# Loving Fishlake



## backcountry (May 19, 2016)

Thanks to everyone who has provided insight and advice for me about Fishlake over the last 2 years.

I had banked a birthday trip that kept getting delayed but finally got to go this Sun-Mon. Deal was I could drive over and fish late one day, sleep in the back of my truck and fish another full day.

And I'm glad it was delayed at that place can be cold. Brrr. Fished from 530 until 1030 pm on Sunday. Had a bunch of solid hits but didn't land anything. I did enjoy the learning experience being there in my boat for the first time and the fish hits kept me excited. But dang, it gets cold when that sun goes down, especially with wind. I shivered for a good hour after getting into the truck.

Got a late start today as I needed to repair a minor issue but immediately got to trolling. The lake spoiled me within 45 minutes with a massive strike. It didn't fight super hard but it also didn't want to rise to the net. Eventually landed a 6.6 lb, 27.5 incher. It's my personal best trout and I'll never forget it.

Fought wind the rest of the day but got to know the lake and it's contours better. Had many hits while trolling but nothing hooked. Though the only reason I missed another healthy sized one was because I released the bail to let out more line right when it struck. I did my best but just couldn't keep tension long enough to stop it from flipping the hook. So it goes. Never caught anything else but I truly don't care.

I love that place and can't wait to go again. Hopefully within a few years I'll be more dialed in so I can get my daughter addicted to it as well. And the plethora of American White Pelicans and osprey really topped it off.

I'm embarrassed to ask but I'm struggling to identify it confidently. I originally thought it was a Splake because of white fin edges and body color. But now I'm second guessing and thinking it's a Laker because of the head spotting, tail forking and meat color. Can people help clarify for me?


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## taxidermist (Sep 11, 2007)

It looks to me to be a "Laker". 

Great time at that place for sure. Congrats on the hook-up.


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## SCS_Bg_Hunter (Oct 27, 2019)

Laker, 

I've been going to Fish Lake for over 45 years, we usually go up for a week between the 4th and 24th of July. My Grandpa took my mom every year growing up since she was just a baby, she's 78 now. Definitely one of my favorite places to go. Congrats on the fish, that's a nice one.


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## PBH (Nov 7, 2007)

Nice fish. It's a 100% lake trout. Don't be fooled by color, especially with lake trout from Fish Lake. Look at the spots: you can't find a single round spot on that fish. The forked tail helps too.

What's great is that more of the 6 - 10lb lake trout keep showing up. I really think that the kokanee are helping that lake trout population.


As for it being cold: remember, that lake sits at almost 9000ft elevation -- 1000ft higher than Strawberry, and Scofield. It's "up in the mountains". It's barely spring up there!

Keep at it. It's a special place.


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## PBH (Nov 7, 2007)

Here is a picture of a lake trout and a splake next to each other. The lake trout is on top, the splake on bottom. Several things to note: both fish have white fin edges. The splake has ROUND spots, while the lake trout does NOT. Now look at the tails.










forget the colors. Those lake trout at fish lake can color up real nice -- especially if they are eating a carotenoid rich diet.

It's easy when you have 1 of each fish laying side-by-side. It can be difficult when you have a fish by itself. Once you know what to look for, it becomes easier.


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## backcountry (May 19, 2016)

Thanks folks, I really appreciate the help. I do get embarrassed and these two char are very new to me. 
I did end up harvesting it as my family & I really loved the meat of the small Splake we had this winter. I don't plan on harvesting such mature fish as often and I can already tell the Lake Trout flesh is noticeably different. The details here will help me better field and ID and make choices in the moment.

And I knew it would be cold from elevation but I forget how quick that switch is once mountain shadows hit this time of year. I second guessed myself at the last minute and left my insulated ice fishing bibs at home. I won't make that mistake again.

We head up one more time this summer as a family to do some camping and are renting a pontoon. This trip helped me learn some of the contours on the southern half for that trip. I also make sure everyone has warmer layers than they might think.
I get 2-3 days of fishing on that trip and can't wait. But I'm guessing this lake will take years to get to know.


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## CHIEF_10_BEERS (Mar 24, 2021)

PBH is "Spot" on with the tip about the spotting on the fish. That and the tail is the way I was taught to tell which is which.


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## PBH (Nov 7, 2007)

backcountry said:


> I did end up harvesting it as my family & I really loved the meat of the small Splake we had this winter. I don't plan on harvesting such mature fish as often and I can already tell the Lake Trout flesh is noticeably different. The details here will help me better field and ID and make choices in the moment.


