Hey everybody, heres the fishing report to Dec 5, 2016.
Kootenay Lake:
After spending every second day on the water during the month of November, it has become apparent that the fish are definitely heavier than they were in the spring. While it may be a double edged sword compromising our Kokanee stocks, the Rainbows and Bull Trout have definitely been feeding. This has provided us with some great days of fishing.
Lots of days consist of catching 12 – 20 fish each day. So, there is still no lack of action for our customers. Rainbows between 2 – 6 Lbs have been caught lately and Bull Trout between 2 – 8 Lbs have been coming in. Nice sized fish for the barbecue.
Our latest trip saw a group of locals join us for their year end staff outing. The morning started out a bit windy and rough, but we managed to find some calmer waters to enjoy our day. And even though the boat has a heated cabin, I noticed most of the guys were spending most of the time outside because of the excitement. The day started off with a bang! We only managed to get 2 lines in the water before the first fish hit. And within 5 minutes, the second fish hit! I thought this was going to be a busy morning.
But then, the switch turned off.
So, for the next couple hours, we spent most time inside the cabin of the boat playing cards and sharing stories. Until it was time to light the barbecue. And, as expected, just when we were all eating lunch, the switch turned on again! Six more fish within the next half hour made for a lot of excitement, and a lot of food and drinks being spilled, but that’s secondary.
And throughout the rest of the afternoon, the fish would consistently bite about every 15 minutes. So, an average day turned into an amazing day of fishing.
And thats why we keep going. You just never know!
Now that winter is here and the snow is coming, we expect to see the usual influx of tourists and skiers, which will keep us busy throughout the winter months. Looking forward to teaming up with the resorts to offer some extraordinary packages. Skiing and Fishing during the same holiday has enticed a lot of new comers to our area. In fact, one of my groups from Colorado who book an annual ski trip each year to different destinations, said this year they chose Nelson because they found out that they could spend a day on the lake fishing also. Just another perk about living in the West Koots.
Looking forward to the next couple months on the lake.
Columbia River:
We did manage to spend a few days on the river this past month also. The water levels were low and the fish were congregated. This made for some great action on the fly rods and centerpins.
A couple of days we averaged 15 – 20 hook-ups. Thats pretty good for fall/winter fishing on the river. And then a couple other days managed to hook into 6 – 10 fish, which is still a pretty good day. Any days a good day when you’re on the water.
Most fish were between 2 – 4Lbs, although, we did have one fish battle us on a 6wt fly rod for about 10 minutes until he decided to shake to hook. Probably a double digit fish. Just keeps us coming back.
Hoping to get a few trips during December when the weather allows. This is definitely a year round fishery.
Stay tuned…………
What are they biting on???
On the main lake, we have been catching most of our Rainbows on the surface on bucktail flies. Also getting a bunch of Rainbows on the down rigger between 100 – 130ft on the usual Flasher/Hoochie set up, or my latest favorite is the Highliner flasher with the Skinny G spoons. The hot colors for flies on our boat have been #204, 214, 215, 221, 234. Or common colors of Black/white, grey/white, with coloured mylar in green or rainbow colors.
The best flashers of late have been the Gibbs Highliner flashers in my favourite colors of Lemon Lime, or the Green Striper, combined with the G-force spoons in common patterns of ‘Trap Shack’, ‘Irish Cream’, and ‘No Bananas’.
And, on the river we have been catching on a few different set-ups. Fly fishing with a sink tip line and a woolly bugger has been quite productive. Also float fishing with bait, or bottom fishing with bait is producing a lot of fish as well. Looking forward to catching some of the biggest fish the river has to offer throughout the winter months.
Hope this helps with your next adventure.
Tight lines……………….