready to test out. I was going to test it earlier this year but couldn't find a dock to test it on. And trying it out from shore was a no go.

[brown-time]

I fish BM a lot, been there 8 days the last month, the water this year is 10 degrees warmer than normal. Going to be a later ice on with higher water.  Any fish you catch in 20' will be bows n Browns, shallow for lake trout is 30 to 40, about 9 A. M.  Use a good flasher and find good drop offs by the channel edges next to humps and old submerged roads.  Old gravel pits are key.  No laker guys are going to give you GPS points because they have a code of secrecy.  I have caught a few big ones but would rather have the variety of 4 species so we start at 10 fow for big Browns, then to 30 fow for perch n bows, then to 60 fow late for a shot at a big or medium laker as a bonus.  By then we have our four nice trout and a batch of perch to eat during the week.  Not saying anyone else should follow what we do, just saying if you are specializing for large lakers you won't be catching numbers.

[Toddr44]

I would like to second Stinkyfingers advice. A day spent on Blue Mesa with Robby will teach you more than you'll learn n two seasons on your own. Book a day fishing with him, then apply what you learn the rest of the week. Money well spent and he's a heck of a nice guy too. Good luck!

[bigjigs]

I fish BM a lot, been there 8 days the last month, the water this year is 10 degrees warmer than normal. Going to be a later ice on with higher water.  Any fish you catch in 20' will be bows n Browns, shallow for lake trout is 30 to 40, about 9 A. M.  Use a good flasher and find good drop offs by the channel edges next to humps and old submerged roads.  Old gravel pits are key.  No laker guys are going to give you GPS points because they have a code of secrecy.  I have caught a few big ones but would rather have the variety of 4 species so we start at 10 fow for big Browns, then to 30 fow for perch n bows, then to 60 fow late for a shot at a big or medium laker as a bonus.  By then we have our four nice trout and a batch of perch to eat during the week.  Not saying anyone else should follow what we do, just saying if you are specializing for large lakers you won't be catching numbers.

Good stuff! Thank you very much for the detailed response. You helped put a lot into perspective. I appreciate not being given exact spots as it's kinda of like having to be told the punchline. Plus, I enjoy learning their behavior and applying it best that I can. I guess I was trying to project walleye behavior onto lakers, in that they get meaner as they get shallower. I've never explored the perch there (macks are too much fun!) to see if the lakers go on perch raids at key times. This will be my first year on a snowmobile so I can't wait to finally be able to really cover some water! Thanks again.

[brown-time]

Glad to help, gotta start somewhere.  The Iola rocks by that boat ramp has all 4 species but few big macks.   The big lakers are mostly on the west end which may not be frozen by then.  Some 10# plus in the narrows west of Elk Creek Marina.