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Had to give it a 5 star with it being a personal best day out on the lake. Weather was great and the fish were cooperating.

After launching at the Mission Bay we shot down to the south end where we'd seen a boat the previous day. I guess that person must know a thing or two. We made a quick pass and marked schools of fish 35-40 feet deep in 86 feet of water. Swung around to make a pass and got a fish in 125 feet of water 40 feet down. Next fish was in the school we were aiming to hit. 6 pounds 4 ounces, my personal best for that lake by a long shot. Seconds after getting that fish in the boat the other pole picked up a 4 pound even fish. So within the first 15 minutes we had 3 fish. Unheard of for us. We proceeded to work that shoreline and depth landing 5 fish there with several long ranged releases. Then we went sight seeing, losing a big fish further up the lake on the east side near a bay, still staying in 80-100 feet of water. Then when we packed up we caught one more at the opening of the Mission Bay while we were trolling our way in.

Total caught was 7 and we lost at least that many but those are the chances you take with single barbless. All quality fish, smallest being in the 2 pound range. I found it interesting that the 6 pound 4 ounce fish(24") was only 1 inch longer then the 4 pound even fish(23"). Fish were all caught in 60-125 feet of water using spoons, except for the one fish caught on a jointed rainbow pattern rapala. The Kingfisher lite spoon in chartreuse was the big producer, 4" spoon. Later in the day we used the same spoon but in blue. Both rods running them and both catching fish. They were a very hot item this day. Trolling them at 2.0-2.4mph worked best.

I'm just hoping we finally unlocked the secret for this lake and not that it was just a lucky day. I only wish we had more time this day to fish it. I can't wait to go back and test out what we learned.

urbanangler

6/22/2012 9:48:00 AM

Great report, thanks

The Quadfather

6/22/2012 12:36:00 PM

Mark, ill send you a PM. I have a copy of the tribes regs. After june 1st it is no longer single/ barbless. (Baitless remains in effect.) And 1 fish over 18".

mwdehaan

6/22/2012 11:48:00 PM

Yea. When I do C&R on lakes like Omak I tend to go single barbless regardless of the rules. Unless I'm out to keep fish. But the spoons I was using were already crimped from the past season and selective gear lakes and areas of the rivers. It's fine for me. We landed half of what we hooked into and went home with some good fish to put in the smoker. I don't know what all this talk is about Lahontans tasting bad. I don't think they're that bad at all. Just season them up.

MotoBoat

6/23/2012 10:22:00 AM

I was not aware the flavor of Lohontans to not the best for table fare. Just that they are sluggish fighters for there size.

mwdehaan

6/23/2012 11:44:00 PM

There's a lot of talk about it Motoboat. But from what I've had it's more about how you cook them. I've never had one that was BAD. For me they taste like the average fish, nothing special. Not like rufus triploids or some kokanee that just melt for you. As for the fight I haven't caught enough large rainbows or other fish for that matter to compare them to. If I try to compare them to the few 8 pound wild steelhead I caught last season, then there is no contest. The 6 pounder didn't peel drag for more then 10 feet. But I did have to tighten my drag to get it in when it finally got tired. It was about 100 feet to reel in and it fought pretty good at the initial hookup, then again at 40 feet running back to 50 feet. Then when the counter read 40 feet again it was almost straight down from the boat. So for me it wasn't a bad fight, I've had a lot more of a sluggish fish. But it's no steelhead. I guess if you wanted more of a sporting fight you could always use ultralight :) We run light poles rated at 10 pounds I believe and 10 pound test. So probably a little on the heavy side but fun regardless.

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