We appreciate feedback from our customers and enjoy seeing the success fishermen and women all over the country are having with Flashy Fish Lures. Today we would like to take a look back at some of the best Facebook posts some of you shared with Captain Steve and his followers during 2021.

Hello Steve, just wanted to let you know that me and my family have absolutely loved your lures. They have caught all kinds of fish, from trout at East Canyon, to wipers, catfish and walleye at Willard bay. I am excited to get to Flaming Gorge and Strawberry to give them a go as well. I have just put in my third order as we keep trying different lures with great success. — Bart Schenck

I had a great weekend fishing with an awesome friend DonRay Limb, his wife Jennifer Smith Limb, a good friend Jeff, and my Captain in training Huck the Aussie. We landed plenty of Kokanee and a few decent size Lake trout 22.22 and 16.46 at flaming gorge. Thank you Steve Davis for your help and your lures, I am an after dinner mint fan for life. We went from great weather to some nasty “we gotta get out of here” weather. All in all it was a great weekend of hardcore fishing. — Dave Habets

Hi Steve, Here are some pictures from last season. 75% of my chinook were caught on your After Dinner Mint or Super Mint Lures. They are special ! Thought you might enjoy this C Dory boat picture. All on Flashy Fish spoonsThanks, — Dave Pflug

A great day fishing at the gorge thanks Steve for your great lures. — Kevin Horrocks

Hey Steve, we just wanted to give you a report from our most recent trip. The Mac Attack was on fire this week!! Jake Bateman caught his new PB a beautiful 30.14 pounder!! I caught a gorgeous 34.5 on the After Dinner Mint that hit and fought as hard as Ive ever felt a Laker pull, it ripped almost 400 ft of line off my reel after the strike! It was awesome! We also caught multiple doubles this trip and lots of fish in the 16-24lb class made for a great trip! For us the Mac Attack caught the most fish, followed by the After Dinner Mint and the Whitey Tighty. Like always thanks so much for the lures!! — Jared Pugh      

Hi Steve, Wanted to let you know that your lures have been working great “again” this summer. The Super Mint for Salmon UV caught the largest fish so far (14 pound and 9 pound Coho’s). Had several other large fish that had to be released since they were wild Coho’s and not able to keep in the areas they were caught in. Just started using the Razzel Dazzel this week. Caught 7 pound and 8 pound Coho’s within 30 minutes of putting my line out. That lure was used again that afternoon by my brother and his wife who joined us in the afternoon. They also caught some nice Coho’s. The fish checker at the dock told me I would have won first place if I had entered and caught the 14 pound Coho at the Edmonds Coho Derby, as the 1st place fish was only 11.85 pounds. Your lures are the BEST!!!Thank You! — Nancy Winder

By Hartt Wixom 

Dozens of fishermen have paid Steven Davis of Ivins nearly one thousand dollars a day to guide them on Flaming Gorge Reservoir. Reason: he got them into lake trout from 20 to 48 lbs. If he didn’t, you got a free trip.

I first fished this lake, astraddle the Utah-Wyoming border, when it was a brown trout haven. Steve came along when the water began producing giant lake trout (Mackinaw) — at least, if you know where to find and entice them to the hook.

Why hire a guide? Steve’s research showed that it takes the average angler some one hundred hours of fishing on Flaming Gorge to catch one large lake trout. On an average day, he says, “We caught from three to 10 big fish, or 10 to 40 times the average unguided rate.”

Now retired from guiding at Flaming Gorge, Davis has many great angling memories. He found that the traditional lures of the day such as large spoons and wobblers were no longer producing. The big trout were becoming wiser and warier. So, Steve began experimenting with small penny-sized spinners which had a more enticing action to them. And he put them on 150-foot lines in some 100 feet of water or more to coax in the leviathans when no one else could get them to hit.

Davis says he trolls with down riggers and lures that trigger savage strikes.

“We use light tackle so that you will feel all the power of these monster fish,” he said. “Typically, it will require 15-30 minutes to get them in on

15-lb. test line. When a big one hits, all heck breaks loose; the rod doubles over, and the reel begins to scream.”

At one time, he tended two young boys left to his care by their father. When Dad returned, the lads showed them the giant Mackinaw they had subdued. Both had fish over 40 pounds!

Steve also got his fishermen into big kokanee salmon. This is the forage fish which grows giant macks, but at three pounds or more, the kokanees are a target fish in themselves.

