# Burbot, Kokanee, Lake trout, Rainbow and Smallmouth



## pezvela (Nov 3, 2007)

Spent Saturday, Sunday and Monday on the Gorge. Got there Sat. about noon after trouble with my boat trailer. Just before dark we teamed up with Ashley Bonser from Manila. Many of you either know Ash (Fishley) from other forums or have read his many posts on fishing the Gorge. Although he is a young guy, He has many many years fishing there and when he speaks: It pays to listen.

Ash had agreed to let us follow him out to the areas he was catching burbot and we were excited about the opportunity. Just after dark 2 boats launched from Holmes crossing and up the lake we went.
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Above : ASHLEY BONSER AND FRIENDS

Before the evening was over my boat had seventeen burbot aboard, Ash had at least that many and one of Ash's friends who had arrived earlier had at least 40. His name was Kent, as I recall. Great guys and great fishermen. Taking Ash's advise we jigged with RMT glow tubes tipped w/sucker meat. 3/8 OZ glow jig heads. The take was mostly soft as it fluttered back down. Most fish were small. The largest 22". Ash and Kents boats both took larger burbot and a few incidental pup lake trout.
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Above : BURBOT
The burbot are ugly enough to give new defination to the word, but supposedly excellent table fare. They are more like a snake than a fish and I don't care if I catch another one, but they are going to be a problem to the fishery and everyone that can be caught should be taken. We'll fish for them in the night when we are up there and I hope to get some video of Ash explaining how to catch them, but the inverter on my boat was acting up and I didn't have sufficient light to tape at night.
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Above : BURBOT IN THE DAYLIGHT. 18" 6 or 7 OZ

SUNDAY: Weather was spectacular. Started trolling in Linwood but it was very slow. Plently of jiggers over the humps, but we didn't want to fish in that close proximity so we moved over to swimbeach and started trolling toward Pipeline. Water was flat and the fishing was great. We picked up 3 Kokanee, 8 Lake trout and that many rainbow. All the fish were caught on RMT Serpant spoons w/flasher 24 inches ahead of lure. Used both downriggers and lead core. My buddies don't like the downriggers and insist on using lead core even though they often have to let out 15 to 16 colors to get down. Too much reeling for me.

We were scheduled to go out agin after burbot, but we were too burned out from fishing all day and didn't make it.
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Above : ONE OF MANY DOUBLES SUNDAY.

We were anticipating a storm Monday, but it didn't materialize so were launched at Lucerne and went back to the area between swin beach and the pipeline where we had fished the day before. It was a repeat. Lots of rainbow and lake trout on the troll. Everything was relatively small thought, 14 to 24". Late in the afternoon we lost a big fish at the boat. Estimated weight, 20 to 30 lbs). It's easy to say that they are that big when they get off, but this one was at least 20 lbs. Caught a few smallmouths in the shall bays casting jigs, but didn't give it the time we should have.

With the warm weather of the past month it will probably be a while before it freezes on the Gorge. In the mean time I'll fix my boat trailer and start planning another trip back up there even if I have to sell my house to afford a tank of diesel for the truck and a tank full in the boat.

If you are going up there are a couple of things to note: There is a courtesy dock at buckboard and Lucern which makes launching easy, but I have no idea how long they will leave them in the water. Call ahead for rooms as they were sold out Sat. night and we had to stay in Green River
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SUNSET AT SWIM BEACH

Kokanee notes. The Kokanee we caught were 14 to 16 inchers. We did talk to some guys that had found a huge school of spawners in Sheep Creek and said they wore their arms off catching and releasing big, 3 to 5, pounders w/jigs. Kokanee fishing opens up again on 1 Dec.

I hope this post gives you some insight to current conditions at Manila and that you will have the opportunity to fish it soon. It truly is an extraordinary fishery. Keep the wind to your back. Tight lines


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## BrookTroutKid (Oct 10, 2007)

Wow those Burbot are UGLY. They look like something you might find in the sewer. Anyway nice job on getting into the fish at the gorge. Nice Pics too.


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## orvis1 (Sep 7, 2007)

Great post! Nice boat, one day I will get one of those crestliners for myself they are great boats.


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## pezvela (Nov 3, 2007)

The boat in the pic taken in the dark is Asleys and it is really rigged to fish. Mine is in the other pic and it is rigged to put me in the poor house. Tight lines


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## orvis1 (Sep 7, 2007)

You know what boat stands for right?


B- Bust 
O- Out 
A- Another 
T- Thousand


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## Nibble Nuts (Sep 12, 2007)

Wow, I am amazed, you have caught four fish that are on my needt to catch list within the last few weeks. Those are pike, macs, kokes, and burbot. Good job man!


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## FROGGER (Oct 1, 2007)

Nibble Nuts said:


> Wow, I am amazed, you have caught four fish that are on my needt to catch list within the last few weeks. Those are pike, macs, kokes, and burbot. Good job man!


Same, i would love to catch a Burbot...Thanks for the pics and the report....


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## LOAH (Sep 29, 2007)

Great report! I'm glad you had a good time.


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## skeet4l (Sep 11, 2007)

Nice report pez, looks like you guys had a good time. I have enjoyed Ashs' reports for some time now, if you guys need someone to tag along and split the costs I'd be interested. I'd offer my boat up but I've put it away for the year and I'm waitin for minnkota to return my electric. Next spring is always an option as there are a few of us willing to pull our weight with the costs. Good fishing and keep the reports coming.


