tube jigging deep for lakers

[ironrod]

I'm not much of a jig fisherman but I'll keep at it...looking for advice when going after lake trout...anywhere from 70' to 180' of water. What would you use, size, line, ect....Thanks in advance[]!
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[windriver]

The only experience that I have with this is at Shoshone in Yellowstone. It is fairly easy there just put a non-lead jighead on a 3-5" glow tube cast out and bounce bottom on the retrieve. We caught a ton of them. I know it is more technical in the other Laketrout areas.

Windriver
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[Belasko]

I've never tried it but one method I read about started w/ mark them on your sonar then drop the spoon or jig to the bottom, bounce it a few times, then reel for the top. They would also pause once or twice suddenly on the way up. Supposedly the fish would hit on the chase, but if they were reluctant when it stopped it was like the fish ran into the lure and took it then. Let me know if it works if you try it.
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[jacksonlaker]

If you look on the Utah board this was covered in detail a while back. Capt. Jim Williams of Creative Fishing Adventures on Flaming Gorge is THE expert on tube jigging lakers. Check out his website...all those hogs were caught jigging. If you P.M. me I can tell you what I know ,but if you want to learn from the best, then book a trip with Jim.
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[ironrod]

Thanks guys...It seems like each body of water also has it's own tricks but some of the basics should work...I'm headed to Clarkston, WA. to get my boat after it's been in their shop for a month..then we're headed to to Flathead Res in Mt on the way home. We found some really nice fish last yr but 99% were caught trolling...would like to get a few more jigging this time[cool]
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[MMDon]

You will love Flathead. It's one of my favorite lakes in the world to jig or troll. Be very careful however as the lake can drown you very quickly. Watch the sky to the west and if it clouds up get off the lake. Within 30 minutes it can put 6 foot waves over your bow.

If you want to speak with an expert at Flathead stop in Ronan and speak with the Macman! He and his wife own Zimmer's Tackle and he is one of the most knowledgeable people you can talk to about the lake. He is more than willing to share what he knows with you as far as location and what works and doesn't work. He also has a supply of trayed herring in both dyed and undyed quantities which you will want to have for jigging and trolling there!

If you will pm me I will send you Dick Zimmers latest fishing report on the 28lb. mac they caught. They are pulling close to 50 rat macs a day out!


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[ironrod]

Thanks...and one step ahead of ya...I frequent Mo Fisch Charters and their fishing report. Macman supplied a fishing report so I emailed him. He not only sent me step-by-step on how to catch them but included the location where he caught that lunker![cool] I'll be stopping in a grabbing some bait and his wife said he has a small book on "jigging for lakers" that her hubby wrote.

I've been fishing Yellowstone Lake for 15 yrs so I thought I would have been a little more prepared last November...we got caught in a storm around 9pm (part of the problem...couldn't really see the clouds moving in since it was getting dark)..wind came up so I headed back to where we put in -NE corner near FH river---well, trying to trailer in 7-8ft waves was impossible. I ended up on the trailer but soon was blown completely off and staight into/under the cement pier! That's what lead to me shipping my Thunderjet back to Clarkston, Wa...I damaged the rear port side, rear rails, and cracked my gas tank...those tanks are welded in under the floor so they had to cut it out and replace it-as well as do the other repairs. (good thing I had an excellent insurance agent that had the correct coverage in place!! lol[laugh]

I really can't think of a lake I enjoy more...my focus now is to figure out how to retire and move up there!!!!
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[MMDon]

Very cool. When she said small it is only 4 1/2" x 5 1/2"

The Jig Fishing Handbook for Lake Trout.
Check out the stunned bait fish rig. It allows you to work two rods at once while jigging.

Thunderjets are built like battleships. Mine seems almost indestructible. You must have hit really really hard!

I'd have to agree about Flat Head being the dream lake to live at! Something around Lakeside would be ideal. You can fish out in front in almost the worst weather and you can always get in under the mountain even under the worst conditions. Also you don't have to drive that crappy road over on the trendy side unless you want some good Italian food!
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[ironrod]

funny you should mention that italian...we stopped there on our last night -great food and fairly good entertainment!
Yes-we hit REALLY hard...I was super surprised it didn't look worse...
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[prvrt]

This is something I have been wanting to try for a while now. I guess I will have to get out and try it. I have caught a few in Palies, but nothing over about 5lbs and they were caught trolling. I have seen a few guys jigging for them there, but I have never actually stopped and tried or had the right bait/lures with me to try.

I am glad to hear your Thunder Jet survived the impact. I have loved mine so far. I need to get it out and get it ready for the season. The river has been so low this spring that I have not even tried it yet.
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[ironrod]

What time of yr do you fish Palies? I've only tried it a couple of times with little success...mostly due to time of day/season I think. I love my Jet as well....I wont be on the river until they raise it-let it run for a couple of weeks and clean it out...then I'll be running around too[cool]
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[prvrt]

I usually fish it in the Spring and summer. Never do real good in the fall. I troll quite a bit and right after ice off can be real good. I have had 50 fish mornings there with them being 50/50 Cuts/Browns. I have not caught a Rainbow there for years. I use to bank fish it quite a lot also and have caught some real nice fish. These drought years tho are really putting a hurting on the fish.
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[MMDon]

As Prvrt said you can troll in the spring with anything orange or yellow and limit out on cookie cutters. Jigging for big fish would probably take a night run.
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[ironrod]

Thanks for the additional info you two[]--now to get the boat back in town and get out there[cool]! Ice was open in quite a few places a week ago on Palies and with all the wind lately im sure there's room to troll around. How deep do you troll...downriggers / side planers /....what would you suggest?
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[MMDon]

I'd topline and run my planer boards early. Just watch out for floating trees and such. They can get pretty bad in the trolling lanes.
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[ironrod]

I'll give it a try the second week in May and post the results..after I post all the pics of my Flathead Lakers of course[cool]!!!
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[prvrt]

I flat line sometimes with 2 lines and drop the other two lines down on down riggers around 15-25'. A lot of times I will put 2 lines on each down rigger about 10' apart. If you have down riggers, start out at 10' and then drop them down in 2.5' increments until you start catching. Once summer hits, the fish will be 20-45' down. Try a brown trout Rapala in any size up to an 11. Jointed works a little better. Fish around the dam and east shore in about 25'-50' of water. Bear creek is another spot to try at about 15-20'. 1.5mph-2.0mph. Slow for cold water and a little faster for warm water. Early morning is best.
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[ironrod]

Thanks! That's the kind of info I need...step-by-step AND location! Another fellow jetboater has done fairly well (size not numbers) on the kokanee up there....have you ever tried catching kokes on Palies? Yrs ago I used to chase them during the spawn (you could catch some 16-20" cutts as well!) up Big Elk creek...I know there body changes dramatically but there has to be some pretty nice ones in the res since a lot of those spawners are 4+lbs.
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[prvrt]

I never have targeted Kokes specifically when fishing Palies other than Big Elk creek during the spawn. I have hooked a few trolling for trout that were decent size. I know where they are, but not sure why I never fished for them. Maybe this year I will make a trip and actually fish just for Kokes and see how things go. I know they have to be decent size, as you stated, the spawners are good sized.
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