Vacay fishing
I loaded up the truck, put the canoe on top, hitched up the tab trailer and hit the road...first stop was Flaming Gorge reservoir in Utah. I camped near a launch ramp that was close to deep water so I wouldn't have to paddle miles to fish different depths. I started out trying to catch a burbot using glow jigs tipped with a sucker chunk, but no bites for a while...then this lake trout grabbed the jig.
It was about 3 pounds or so...I've eaten lake trout this size before, so I let it go. I kept trying to catch a burbot, fishing in 40 to 100 feet of water. I hooked and lost one, then no more bites, but I kept seeing fish around 40 feet down in 50 or more feet of water on my portable meter...so I set up the clamp-on downrigger on the canoe, put on a spoon tipped with a sucker chunk, and started trolling around. Pretty soon I got bit, and as soon as the lure came off the clip this kokanee came rocketing out of the water.
It fought like crazy, jumping about 10 times until I netted it. I kept trolling for another koke, but no other bites that morning. The next day the burbot and lakers wouldn't bite, the kokanee had left the area I was fishing, so after a couple of hours of trying for them I went back in the cove and caught a bunch of rainbows on spoons, plugs, and bait...just about anything. I let them go since I still had a kokanee fillet left for dinner.
Next stop was Nebraska...I was going to just travel through, but I found a pamplet in a rest stop describing the fishing ponds they built along I-80, so I bought a one day license and tried a few...I love catching sunfish, so I had a blast catching a variety of them on a worm and bobber. Here's a rock bass and a green sunfish...I also caught some nice bluegill.
They were big and easy to catch, compared to California sunfish...
Next fishing stop was northern Minnesota...I fished a couple of lakes there for a few days and caught Northern pike
Smallmouth bass
and yellow perch...this one was about a pound
Unfortunately, I spent most of my time trying to catch a walleye, but no luck...it's kind of tough on my fishing ego to not be able to catch a walleye in northern Minnesota, but that's how it went...no shortage of other fish though.
We went next to the Canadian Rockies...didn't fish but great sight-seeing...then a few days in Washington, where I caught a lot of little yellow perch and sunfish...not worth showing the pics...
No walleye or burbot on this trip, but I'll be back, and the fish I did catch were fun and delicious...if you cut the y-bones out of pike, they're great!
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Originally Posted by zzzfish
