British Columbia Fishing Blog

A couple of weeks ago, while we were on Vancouver Island doing some filming projects for the Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC, we attended the launch of a new floating dock at Diver lake in Nanaimo. Diver Lake is part of FFSBC’s “Fishing in the City” program and the new dock provides better shore access for anglers who are looking for urban fishing opportunities.

Last week, we had the opportunity to fish and stay at Ruddocks Ranch. The ranch is located just north of Lytton, at the edge of the Fraser River. On the ranch property, Onion Lake holds rainbow trout up to 10lb. During our trip, we did not encounter fish that big, but we had countless number of fish between 18 and 24 inches long. The chironomid fishing was best between 10:00am and 2:00pm, while occasional damsel hatches brought on feeding frenzies late in the afternoon.

Check out the video blog above as we documented throughout our trip. If you’d like to find out more about Ruddocks Ranch, please check out this video feature.

Earlier this week we spent a day fishing in Whistler for rainbow trout and cutthroat trout. When it comes to catching trout in lakes, fly fishing is probably the most effective method as the angler uses flies to imitate the exact food items that trout feed on. For gear anglers who don’t want to fly fish but still want to try something different than lure fishing, then float fishing with a fly is a fun alternative. In this video blog, I tried some of my usual fly patterns under a tiny float and the result was not too disappointing.

Yesterday we followed several members of the Fraser Valley Salmon Society to tag some northern pikeminnow at Cultus lake. This is part of the preparation of the upcoming Greg Clark Memorial Family Fishing Derby on June 18th.

The goal of the derby is to remove some pikeminnow from Cultus Lake. Derby participants who are lucky enough to catch a tagged fish will win some prize money.

Due to overfishing and other human-related causes, Cultus Lake sockeye salmon population has declined over the years and is currently listed as endangered. Northern pikeminnow, a native predatory species, eats sockeye salmon fry like cutthroat trout and bull trout. The hope is that, by removing a percentage of northern pikeminnow from Cultus Lake, it will improve the juvenile sockeye salmon survival rate.

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.