With the DWR planning to release Kamloops Rainbow Trout in Flaming Gorge at the end of this year or next from the Whiterocks Hatchery, what are you guys’ thoughts on what growth rates they will achieve? I hope they get a good start before the burbot start to affect things seriously. I sure hope so.
There are already Kamloops strain 'bows in The Gorge and they do not get any bigger than the other rainbows. It is all about food resources and feeding patterns.
In the “olden days”, the Kamloops grew big on an abundant diet of chubs. The state record 26 pounder came out of there in the late 70’s. In those days you could almost walk across the top of the water on the mass of chubs in the marinas and back coves when they came in to spawn. No more.
In other lakes where they get big they eat a lot of kokanee. And, while there are kokes in FG, they are not nearly as abundant as in the lakes where Kamloops rely on them as a primary food source. The Kamloops have to have plenty of kokes in all sizes to help them reach “top predator” size so that they can eat the bigger ones too.
Too many predators and not enough prey in Flaming Gorge. It is tough to get a fish up to magnum size, but once they get there they have more to eat.
Do you think there are many 'bows in there over 20 or 30 lbs now. I have not heard of any over 20 lbs being caught there, but maybe I am just unaware of it?
**There are a lot of bows over 20 INCHES…but I have not heard of any over 10 POUNDS for many years. Might be some in there but not enough to plan a trip around. **
There really are a lot of hefty and active bows in FG, and they provide a great fishery for folks who are not just after macks or kokes…or burbot. They can be taken by all anglers, at just about all depths, on just about any tackle…most of the year. But, late fall is when they really shine. Once the early fall kokanee action winds down, the rainbows move into shore and are easy pickins. And, the average 'bow is over about 16" and many run to 24" and 5 or 6 pounds. Even better, they fight as well as any trout you will ever catch anywhere.
The Kamloops will provide a different strain of rainbows but they will not automatically jump to huge proportions. In many lakes where they are the only species, they seldom get over about 18 inches. As PBH has chanted over and over, it is not just genetics…it is food and environment.
Oh no you said the “chub” word you and I know that all chubs do is bad things to a lake…[crazy][;)]
Like the Gorge and Berry and no trout or any other fish would eat chubs…Shame on you TD[sly][;)]…
Not trying to enrage any mack guys, but I wish they had never introduced them to F.G. and it was all Kamloops and browns eating those Kokanee. But that’s a hindsight dream. As far as the Del Canty 26 lb. rainbow is concerned there is lots of speculation as to that fish perhaps being a Kootenai Lake rainbow. He was returning from a trip to that lake when he caught the Gorge fish. I’m not going to discount his catch though. It’s an incredible fish!
Flaming Gorge is my favorite place to fish in Utah. I have been fortunate last year and this in that I have had a chance to fish it once every month since November. Just for two days though, on weekends mostly. You are right, most of the bows we catch are between 22-25 inches, and smaller once here and there. At the end of this month, when the ice is all gone, I will serously try to targe the larger ones. Now that you have me thinking, there have to be a few big ones in there.
I will rig and troll a mooching rig and also buy some Martin’s Tackle Company lures. I learned about this company from lunkerhunter2. Their stuff looks really “fishy delicate” and may do the trick. Their blades spin at very low speeds, and you can put any bait on their models. I think it will be perfect for targeting large lazy trout. And if I fail, they will be just one more piece of tackle I spent money on. I may be easier to hook then fish, but it doesn’t hurt to try.
brookieguy1, as far as I know, the UDWR or Wyoming Game and Fish never released lake trout, and it was never their plan to do so. They were already present in the Green River from close to where in originates in the Wind River Range, WY. , and perhaps some of the other smaller rivers coming into the Lake. They probably made their way down in winte or spring.
I don’t troll much with my float tube. It’s a bugger to screw the downriggers into the air chambers.
**But…I have had some reports of guys hanging BIG rainbows and browns by trolling trout colored Rapalas and also big trout colored plastic swimbaits like bassers use in California. **
As a kid in Idaho, I went with family trolling for big Kamloops in Lake Pend O’Reille. Even then they were known for fancying small kokanee and we trolled big wooden plugs with blue backs and white bodies. More than a few over 20 pound fish in those days. I understand there have been some changes in the ecosystem and the big 'bows are fewer and harder to catch.
In recent years, however, a lot of the larger fish came on trolled flies…big flies…behind a dodger. Some guys used the 6 inch long “coho” flies from the west coast. Some used flies like the “Frisky Jenny”.
