KSL Outdoors: Fishing the Gorge with Clark Sabey

Welcome to KSL Outdoors, I’m Adam Eakle. Tonight we are going on a hunt, the hunt that is for Utah’s largest fish species, the lake trout of Flaming Gorge Reservoir. Let’s go meet the guys we are going fishing with.

(Clark Sabey, fishingatflaminggorge.com) I’m Clark Sabey, I’m a fishing guide at Flaming Gorge Reservoir.

(Clark) I’ve always been an avid fisherman, always had a love for it.

(Clark) I think there is a special draw to Flaming Gorge. It’s such a unique fishery.

It’s a cold, crisp morning, temperatures are hovering in the single digits. Clark’s clients for the day.

(Clark off cam) step aboard fellas.

are 71 year old Lynn Mackay and his son Phil.

(Clark) We are going to go down into Sheep Creek, going to go fish for lake trout this morning.

(adam) how’s the bite been Clark? (clark) it’s been pretty good actually.

(Clark) It’s always up to the fish, they make you a champ or a chump. (laughs)

(Clark) We are counting on the weather man. He said it’s going to be pretty flat today. And it has been flat all week and fingers crossed Mother Nature will cooperate.

Lake trout are managed as a trophy fishery in Flaming Gorge and this reservoir is literally loaded with world class lake trout. It is no doubt, THE best place in the lower 48 states to catch a lunker laker.

(Clark) We get fish over 20 pounds every week. They catch them up to 50. 44 is the biggest on my boat.

Catching big lake trout can be tough and guides like Clark hold their techniques pretty close to the vest. Today however, Clark is demonstrating a fairly common method..jigging seven inch, tora tubes just off the bottom.

(Clark) You see how I’m just gently ticking it? Now that doesn’t look like much but it’s causing that tube to jump and I’m going to keep my eyes glued to that eye tip.

(Clark) If anything changes, set the hook. Half of the time you don’t see or feel much. Other than the rod gets a little lighter.

(Clark with fish) I think it’s just a pup, but it’s a good way to start out. What five minutes maybe, so that’s a good sign.

(Clark) Dinks are zero to three, pups are 3-10. “Teeners” are anything 13-19. Twenty and above is a good fish. Anything over 35 is a toad. But it depends on who you ask.

(Clark) We are not even going to pick this one up, we are just going to let him go.

(Clark) There he goes back to the deep.

(Clark off cam) alright fella’s. What do you think? Ready to do it?

(Adam) Clark makes it look easy? (lynn Mackay, Taylorsville Fisherman) Well experience makes it look a little easy. (laugh)

(Clark pointing at graph) These three fish, they’re moving out now, but we were just on top of them.

Clark, like all the guides I’ve fished with, have their secret spots. Humps where the fish stack up, looking for forage on kokanee and rainbows. Clark has the boys right on top of them.

(Clark) Your pole bent over for sure. (phil sets hook) (clark) There he is! Second hit, every time baby.

(Clark) I think we’ve got another pup. This one might even be a dink! Oh no, no dinksters. (laughs)

(net fish) (clark) He didn’t even blow his air, poor little guy. Easy, easy, we’ll get you back partner.

One thing about Clark is he’ll keep you into fish and he keeps it fun. In just two hours…

(Adam) could be your first laker ever? (lynn) yup!

He had the guys into four fish, all in the three to ten pound range.

(Clark) Just lift the pole up nice and high (net fish) ok you can stop reeling, got him. (fish nats) good job, good job.

(Lynn) Well I caught one, that’s worth coming up for.

(Adam) and just think you could catch a 40 pound in this lake, even 50 they are out here. (lynn) I don’t think I could drag one in. (laughs)

(adam) that’s a good start what three, four fish actually. Nice fish, you were calling them what? (clark) “dinkers”. (adam) great fish for anybody else that comes up with you. (clark) We got the dinkers out of the way. Now we are going to go after something a little bigger. (adam) You promise? (clark) promise. (adam) alright, we’ll see. It is fishing. (clark) that’s right. (adam) We’ll have more Clark Sabey fishing Flaming Gorge Reservoir here in a moment.

(Clark) there he is, oh yeah, thick fish.

(Adam) But first lets check out this weeks Burt Brothers quiz question.

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