Salmon Lake, Douglas Lake Ranch
By Rodney Hsu
Salmon Lake is located in Douglas Lake Ranch and it is another popular lake where trout enthusiasts love to visit in the spring. The lake is stocked with acrobatic Pennask rainbow trout, which have an average size between 1 and 3lb. Salmon Lake Resort offers a variety of accommodations including cabins, RV sites and camping, so it is a good location for group get-aways and the fishery is suitable for those who are novice fly fishers.
How to Get There?
Salmon Lake is located along Douglas Lake Road. To get there from Vancouver, travel to Merritt then continue on Princeton-Kamloops Highway (5A) for 20 minutes before turning onto Douglas Lake Road. The drive from the start of Douglas Lake Road to Salmon Lake is around 30 minutes. It is a scenic drive through Douglas Lake Ranch.
Salmon Lake Resort is the accommodation available by Salmon Lake. The resort offers camping, RV sites with full service as well as cabins. You can either bring your own boat, or rent one of many boats with either a gas or electric motor at the resort.
Fishing Season
Prime fishing time is spring and fall at Salmon Lake, while summer can be tough due to the high temperature. Starting from mid May, the fishing can be excellent for up to two months. The fishing is also very productive for a couple of months before ice comes on in November.
Fishing Techniques
Fishing at Salmon Lake is restricted to artificial flies only, so no lures or bait can be used. You don't necessarily have to use a fly fishing rod to present your fly. A spinning rod setup can also be used by dangling a fly under a float. The lake can be quite windy during the day so good fishing is usually limited to the first half of the morning and late in the afternoon. In spring, chironomid hatches take place from 8:00am and consistent fishing can be experienced for several hours before it dies down. Chironomid patterns in size 14, 16 in a variety of colours all produce, as long as your depth setting is correct. Generally having your fly suspended several feet above the lake bottomwhere the lake depth is around 15 feet is a good starting point.
Majority of the rainbow trout are in the 1 to 2lb range, occasionally fish up to 3 or 4lb can be found. If fly fishing, a 4wt rod is very suitable for this fishery. If you are using a spinning setup, a small spinning reel coupled with a long ultralight spinning rod is best.
A boat is needed when fishing at Salmon Lake, you can either bring your own boat to the resort, where a good boat launch is available for guests, or you can rent one of the resort's boats which are either installed with an electric or gasoline motor.
Important Notes
Before your first fishing trip to Salmon Lake, please make sure you know the following information:
- You must have a valid British Columbia freshwater fishing license.
- Salmon Lake is located in Region 3 in the British Columbia freshwater fishing regulations.