You sure do a fine job providing information, I tell you what. Sometime with enough days off I would like to fish Lake Pend Oreille. But, I have similar hairy flies that will certainly get wet at the Gorge toward the end of this month. I also have a really nice and strong Lucky Strike plug, that has not seen alot of use, except for Lake Powell. I am just developing a headache trying to plan the 3-4 days of fishing. I am thinking of spending 2 days at the Squaw Hollow area, trolling the 20-30 feet ridges, and also the Marsh Creek Area. Then, I am planning to move to the Glades. This is where all of my biggest bows have come from.
I once read in a natural history of trou book called *Trout, *that large dominant rainbows like to create their own territory. So they will probably be cruising around alone. I am still looking for a good book that will explain to me just what kind of structure and hide-outs big rainbows and trout like. Maybe at the Glades, they cruise the ridges looking for schools of kokanee or forage fish, I am just clueless.
“the UDWR or Wyoming Game and Fish never released lake trout, and it was never their plan to do so.”
Line_dangler ,just exactly what do you mean by this statement? I 'm courious to know.Do you mean that the Wyo g&f never planted macks in the gorge. If this it what you mean ,then I suggest that you do some research,because they have planted macks in the past.
Most of the bows that you catch are between 22-25 inches???
Where the heck do you fish? I have caught 20+ inch rainbows out of there but never consistently 22-25 inchers.
kokeking, what I mean is back when the Gorge was origianally beginning to be stocked, before it was filled after the completion of the Dam, they didn’t put in lakers. I guess Wyo. Fish and Game began before the UDWR and Wyo. Fish and Game reached an agreement on how to manage the lake. So I will refine my statement and say that it was not the Utah Biologists’ plan to release macks in there. There, that may make more sense like this.
HookJaw_Brimhall, I would be glad to tell you where I catch these descent-sized bows. I will list the places in descending order of preference. The “shallows” around Kingfisher Island, the deep Hide Out Drop-off (North Side of Lake), Trail Creek area, Dutch John Draw. For ice fishing (when the ice is good, like this year), same order: The Glades, Rawlins Draw Area, and on the Wyoming side: Marsh Creek Bays. I have also caught a few in Sheep Creek but not consistently. The areas I listed have mostly produced bows over 20 inches.
The biggest I have caught was between 25-26 inches, and around 8-9 pounds. It came out of 40 feet of water last October, on the West side of Kingfisher Island. It was not fat at all, just long and rather skinny. That is why I was hoping to hear the possible growth rates for the Kamloops, I was hoping that we could start getting some over 15 pounds in the futre. But now that I have thought about it, this will probably not be happening, especially when the burbot start eating up all the crayfiish and fish eggs in there. At the end of this month though, I will give it all I have and look for a large one or two, I sure will.
Old Moe from Old Moe Guide Service there catches nice ones around Jarvies, where he fishes for Macks sometimes. I don’t know the approxiamte places though. I think he has had some hit his big Laker jigs, but I am not sure. I have never got anything over 19 inches in that area. I would just rather go a mile back to Trail Creek and fish for them there. You can see them holding up there in groups sometimes where the creek runs into the lake. They probably like the cool, oxygenated water around the area in the summer and late fall months.
I’m not trying to start a %issing match or anything but a skinny 25-26 inch bow no way no how weighs 8-9 pounds. More like 4-6 pounds. No biggie though. I’ve actually caught my biggest bows in the cliffs on the North side of Sheep Creek on tube jigs. Another good area is some of the coves on the east side of the lake around the pipeline. Most these areas are best when the fish are spawning in early May or October- November. F.G. has both spring and fall spawn rainbows. I love those F.G. rainbows and browns!
we used to catch stringer fulls of trout that size. just off theold launch at anvil.after a morning of koke fishing we go back to camp eat breakfast,grab the coolers full of beer and lounge chairs and head for the beach.dont dought him there hook jaw been there done it.
“dont dought him there hookjaw been there done it. just like the 2 cutts skipper caught in a row that were bigger than the one you killed.”
What the Heck is that supposed to mean? I don’t doubt him, just wondering what I’m doing wrong. I fish the Gorge every year and catch tons of trout, but rarley do I get something over 22 inches.
I thought it was skinny, but that could just be misjudgement. Also, I did not weigh it directly with a scale, just estimating on the bases of lakers of similar size I have weighed. You could be right thoug, 6 or 7 pounds sounds better.
You are also right about the other places you mentioned. I have had big boys chase some lures at Sheep Creek and Rawlins Bays, but the dang things wouldn’t hit. I just couldn’t figure them out. I like the area around Kingfisher Island in Fall, say October. They stack up on the west side of the island, you can see them if you go slow with polarized sunglasses.