Catching Big Lake Trout at Flaming Gorge Is As Easy As 1, 2, 3!

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 $40 for handling & return postage, to:

Flashy Fish Lures
2741 S. Sandalwood Circle
Saratoga Springs, Utah 84045

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.

In a notebook, write down the waypoint number and depth. Don't even think about fishing at this point.

The next area to fish is Antelope Flats. This area is divided into two parts, with a deep canyon draw dividing them.

The main Antelope Flat area is at the southeast end of the J Run and has a number of canyon draws. They can have hundreds of moody lake trout on them. 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!

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.

B. Flatfish

Big flatfish were once the weapon of choice at Flaming Gorge, but are rarely effective anymore.

C. Flutter Spoons

Flutter spoons are made by different manufacturers. The most well-known would be Luhr-Jensen's Needlefish. I made my first flutter spoon in 1975 and called it a Flashy Fish. The best large and extra large spoons are the Rainbow, Kokanee and Blue Tiger.

3. Fish the Right Way

Now that you know where the fish are and have a bunch of flutter spoons ready to go, there's just a few more details.

Reels

I only use line-counter trolling reels because I want to know exactly how far back my lures are.

Line

I like to use Seaguar fluorocarbon line in a 15 pound test, but it is very expensive to use. For this reason, I now fish with 12 pound Izorline XXX line in smoke color, available at Tackle Warehouse.

Rods

My recommendation is a 7 foot, one piece, medium action bass rod. 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.

Duo-Lock #2 snap with no swivel

If your lure starts to spin or you get line twist, you will need to slow down.

Downrigger Notes

If you have a manual downrigger, get rid of the cable and put on 150 pound test, braided line.

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. they just won't bite, no matter what you're fishing with.

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