Davis uses a 22-foot C-Dory boat with twin 50-horsepower Honda motors. The boat provides sleeping berths, cooking facilities, enclosed deck and, with Davis’ knowhow, all that was needed to reach the 91-mile-long lake’s hot spots.

Davis issued these instructions for future anglers seeking trophy lake trout on Flaming Gorge: April through August and December until ice up. This is a surprise to many anglers because “lakers” move into shallow water to spawn in late October-November. He says the Gorge produces the largest kokanee salmon in the country and best time is mornings from June through September. Brown trout are the hardest to target but best coaxed to the hook April-June and late October-December.

Rates change from year to year. If interested in going after the big one today, contact the U.S. Forest Service (435-784-3445), since they control the marinas where all guiding originates. Of course, you can go on your own and put in at Sheep Creek or other points.

Weather can be cold at the lake’s 6,000 feet elevation; bring coats, even in summer. Beware of high winds. If they threaten, get into a side bay. The latter are usually good spots to go after rainbow trout and smallmouth bass. The bass normally hug the shoreline.

To reach Flaming Gorge from Dixie, follow Interstate 15 to Provo, proceed up Provo Canyon and I-80 to Evanston, then exit eastward for the community of Manila.

Now in Dixie, Davis is getting to know the fishing in local hot spots — like Sand Hollow for bass, the Enterprise lakes for rainbow trout, Quail Creek for both, and after ice-out, Kolob and the higher elevation lakes.Obviously, he knows how to get into the big ones. Contact him at 801-572-2024

We appreciate feedback from our customers and enjoy seeing the success fishermen and women all over the country are having with Flashy Fish Lures. Today we would like to take a look back at some of the best Facebook posts some of you shared with Captain Steve and his followers during 2018.

“Hey Steve,
I wanted to let you know I just returned from Alaska and at the last minute I decided to take the lures I bought from you this past year (primarily for the Gorge) Salmon fishing this year up north has been difficult to say the least, with the worst sockeye run on record. The silvers were just starting to come in to the Kenai River when I arrived (it was even tough fishing for silvers this year too) I decided to try the Blue Herring and it wasn’t long before I had a beautiful 10 pound silver. The next day I decide to try the Blue Tiger with the big yellow eye while standing in the exact same spot in the river. I caught another silver just short of 11 pounds. I suspect I would have done better had I been in a boat but this was just standing in the river with waders. I noticed that some of your lures you have rated and others you have not. Planning another trip up north next year…would it be possible for you to send me in chronological order which lures you would use for Kings, Reds and Silvers? (Not sure yet when I will be going). Then I can order a few more before I go. And if you have any others you would like me to try as a test, I would be happy to do so and report back. Thanks very much, ” 
Malcolm Tasker

July 7th, 2018

“Steve, We made it to the gorge this morning. Your lures didn’t disappoint.” 

Thanks for the help.      

Jeff B. Palmer

September 1, 2018
“Yesterday’s catch and today’s catch all caught with your lures. Thanks!!”
Nancy Winder

June 20, 2018
“Captain Steve, just wanted to say thank you for the lures and marking the map for me. We are at the gorge now and over the last four days of fishing me and my wife have landed 15 large macs. You made our trip. Swim beach has been good. Today I wanted to catch some pups and went into Linwood bay which had no boats in it, went over a ridge about 70 foot deep that was loaded with macs. They hit a lot more I think because of less pressure. As soon as I get back home I’m going to place another order of lures. The hot lure is the blue and silver, your number one Mac lure. Thanks again, we will be smiling all the way home.”
Jimmy Elledge

June 14, 2018

“Hello Steve, here are a few pictures from our most recent trip to the Gorge, the 2 biggest fish of our trip were caught on your lures. The Whitey Tighty UV was the hot lure and this 33 pounder inhaled it as deep as I’ve seen one yet! We caught multiple fish between 10 and 33 pounds and had this pup eat 2 After Dinner Mints at the same time (I believe that’s what happened anyway) he had one in the lip and one in his bottom jaw. Thanks again for all your help your lures are always so consistent for me and always produce even during a very tough bite in 5 days of fishing!”
 Jared Pugh

April 24, 2018
Steve, Just wanted to thank you so much for all your help and advice on fishing for the large macs at Flaming Gorge. Using your advice and your lure with the blue flashy front and white belly on back, ( Blue Knight )” I finally caught my dream fish this weekend. I have tried for many years to get a mac over 40″. To say I was excited to do so was an understatement. I do believe you may have heard me whopping and yelling even from your city when I finally got the fish in the boat this Saturday. Again, thank you so much!!!!

