Lake Trout
|
Mike Dewey, Granby |
Lake Trout Through the Ice It doesn’t get much better than catching a bunch of large lake trout through the ice. It will keep you warm on a cold winters day. Many Colorado Lakes have lake trout: Granby, Green Mountain, Williams Fork, Blue Mesa, Catamount; Crystal Creek Reservoirs, Deep Lake, Elkhead Reservoir, Jefferson Lake, Rampart Reservoir, Taylor Reservoir, Turquoise, and Twin Lakes, just to name a few. There are plenty of places to get the Big Mack attack. Use white 4" tube jigs tipped with sucker meat or a small whole sucker for Mackinaw. If you add a barrel swievel on the line (about 4 foot from your lure) your bait will fall in a spiral motion which looks like a dying sucker. If fish are more active try an Airplane Jig or Jigging Rapala, both tipped with a chunk of sucker meat. If fish are less aggressive downsize your lure and bait and work them slower. If the bite is slow downsize your presentation and work your lure more slowly with several pauses or even dead sticking it now and then. For a slow bite a 1 ½ inch pink and white tube jig, orange # 6 Rat Finkee, Foxee jig, or other micro-jig, tipped with a small amount of Power Bait or piece of sucker can be productive. For Macks be sure and fish just off the bottom where they spend most of their time. The best bite is often near the end of the day as the sun goes down (about 3-4 p.m.). If the fish are neutral or inactive they often respond better to smaller, one inch or less, chunks of sucker meat better than they do a whole sucker. You can also catch more fish on the small jigs but are more apt to catch bigger fish using a 4 inch tube with a 3/8 - 1/2 oz. tube jig tipped with a small piece of sucker meat. Other lures that work for macks include a Foxee Jig tipped with sucker meat. There are two major lessons I have learned the hard way about fishing for macks: (1) if you want to get a trophy Mack use a bigger hook; and (2) don’t force a large Mack to your hole until he’s ready to come. Watch for the fish to run sideways and rub your line against the ice. If that happens stick your pole into the water while he's making his hard run. Using a low stretch, low vis line will also help. Look for points that go way out into the lake then walk out drilling test holes until you find 30 - 50 feet of water. It helps to have electronics. Drill one hole at a time to check the depth, then once you've found a good depth drill a series of 2-6 holes and check each one to see if fish are in the area. If you see fish in a hole, fish that hole immediately, if not go to the next hole but don't leave the area until all holes have been fishing. You don't always see the fish on your electronics that you catch. The reasons are that most electronics don't do a good job of picking up fish that are right on the bottom and fish may see you lure and race to strike it but be outside of your sonar beam. For example, with most electronics the area you see on the bottom is only about 1/3rd of the water column depth. If you're fishing in 30 feet of water you are only seeing a 10 foot circle on the bottom. That means that at 15 feet down you're only seeing 7 1/2 feet area. Don't give up on a hole just because you don't see fish on your electronics, at least give it a few minutes before going to a new hole. Remember, fish in lakes have to move around some to eat, unlike in a river where current brings food to the fish. That means it's best to drill several holes in the area once you've located some fish then move around to the various holes every 30 min or so or when the action dies down. Remember that our mountain lakes can often have temperatures below zero first thing in the morning. Your power augers can act up and you can too, so dress warm and take along a manual auger or ice chiesel, in addition to your power auger, just in case. It really gets pretty comfortable after the sun comes. GRANBY: There are several possible areas to fish for Macks through the ice at Granby. One popular location is off Sunset Point which has relatively easy access for those of us who don’t own a snowmobile or quad. Fishermen are also fishing at the edges of the channel running up to the dam; in front of Dike 3; off Deer Island, and in the general area of Elephant and Shelter Islands. Anywhere you can find 20-50 feet of water near structure and deeper 60-100 foot water nearby. There can be thin ice in parts of Granby, like any lake, so use care. Some of the spots that you always want to watch for on Granby are around the power plant, and near the dam and inlets. Be prepared to walk a ways to get to the best locations. You can start fishing shallower 15-20 feet water early in the day but go to deeper 30-50 feet of water during the middle of the day. There is a $5 fee at the entrance that you pay at a machine. Have the correct change. Hope this information helps you become better fishermen. Be sure to take pictures, then release any really large fish you get so that there will be trophy fish for those that follow us in the years to come. If you want to talk fishing or have me show you how we rig up for Mack fishing, or other kinds of fishing, stop in an see me at the Sprotsman's Warehouse in Aurora, I work most Fridays and Saturdays. The rest of the time you'll have to meet me on the lake or stream. God Bless and have a great year fishing. |