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## pezvela (Nov 3, 2007)

Thanks for the kind words. 

I am always looking for someone to go fishing with me. I am retired and no longer have the money to chase marlin and sailfish around the world ( Pez Vela is Spanish for sailfish)
With the remainer of time I have left I will pursue game fish in Utah's spectacular waters.

I am not your neighborhood bishop. I smoke too much, occasionally inbibe and scratch my ass when it itches. I am a pretty good fisherman with over 50 years of experoience behind me. I hold eight IFGA records, 1 world record and seven state records.

My boat is a 24 foor Boston Whaler center console with twin 150 Yamaha's. She has state of the art electronics, downriggers, etc. 450 mile range at 3500 rpm. Born to fish the blue waters, but stuck in the mountain states. I'm not complaining. In fact I am dam glad to have her, she's just a little more than one needs for Utah.

If you'd like to fish with me, send me an Email or call me (801 592 78090) And we can sit down and have a beer and put something together. Keep in mind I can be a jerk when I fish, generally staying on the water from daylight to dark and often later. I don't profess to know everything, in fact I'm learning every time I fish. 

It's difficult nearly impossible for me to launch my boat and put her back on the trailer by myself and that is one more reason I'd like to find some new anglers to share the discomfort.

Keep the wind to your back. Tight lines.


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## .45 (Sep 21, 2007)

That's a pretty good offer Pez....are you about done boating for the year or will you fish until the ice takes over? 

The way you describe yourself.....I believe you may have a brother named Fatbass.. :mrgreen: 

He seems like a nice guy too !!!..


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## pezvela (Nov 3, 2007)

I have no intentions of putting the boat away. When everything freezes up here I will head to Powell, Havasua or if I can swing it...The Baja. Life is short. One doesn't regret what one has done, rather what you haven't done. Keep the wind to your back.


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## FC2Tuber (Oct 26, 2007)

Looks like to had a great time Pez. 

I, too, would love to git the water with ya sometime.


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## orvis1 (Sep 7, 2007)

I three am willing to split costs, sounds like you haven't scared any of us off, and from all the records you hold I am not sure if I am worthy to fish with you!


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## FROGGER (Oct 1, 2007)

That sounds like the beginning of some Broke back Fishing :lol: :lol: 

J/K thanks for the offer....


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## Poo Pie (Nov 23, 2007)

Hey pez i've got a big group of firemen lined up to hopefully kick off a new annual event--The Burbot Bash-- planning on fishing through the ice up near the firehole, problem being none of us have ever seen, caught or fished for any... researched a ton on the net sounds awesome, any advice you could pass on would be greatly appreciated. if no burbots are actually bashed at least the whiskey will be good!!!!!


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## Nibble Nuts (Sep 12, 2007)

Poo Pie said:


> Hey pez i've got a big group of firemen lined up to hopefully kick off a new annual event--The Burbot Bash-- planning on fishing through the ice up near the firehole, problem being none of us have ever seen, caught or fished for any... researched a ton on the net sounds awesome, any advice you could pass on would be greatly appreciated. if no burbots are actually bashed at least the whiskey will be good!!!!!


Welcome to the forum Poo Pie. I hope that screen name wasn't inspired by your Thanksgiving dinner. Hope you guys can help rid FG of some Burbots and may the whiskey flow as well.


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## Poo Pie (Nov 23, 2007)

Hey Nibble Nuts thanks for the warm welcome. screen name has followed me throughout my fire career! excited about this forum as well as the WHISKEY


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## pezvela (Nov 3, 2007)

I don't know about the ice, but maybe I can cowboy up.

My limited experiece with burbot leads me to believe that fishing for and catching them is not all that difficult. We were using glow jigs w/3/8OZ heads as well as 3 and 4 inch tubes. Drop them to the bottom and rise them up 4 inches. Most of the strikes came as the jig dropped.

Ashley Bonser is the walking talking expert on burbot. He's the one you need to be talking to. Ash lives in Manila and he's got the burbot figured out.

I'm trying to get the axles on my boat trailer straightened out so I can get back to the Gorge and fish w/Ash again. Our goal is to put together a short DVD that he can distribute to anglers who want to help eliminate lots of burbot from the lake. 

From my conversations with Ash, his take is that the burbot have the potential of being a real problem on the Gorge and all the waters downstream as they devour everything in the food chain. 

Burbot must be primarily nocturnal feeders or at least they are feeding heavily on the crawfish when they are most active in the night. In addition to their feeding heavily of the little "dads" they are on the spawning beds with the kokanee and lake trout enjoying the caviar. 

What the ramifications are going to be is unknown, but I suspect that the burbot is not going to be a favorite sportfish because they are so ugly and their behavior at the boat is not good as they try to wrap around anything they can get around. More like a snake that a fish.

Ash has spoken to many of the fisheries guys from both Utah and Wyoming and they are very concerned with the tremendous numbers of burbot that are showing up in their sample nets.

I don't think Ash is aware of this forum. I'll call him and give him the URL and maybe he will jump in with this knowledge. 

I hope that 1 and all of you are enjoying your holiday. Keep the wind to your back.


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## Poo Pie (Nov 23, 2007)

Thanks for the info Pez!! Hopefully I can get in touch with your Ash-man. Think the ugly eels will be able to be caught until sun-up or is it just a sunset type ordeal? Hope everyone enjoyed their turkey day and from the way it feels in the valley this morn, ice on should be SOON!!!!


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