The fish was 42″ even and 36 lbs

Troy Morzelewski

Yes, try them the way you fish other lures in your box, but these ideas may help.

Hartt Wixton wrote an article about his experience deep trolling with Captain Steve Davis at Otter Creek and we thought our followers would enjoy his honest review of Flashy Fish Lures.

Otter Creek is a wonderful trout fishery

By Hartt Wixom

Fly tiers invent dozens of patterns which catch fish. Steve Davis of Ivins City invents dozens of lures which catch fish. Fly tiers do it with fur and feathers. Davis does it with metals — cut extremely thin so as to render a particularly life-like, fluttering effect to his creations.

Davis tested these lures he designed for decades on Flaming Gorge Reservoir where he guided clients to lake trout as large as 50 pounds. Now, having moved to Dixie, he uses them to fetch other large species such as rainbow, brown and cutthroat trout. Where kokanee salmon can be found, in such waters as Strawberry or Flaming Gorge reservoirs, these concoctions are especially effective.

So successful are these creations made in his office vice that fishermen order them by the dozens, sometimes hundreds. These lures were put together after Davis used the standard spoons and spinners for years and decided he could improve on them. Which he feels he has done. At one time, he found himself bereft of his usual collection, took a dime from his pocket, placed a hook in it to give a slow spinning action and began immediately catching both rainbow trout and kokanee salmon. Showing it to an employee in a sporting goods store, the store began making this “lure” and attracted more and bigger trout with it.

Davis’s list of lures is a long one, but I asked him to show me his favorite half-dozen. They are Rainbow, Deer Creek Special, Strawberry Minnow, Excaliber, After-Dinner Mint and Kokanee Cookie. He has tested them in Southern Utah and found that they work on the likes of Otter Creek, Piute, Sand Hollow, and Baker reservoirs, both Enterprise reservoirs and Lake Powell or any place there are big trout or bass.

Other fish-fetching lures he makes are Silver Shiner, Copper Killer, Mac (Mackinaw) Slayer, Pink Lady, Rainbow Candy, Blue Tiger, White Belly Rainbow, Silver-Scaled Chub, White Belly Frog, Bear Lake Secret, and Super Bear Lake Secret. The latter is so secret that Davis requires those who use it to sign a pledge they will not show it to anyone. They must keep it in a paper bag until using, “Or we will not sell you one.”

He adds that if you don’t like it, “we will refund your money.” This one was field tested on Bear Lake on the Utah/Idaho border, but the inventor says he has caught fish with it on many other fishing holes as well.

Of those six favored lures, he says this: “No other lure in my box has as much ability to catch different sizes and species of fish as the After-Dinner Mint. It has a glow-in-the-dark feature which fetches attention in deep or off-color water. The White-Belly Rainbow also has this ability. Strawberry Minnow has a red side to it, especially attractive to fish in all waters with red-sided dace. (Most larger waters do.)”

Of the Deer Creek Special, Davis added, “If I was going to fish a new lake and had only one lure, I would use this one. This half silver, half gold lure is a troller’s dream come true. It works on salt as well as on freshwater fish.”

If you are a fan of large lake trout, Davis suggests the Blue Tiger.

“I have caught more lakers with this lure than any other,” he said. “You want to troll it within five feet of the bottom. Be ready for vicious strikes.”

Davis makes a good many claims for his offerings. But I have fished with him several times and found that his lures work. Naturally, the angler must fish at the right depth and be certain the lure is free of moss and hooks not tangled. (Unlike Rapalas and most plugs, Davis’s spoons and spinners do not have multiple treble hooks which can foul when trolling.)

Fashioned from thin metal, large sinkers may be necessary to get the lure down deep, but most trollers have down riggers which take care of that — and release immediately when a fish strikes.

These metal attractors are useful on streams but less so on smaller waters with smaller fish. The main attractions are to minnow-feeding large fish and almost all species must depend on fish flesh of some kind after leaving the insect-subsistence stage. In my experience, however, any trout, bass, walleye, northern pike, or other game fish will turn to minnows or other meat after reaching 11 to 12 inches. I’ve caught trout on size 3 spinners as small as eight to nine inches.

Davis loves brown trout. If he had his way, all potential trout water would be managed for Salmo trutta. Reasons: they grow big faster than other species (save lake trout which are not a trout but a char), browns are fighters and they are tolerant of warmer temperatures to 70 degrees and more.

