British Columbia Fishing Blog

May usually marks the stillwater fishing season in the Thompson-Nicola region. Like most lake fishing enthusiasts, we like to load up the boat and head up from Vancouver to catch some fine rainbow trout. There has been a delay this year, due to the late departure of winter, or late arrival of spring, whatever you want to call it. Most lakes had ice on them a couple weeks longer than usual.

A couple of weeks ago, Nina’s family was visiting from Denmark and they wanted us to travel to Lac Le Jeune with them. Several years ago, they visited the area by chance during a stopover to Banff and they really enjoyed the few hours while they were there. I have never been, but have constantly heard fly fishermen bringing it up over the years so was curiously to check it out.

A couple of days before we headed to the lake, I was informed that the lake was still frozen so I chose not to bring my fishing rods. What a mistake that was! I was ready to make a shuttle run back to Vancouver to get them when I saw no ice on the lake upon our arrival. Although I was not able to wet a line, it was going to be a good stay when I noticed the abundance of wildlife in the area.

Our accommodation for the trip was Lac Le Jeune Resort. Normally when we go lake fishing in the Thompson-Nicola region, we either camp or stay at a hotel in Merritt or Kamloops. Never had I expected to find a fine resort in the middle of no where. Lac Le Jeune Resort is not what you’d call a luxury resort, but you can sense its warmth as soon as you step into it. The resort provides two styles of accommodation. You can either stay at the lodge rooms or rent an entire cabin nearby. The resort sits slightly higher than the lake so the view is absolutely breath taking at anytime of the day.

The birds were being fed at the doorstep. One can just stand there and watch them for hours. Our host settled us in right away when we arrived and informed us that dinner would be served at 6:30pm. Already impressed, we were even more pleasantly surprised when it was time to dine. The dining room sits by the lake, so we could watch loons, beavers and of course, trout, splashing about while we ate.

At first Nina and I were concerned that we would not have anything to do at the lake without our fishing rods. The alternatives solved that problem pretty fast. We walked along the lake shore on both days and the wildlife kept us entertained. Nina’s family also thoroughly enjoyed their visit as the lake lived up to their expectation. They were most fascinated by these huge beavers that always seem so busy around the lake. I was able to practice my photography on the birds and squirrels that couldn’t get enough of the feeds on the resort’s patio.

Here is a short video of some of the wildlife footages from Lac Le Jeune.

After seeing some fine rainbow trout jumping on both evenings while we were there, I am now itching to return with my fishing rods.

As summer winds to an end, the camping supplies and trout rods get packed away until next spring, and the drift gear gets dusted off from being stored away since last steelhead season. Salmon season is almost here and it is time to get ready.

Often I start the season off overly eager to get into one of my favourite game fish, coho. This means getting to the river well before sunrise, at a time of year when there aren’t many fish in the river yet. Still, when you start a day with this it is hard to complain about not catching fish.



During September my days on the river are mainly trips to scout out the river to see how it has changed since last season. However, getting the chance to hook a couple springs helps get me back into the swing of things. Sometimes it takes a few take-downs to get your “hook-set reflex” back, and it’s better to miss a few Springs than a few coho.



October is one of my favourite months of the year. The air gets a little cooler and the day is a little shorter,



The trees change colour,



and on top of all that, the Coho start to show up in decent numbers.



October is the time to put the hours in stalking coho,



because they are there,



and often willing to bite.



The nice thing about coho fishing is that a great day isn’t just one or two fish; it’s much more than that.







If you’re lucky enough to get a hatchery marked fish you can likely retain it, depending on the regulations.



These aren’t the only reasons I love coho fishing; the fact that they will attack nearly anything when “the bite” is on is another factor. This can include spoons,



and flies.



The other reason that I love coho fishing, is the opportunity to catch other species, like bull trout,



which can often be plentiful when you find them.



There are also cutthroat trout.



If you are lucky, resident rainbow trout are also around.



Of course, there is likely to be a few chum salmon mixed in with the coho.



When November rolls around the weather gets even colder, as the snowline creeps down the mountains.



Most of the leaves have fallen from the trees,



but this doesn’t mean that coho season is over. There are still plenty to be caught.



Although some might begin to get a little coloured,



there are still clean fish around.



As we near the end of November I have started to gear down my efforts for coho. They are beginning to spawn and it is best to leave them to it.



It’s time to turn my focus onto steelhead….

