Well the weather wasn’t very cooperative this past month. Just when I thought we were heading in to spring, we were rudely surprised by Mother Nature. So, in saying that, we did’t get out as much as planned during February, but still managed some good fishing.
Here’s the latest:
Kootenay Lake:
The main body of Kootenay Lake was slower fishing than normal. Although, the cooler water temperatures usually slow things down for February and March. We did about a dozen trips throughout the month and had some mixed results.
Most days were yielding a couple fish, but some of the trips did manage to hook into half a dozen or more. Slow trolling was the key. Rainbows from 2 – 4 Lbs and Bull Trout from 3 – 14 Lbs were caught during the month of February. There is even reports of an unconfirmed 20 + pounder caught at the south end of the lake. So, there’s still some fish around.
We have been exploring the west arm of the lake a bit more lately and it has produced some good fish. Lots of nice Kokanee being caught on the weekends down in the lower west arm, and some pretty nice Bull Trout being caught throughout the arm. Our biggest Bull lately was a fat 14 pounder. But most fish averaged between 5 – 10 Lbs.
Looking forward to the weather finally starting to warm up and hopefully the fish will follow suit.
Arrow Lake:
We spent a few days on the Lower Arrow Lake lately and were rewarded with some pretty nice fish. As per usual fishing in February, the action has been slow, but the fish have been big. So, thats a fair trade off.
Rainbows up to 12 Lbs and Bull Trout up to 15 Lbs have been coming in lately. It seems to be more productive than Kootenay right now. But that can change in a month.
We will continue to monitor both lakes and keep you posted.
Columbia River:
We even managed a few trips on the river when the weather allowed. As usual the river produced some nice Rainbows. Each time out we managed to hook into 10 or more fish and they are really starting to fatten up.
Rainbows up to 6 Lbs have been caught lately and I expect to see some even bigger ones throughout March and April. These are our favourite months to fish the river in the spring.
Lately the river levels have dropped to the lowest I’ve seen this season. This has exposed lots of gravel bars and created some great riffles, so it should be some pretty good fly fishing right now. Streamers and nymphs are in order for this time of year.
Looking forward to some sunny days ahead.
Duncan Lake:
Nothing to report as of yet, although fishing should be good if you can get in to it. I did make a trip up there to check out the launch last week. However with the latest snowfalls, it was unusable for larger boats. I’ll be up there later this week and will report back. Stay tuned.
Kootenays Rivers:
It’s Bull Trout season on our favorite Kootenay Rivers and Tributaries. The weather hasn’t allowed us much opportunity yet, but starting this week we will be frequenting the rivers and hope to have lots to report.
Stay tuned…………
What are they biting on???
My favourite plugs and spoons have been working well on the Bull Trout. On Kootenay we have been trolling with flashers and Gibbs Delta G-Force spoons mainly. And on the Arrow, it has been more of the Lyman and Tomic plugs that have worked best.
The river has been producing some nice fish on the usual 3-way rig. Fished off the bottom with bait seems to be working best. My favourite presentation is always the old Steelhead technique of drift fishing with bait. A bait caster or centerpin reel have been working best for us.
What else is new?
It has been a busy couple months for us. Trade shows and video producing. It was great meeting everyone at the Denver Colorado Sportsmens Show and the latest BC Boat & Sportsmens Show. We will be setting up a booth at the BC Interior Sportsmens Show next month in Kelowna April 7,8,9 also. Stop by and say hi if you’re in the area.
And finally, with a little down time this past month, we have created a couple great videos to share with everyone. Make sure to check out our latest tutorial about using planer boards (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-m40YavTnpw), as well as our latest promo on the river(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DE3Hc2W6Afk).
Here’s hoping Spring is here…
Tight lines…………………..
Kerry Reed