2023 Mid Summer Fishing Report

Blue Mesa Fishing Report 

August 4, 2023

 

Thank you to all of you who have supported our small family business so far this summer. We greatly appreciate you all! We have had a good summer of fishing so far. It’s been great to see the lake nearly full once again!  It’s been a unique season with nearly tripling lake volume in such a short time, however many fish have been hitting the boat. We are anticipating great fishing to finish off the summer and a good bite late into the fall with our cooler water temps and high oxygen levels.

 

Trout

The trout bite has been consistently good all season. We are catching fish averaging in size from 13-18 inches and popping a few larger.  Some casting and jigging can be done in certain areas of the lake, but trolling has been most affective. With lots of water, these fish are spread out from the surface down. The top 60 feet has been the best.

 

Kokanee

The Kokanee bite has been sporadic but over all we have been catching some each day. With the little bit lower population of fish this year following our low water years we are catching some very nice size fish since there is little to no competition for food. The Kokanee are also very spread out. We are catching older age class fish trolling 20-70ft.

 

Perch

It is shaping up to be a great perch season! They came off the spawn eager to bite. Most weedy shorelines on the lake are holding fish. Those next level fish take lots of moving and hunting, but the efforts are rewarded with of the best eating fish around. What they lack in size they make up for in taste! The perch bite should continue to get better into early fall.

Lake Trout 

The lake trout are mostly at depths that are hard to safely release.  With our surface water temps near 70, it is very hard on the fish to keep them alive. We will start targeting them again when the water temps cool. (picture from earlier in the summer)