Last week, we spent several days fishing around Merritt for rainbow and brook trout. The Thompson-Nicola region offers what some may consider as world class lake fly fisheries for these species. The Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC releases fish when they are yearlings each year and due to the abundance of food source in these lakes, their weight usually reaches several pounds after a couple of years. Several strains of rainbow trout can be found in different lakes. The streamline body shape of Pennasks and Blackwaters allows them to perform multiple high jumps, while Fraser Valleys always use their broad body to perform furious deep dives.

Our visit was a bit late, these fisheries typically start in early May and taper off in mid June as the weather warms up. This spring’s unpredictable weather has kept fair weather fishermen such as myself at home while stillwater fanatics such as my friend Carlo were out getting their double digits as usual.

Our first two days were rather unsuccessful. The wind was howling, rain clouds were passing through at times and the cooler temperature was keeping anything from hatching. Adding my inexperience on top of these challenges, we brought no fish to the boat and had to settle with a couple of light bites. Being her first trip to the Interior Lakes, Nina remarked, “So far this does not impress me.”

On a more positive note, the wildlife along the lakeshore in this area is always very impressive. Being able to submerge in the sounds of many different song birds while we awaited for a tug on the line is a delightful contrast to the fast paced lifestyle in Vancouver.

Sensing that we were in trouble, I had to call for help. That evening I chatted with Nick Basok from Chilliwack Dart and Tackle to see if he had other suggestions. A former hatchery staff at the Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC and an experienced angler, Nick has decades of knowledge on salmonid fisheries across this province so his advices are very valuable. I was excited to find out that he was making a day trip to where we were. The next morning, we finally woke up to sunshine. We met up at the chosen lake at 8:30am, which was still somewhat early because hatches do not usually happen until later. This is what I like about lake fishing, early birds don’t necessarily get the fattest worms.

We arrived at the lake after a short drive through some rough trails, which always makes the trip more interesting. The lake setting was breathtaking. One could not ask for more than glassy lake water, green field and blue sky. During my last visit to this lake, I had to settle with one fish while watching Nick boating two dozen rainbows, so I was determined to do better this time.

Nick explained that the action does not really start until 11:00am, when sedges emerge on the surface. He gave me a few dry flies and told us to try one out once we see some feeding action on the surface.

We began fishing by using a leech pattern and blood worm under the indicators, but that  was unsuccessful. After one hour of waiting, a few fish started rising around us. Nina decided to cast a spoon out with her spinning rod while I vowed to stick with fly fishing. It took no time before she felt a light tap, perhaps a small fish it was. On the following cast, she received another strike but it was no small fish. Once she set the hook, her arms were bent from one side of the body to the other as the fish bolted. The drag screamed while this fish displayed the typical strength that Pennask rainbow trout possess. It never jumped, but it circled under the boat, refusing to come up to the surface. Nina kept the rod high and away from the boat, doing her best to keep the fish away from the anchor ropes. Eventually the fish was tired and slipped into the landing net without much trouble. You can see the video of her first Interior rainbow trout on this page.

Nina did not end at her first. She proceeded to catch another and lost one more bigger fish that spat the hook while it jumped several times. All these hook-ups were making me anxious, I suggested that we should make a move to where more fish were seemingly feeding on the surface.

I found myself surrounded by feeding fish once we anchored at the new spot. At one point, I could clearly see a large rainbow trout slurping down a sedge in slow motion. I casted the dry fly that Nick had given me and slowly stripped the line to create the same skating motion on the surface.

It took about ten minutes before I finally tricked one. While being distracted by nearby rising fish and having my head turned away from my fly, I heard a splash behind me and my instinct made me instantly pulling up the rod at lightning speed. The kicks in the rod are very welcoming after so many fishless hours. My next challenge was to keep this fish away from two loons that were circling around the boat. At one point, the fish certainly took a fast dive. I was not sure if it had been captured by a loon or was simply using all its strength to swim away from it.

Eventually it managed to survive through all the chaos. I kept it in the net while it regained its strength in the water so it would not be chased down by loons when it swam away. After the first fish, two more fell for the same trick. The second, which was a much smaller fish, was not as lucky. One loon took advantage of its size and gulped it down after it was released.

Just when we thought the fishing was going to be fast and furious for the rest of the day, the feeding stopped. For the rest of the trip, we could not entice anymore fish despite of trying every technique. Nick also experienced the same. Beside catching the same amount during the short window of opportunities around Noon, he also came up empty handed. “Slow fishing.”, he said. If the expert was having difficulties, then I could not feel bad about the poor fishing.

