Headed down to Fish Lake in a couple weeks. It has been years since I last fished Fish Lake and back then we did really well trolling pop gear and a worm. Is that still an effective method of trolling on the lake? Any other lures/methods I should try? Not looking to really get into the Lake trout but would like to catch some rainbows and splake.
Mark
I’m in the same situation as you are, I’m going down this weekend and will let you know. I think I will try trolling with both leaded line and regular line, pop gear w/worm and metal. I’m also going to try tube jigs near the weed line and points.
Anybody else have any suggestions?
fish lake this time of year is easy to catch the trout trolling. in years past the rainbows and smaller splake are in 10 to 35 feet deep. so you don’t have to go deep to catch them. i have allways done good on rapalas big rainbiw or perch colors.. silver spoon or red and white work realy good.. pop gear and worm is a good bet to.. flatfish work realy good there as well.. when not fishing deep there i stay as close to the weed line as i can..
hope that helps..
Hey mark! I’ll see you at work tomorrow and tell you what I know.
If jigging does not work or you can not find them I have always down well trolling for the splake with a wedding ring with a piece of worm just off the weedline. Rainbows - will hit just about anything flashy at times - gold jakes, needlefish behind a silver dodger. Small flatfish - perch colored work for both. I usually put a 1/4 to 1/2 oz inline weight about 10 ft in front of the wedding ring to get er down some & I don’t troll very fast 1.5 to 1.9 seems to work the best early in the year. I try to find them trolling if they are not in usual spots and after catching a couple of splake in a spot I’ll start working that area with a jig [;)] Spro bucktails white to chub colored with a piece of perch meat is my favorite. Tubes work almost as well IMO. I think I am headed up this weekend for the first time this year. Good luck.
Thanks for the tips guys. Is any one area of the lake better than others? We are staying at one of the Fishlake lodge cabins and I plan on launching at the Lodge marina. Is the East side better than the west side? Should I launch at Bowery Haven or Lakeside instead?
Mark
it matters little where ya launch from.. the lake is not that big! lol
as for one side being better than the other. No not realy there are fish just about everywhere in the lake.. some have there favrite spot’s. but the whole lake is great fishing most any time..
Mark,
**The best bet trolling for the larger fish is along the East side. There are points that jog out into the lake and hold good numbers. it gets really deep very fast so you will need to use your sonar to find the depth where they are holding. **
Watch for the Eagles perched up in those trees as well. It’s great to watch them fish!! Both boat ramps are small and steep and when you leave there, you will most likely have a lot of weeds on your trailer. Be sure to get rid of them for the zebra mussel problem.. [:/] Happy fishing!!
I like the east side the best but as Fuzzy said you can catch them just about anywhere off the weedlines. If the kids get bored a worm and bobber over the weed beds will keep them busy.
im a fan of fishing on the north side of the lake going from joes bush to the east side. or in the evning i like going to the south end of the lake and fishing the edge of the weed line.
but since your staying at the lodge right by the marina is twin creek ive had good luck trolling back and forth through there
I trolled the east side for two days and caught one rainbow. I trolled the west side for one whole day and lost two big macks, caught 11 rainbows and caught a 13.5 lb splake. I think fuzzy is right though, it’s a high elevation lake with no bottom structure, so the fish just do whatever. You can’t really graph a school of macks on the bottom up there, maybe in the late summer but this time of year they are constantly cruising all depths. Just pick a depth and a lure that looks good and run it hard. Make sure if you’re trolling that you check your bait often, it’s a pretty messy lake with lots of floating weeds that ruin your troll.