The Division of Wildlife Resources, of course, plants mostly rainbows and cutthroat, more so the cutts because they have neared federally controlled rare and endangered status.

“I just got back from Otter Creek Reservoir. I must have caught nearly 100 rainbow in 6 hours. The fishing was Red Hot using my new lure, The Real UV Frog. I just finished my first batch in 2 sizes, medium and small.”

Small only $5.00 each.

1.  Fish in the Right Spot

The lake trout at Flaming Gorge like to bunch up above underwater hills, mounds, drop offs, and cliff edges. Knowing where to locate these spots will put you on track to zero in on the Macs.  I can help you here. Send me a good detailed map of Flaming Gorge, make sure it is this map.

I will mark it for you and send it back. Send the map, along with $20 for handling & return postage, to:

Steven Davis
271 E. 250 N.
Ivins, Utah 84738.

Now that you have the map, you are ready to find individual humps and hills where the Macs are at. You will need a good fish-finder and a  GPS. Next, go to that area on your map where the Macs are at and with your GPS, start criss-crossing in a grid pattern. Every time you see a bunch of five or more big fish on the bottom, mark a waypoint on your GPS. My GPS will hold a thousand waypoints. By going back and forth and having a notebook with you, you will be able to get a picture of the bottom. Don’t put your waypoints too close to each other, you should only mark one on the top of the hump, or edge of the drop-off, where you see the most Macs.

In a notebook, write down the waypoint number and depth. Don’t even think about fishing at this point. This may take more than a day. However, once you have these secret GPS points, you will be able to start making trolling routes.

Now let’s talk specifics… Swim Beach Bay is one of the best areas to look for Macs. The fishing here is the best from April to July. There are a bunch of 50 to 60 foot deep edges that can have lots of Macs in May. These spots are mostly on the north side, about 100 to 200 yards from the big rock edge of the lake. The bottom here is rocky. Fish your lure 100 hundred feet back from your downrigger ball, and when you fish,  stay 1 foot off the bottom.
About 100 to 200 yards south of these 60 foot drop offs is a mile of dirt humps in 90 to 105 feet of water. From about mid-May to July these humps have large Macs on them, with 10 to 50 fish on each hump. These humps run from northeast to southwest, all the way across Swim Beach Bay.  I will mark both trolling patterns on your map, but you will need to find the individual humps by scouting it out. After you find the humps, it is just like connecting the dots, trolling from one waypoint to the next. The good thing about this area is the bottom is soft and you can drop your downrigger ball to the bottom with no worries. Fish 150 feet back from the ball in this area.

The next area to fish is Antelope Flats. This area is divided into two parts, with a deep canyon draw dividing them. The north area is called the J Run. It is very easy to troll and it is the preferred area for steel liners because of the flat gradual slope. It would be a good area to practice dragging the bottom, because of how consistent the flat bottom is here. There are big fish here, but not in large numbers, or spots. So other than marking a trolling line and pattern, there are no humps to mark. Trolling is from southeast to northwest, or northwest to southeast. I will mark it on your map.

The main Antelope Flat area is at the southeast end of the J Run and has a number of canyon draws. It can be very challenging to troll these canyon tops and slopes.  They can have hundreds of moody lake trout on them, and when you see how many lake trout you are crossing over in June, it can make you crazy trying to get them to hit. The state record lake trout, and my biggest lake trout, was caught in this area. It is the preferred area for the boats jigging, and on some days there will be 25 or more boats dead in the water jigging these spots. Learning how to weave  through them and stay 100 hundred feet from each boat can be challenging. The bottom here is very uneven, rising and dropping from 60 to 100 feet numerous times, with lake trout everywhere. Making a straight trolling line here will not work. However, you can troll here without having to adjust your downrigger too many times by knowing the bottom and having a trolling pattern that is more like trolling the letter W than a straight line. This area can be very productive, but on many days the fish act like they have lockjaw. I once trolled this area for eight hours straight, without so much as a tick of a hit on my line. Finally, at 2:15 in the afternoon, I got the only hit of the day: a 50 pound monster Mac!