Although this four-day trip only produced several fish, it was still a learn experience. one can only hope the frustration will be rewarded in future trips now that I have gained some more knowledge. It would have been nicer to fool a few fish with the chironomids that I had tied, but catching them on dries at a lake is an exciting first that I will not soon forget.

Last Saturday the Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC and City of Surrey co-organized a family fishing day at Green Timbers Lake. The weather co-operated for once and many family showed up to try out fishing for the first time. The fishing was good for some as the hatchery just released 500 or so fish last Wednesday into the lake. Here are some photographs from the event.

Since Dave from Currie Artworks, who resides in Whistler, informed me that Alta Lake was ice-off in early April, I have been eager to visit it. Despite of the mild winter, spring’s weather turned sour. It has been either windy, rainy, or both. It kept this fair weather fisherman at home whining for weeks. At last, some consistently warm days have arrived. Nina agreed to drag the boat out to Alta Lake yesterday, probably just to rid the cabin fever and shut me up.

We started fishing at Alta Lake in 2006 and have been back a couple of times each year. It is definitely one of my favorite lakes to visit. Many friends have questioned why that is the case, because a trip to lakes in the Thompson/Okanagan region would yield some stronger, bigger rainbow trout. Alta Lake’s rainbow trout rarely grow larger than 14 inches long, while its cutthroat trout lack the fight that you would see in an interior rainbow trout. I do not really have a good reason for liking it. Perhaps Whistler’s scenary appeals to me, perhaps I simply enjoy looking at cutthroat trout that are completely covered in fine spots. For whatever reason, I’ve returned year after year regardless whether the fishing was good or bad.

We decided to arrive at the lake just past 1:00pm and fish until the sun set behind the mountains. It was a rather late start because in the past, I’ve found that it tends to get breezy in the afternoon before calming down in the evening. Too often we arrived in the morning, only to be pounded by white caps after a couple hours of calmness. Wind is one element that can suck all the energy out of a fisherman on the boat. On those days, we usually ended up leaving before the evening bite.

It was almost 2:00pm once our boat was set up. The sky was clear with a few small patches of clouds that did not seem threatening. As expected, it was a bit breezy, but it seemed to balance very well with warmth from the sun.

I decided to bring Nina to a spot where we have caught numerous trout during most outings. Still not too familiar with flyfishing, she chose to use a spinning setup for this trip. I outfitted her with a tiny spoon that we picked up in Denmark last winter. The entire setup was rated 4lb test, perfect for everything that swims in this lake. Meanwhile, I chose to use a 4wt setup with a clear intermediate sink line. The fly of choice was a brown wooly bugger, which has been successful for both rainbows and cutties in this lake.

It really did not take long before we found some action. After a bite slipped through me, Nina had the first hook-up. The subsurface fight indicated that it was a cutthroat trout. The yellow flashes soon confirmed our guess.

After releasing her first fish, it only took fifteen more minutes before the second fish attacked her lure just several feet from the boat. This fish dove deeply, the bend in the rod suggested that it was a good sized fish. Nina kept the tension on the line while the mysterious fish circled below the boat. When it surfaced, both of us were screaming with excitement. It was what we had come for, a solid, long, spotty cutthroat trout that I estimated to be around 18 to 20 inches long. The absence of scars and firey orange cutthroat mark made this a perfect specimen, not to mention it was Nina’s first large cutthroat.

Despite of her instant success, I failed to produce. I proceeded to miss a couple more bites and briefly hooked onto a small fish. It was time for a move.

We shifted two more times without anymore bites. Maybe it was a bad idea that we moved in the first place. Never move from a spot where the fish are biting, lesson learned. Nina managed to connect with one more cutthroat trout and a very small ambitious rainbow trout, but overall we were not feeling many bites. At 5:30pm, we decided to give the original spot another go.

It was indeed the hot spot! Once anchored, a fish grabbed my fly after a few casts. It also escaped before I could touch it. At this landing rate, my day was looking bleak. That frustration quickly evaporated when I hooked up again. I took my time to ensure that it stayed on the hook this time. At last, a sigh of relief was let out when the cutthroat trout was scooped up by the net. It was dwarfed by Nina’s early catch, but I’ll take it!

There seemed to be a school of them. After releasing the first fish, the second fish came within a few more casts, followed by the third fish. All of them were in the same weight class, suggesting that they were congregating and feeding at the same place.

In total, both Nina and I caught three cutthroat trout each, but her giant catch earlier in the trip stole the prize!

If you ever wish to try out a Lower Mainland lake where catch and release is mandatory, then Alta Lake can be a very good option. Give it a go, you just might be pleasantly surprised like us.