There is no reason to be worried about harvesting lake trout from Fish Lake. The regulations allow for 1 trout over 24" to be kept. If you catch something over 24" -- _it's OK to keep it_! No shame at all, and the fishery will be just fine!

The difference in the flesh from splake to lake trout is only different depending on diet. Lake trout will switch to a strictly pisciverous (fish) diet somewhere around 24". Those lake trout under 24" very well may be eating plankton, shrimp, etc., just like those smaller splake, and very potentially could have nice orange fillets that taste great!

If you don't like eating the larger lake trout, that's fine too. Nobody will force you to keep one to eat! But don't be afraid to keep one to hang on the wall if you get a good one!


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## backcountry (May 19, 2016)

Makes sense. The small splake we caught this winter were all from bottom bouncing. I couldn't convince my FIL of the technique at first and actually snuck his lure down at the end of the day when he wasn't watching. He hadn't caught many but suddenly he started to 🤣. They were all puking up all those beautiful small freshwater shrimp. And they were the most reddish orange fleshed filets I had ever seen in my life. So tasty.

I'm real curious to try my first lake trout. I like the diversity of flavors of fish. And, it's flesh does seem different in texture/firmness. I will say, I appreciated the firmer skeleton after years of filleting smaller trout. That made life simple.


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## backcountry (May 19, 2016)

We've had the Lake Trout two different ways now and the one I caught was shockingly mild in flavor. Probably the most subtle trout I've eaten in years. I'm bracing for a different experience in the future but this time it was great.

Did really well as a trout cake with dill.


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## ns450f (Aug 28, 2018)

Awesome catch, I caught my first laker ice fishing up there this year, it was almost the same size as yours.

This is encouraging to see, I am really hoping the kokanee will help the lake trout population so we can have a better chance at catching mature lakers in the next few years.


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## johnnycake (Jul 19, 2011)

Lake trout are generally pretty mild, but where folks tend to complain on the larger ones is that they get very oily. That oiliness isn't for everybody


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## Daisy (Jan 4, 2010)

PBH said:


> The difference in the flesh from splake to lake trout is only different depending on diet. Lake trout will switch to a strictly pisciverous (fish) diet somewhere around 24". Those lake trout under 24" very well may be eating plankton, shrimp, etc., just like those smaller splake, and very potentially could have nice orange fillets that taste great!


I saw this graph the other day regarding the stomach content analysis for Mackinaw out of New Fork Lake in Wyoming. While it could be different in Fish Lake, invertebrates still play a significant role in their diet. See page 6.

https://wgfd.wyo.gov/WGFD/media/content/Regional Offices/Pinedale/PINEDALE_NEWSLETTER_2022_Final.pdf

The article on whitefish in the Green was also surprising to me. The oldest whitefish they sampled was 21 years old!


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## PBH (Nov 7, 2007)

Daisy -- Here's a study from Fish Lake (attached). It's a little old, but I doubt much has changed.

From page 7:


A Study of the Lake Trout Population of Fish Lake said:


> Lake trout began consuming forage fish when they reached 18 inches in length (Table 6). By the
> time lake trout reached 25 inches they switched to an entirely piscivorus diet. Seventy-one
> percent of all stomachs that contained identifiable fish contained rainbow trout, while 29%
> contained Utah chubs. Only rainbow trout were identified in the stomachs of fish > 25 inches.
> ...



Some additional interesting findings from then:


A Study of the Lake Trout Population of Fish Lake said:


> Even more important, a lack of adequate forage may prevent some lake trout from exceeding 20 inches in
> length.
> 
> ...
> ...



Interesting that Lake Trout in Fish Lake have never utilized perch as a food source. 

We've seen more and more of these "missing" size lake trout in Fish Lake in recent years. Why? What has changed? Kokanee. It sure seems like kokanee may be helping change some of the dynamics in this lake.


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## Daisy (Jan 4, 2010)

PBH said:


> Daisy -- Here's a study from Fish Lake (attached). It's a little old, but I doubt much has changed.
> 
> From page 7:
> 
> ...


Good info PBH. Blue Mesa in Colorado experiences a similar predator prey dynamic since the illegal introduction of yellow perch as well. Blue Mesa is the primary lake for kokanee eggs for the State of Colorado, so their main focus is to manage for a kokanee fishery with a s Mackinaw. Mack's like those pelagic fish like kokanee, and not the littoral fishes like yellow perch. 

The only drawback is that Kokanee are an expensive forage fish to stock.


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