At the end of the June, a lot of the lake trout start to move over to Linwood Bay. The fishing in Linwood Bay is easy and can be hot with large fish being caught all day. Linwood Bay has a gradual slope to it from the shallows on the north side out to the center.  Where the lake trout  hang out on the edge of long a drop-off, that runs east and west. Most of the lake trout will be on this edge or on the east end of the edge, that runs north and south. A long trolling run of almost 1 to 1 1/2 miles miles can be made here in basically a straight course from east to west or west to east. Trolling here is easy with few snags, depending on the level of the lake. You can drop your downrigger ball to the 100 foot bottom and forget about it, just troll.  Fish your lure 150 feet back in this area.  Fishing here is very productive in July through August, with more and more fish showing up every day. Two other areas to mention would be the Anvil Area and Sheep Creek. These areas can have big lake trout.  I will mark the best spots on your map, but caution should be taken in Sheep Creek and other spots south of here, like Hideout and the rest of the canyon area, because of rocky snag filled outcrops. It is easy to lose a downrigger ball here and should only be trolled after making several passes to scout out and mark the bottom and side of the canyon. It is best left to expert downriggers. There are other areas in the lake that have large lake trout, but you must know and  map the bottom.

2. Fish with the Right Lure

There are many lures that are sucessful at catching lake trout:

A.  Rapala-type lures
B.  Flatfish
C.  Flutter spoons

A. Rapala-Type Lures

Rapala-type lures are fish shaped lures, usually 3 to 10 inches long with 1 to 3 treble hooks. They can be very effective in certain places and times of day. For example, fish these lures before sunup or after sundown. My favorite Rapalas are the floating Rainbow, Green Pike, Silver Blue, or Silver Chartreuse. Fishing with Raplas early in the morning in the shallow areas can be deadly, such as on the 50 foot to 60 foot area of Swim Beach. Set your downrigger anywhere from 20 to 40 feet down and go 3.5 to 4 mph. This approach will also work at Antelope Flats in the 30 to 60 foot areas. This method usually only works before sunup or after sundown. Stay at least 10 to 20 feet above the bottom, or you will snag up for sure. Rapalas can be very effective in the late fall to spring.

B. Flatfish

Reels

I only use line-counter trolling reels because I want to know exactly how far back my lures are. Also, they hold a lot more line, which will be needed if I get a big fish on and it decides to run.The best line-counter reel is the Shimano Tekota Levelwind. This line-counter reel is not cheap, but should last for years of fishing. Okuma also makes a cheaper line-counter that I like, The Okuma Cold Water Linecounter.

Line

I like to use Seaguar fluorocarbon line in a 15 pound test, but it is very expensive to use. If you get a snag, you can lose a lot of line fast. For this reason, I now fish with 12 pound Izorline XXX line in smoke color, available at Tackle Warehouse. It is stronger than fluorocarbon and cheap. You will want to buy the 1100 yd spool, and put on at least 1000 feet on each reel. There is a lot of different lines that are sold and I’ve tried dozens of them with bad results, so getting the right line is very critical to your success. If you have the wrong line on, it may doom your fishing for years.

Rods

My recommendation is a 7 foot, one piece, medium action bass rod. There are many good brands to choose from. The rigging is very important, what you want to do is tie on a Duo-Lock #2 snap with no swivel, with a Palomar knot.

If your lure starts to spin or you get line twist, you will need to slow down, because you’re moving too fast.

Downrigger Notes

If you have a manual downrigger, get rid of the cable and put on 150 pound test, braided line. It will cut through the water easier and stop that annoying hum.  I use 6 pound round lead balls. Don’t use the fish shaped ones, or the pancake type. They will get hung up on the bottom. Change your transducer from pointing straight down to looking one click back. This way you will be able to see exactly where your lead is as you troll. I use offshore downrigger releases. Use the black ones, and put your line 3/4 the way back.

OK! You’re ready to fish! Put your flutter spoon 150 ft back and send it to the bottom as you approach one of your pre-mapped trolling lines. People ask me, “You don’t actually drag the bottom, do you?” And I tell them to look at my downrigger balls and notice all the dents in the lead from hitting rocks. Finally, big lake trout are very moody and 20% of the time or one out of every 5 days

they just won’t bite, no matter what you’re fishing with. Even more agrivating, in late August through October they get even more testy, so if you get skunked, don’t give up, tomorrow’s a new day.

If you have more questions email me at   trophyfishingguides@gmail.com

“Steve, we caught 17 macs in one day and all but 3 of them were on the sm. Whitey Tighy. We caught the other 3 on the sm. Blue Knight, plus a handful of really nice 3 1/2 to 4lb kokes on the sm Blue Knight as well while trolling on the bottom?? I’ve never caught kokes that deep, so that was pretty cool! Thanks again for all your help, I’ll be calling to order some replacements the one W.T. that I had is pretty beat up!”

-Jared Pugh

Jared  Pugh