Happy New Year Everyone!!

2022 was a blast, and we ended it strong!  Even managed one last charter on New Year’s Eve day.  A great way to finish off a great year!

Here’s the latest fishing report:

Kootenay Lake:

December was ok for fishing, but not as good as November.  It started off with a bang.  The fish were mostly on the surface, and the Rainbows were chomping.

As the month progressed and the water got colder, the fish slowed down a bit and headed for deeper water. We adjusted our speeds and techniques and continued to catch fish throughout the month.  Still catching a few on the surface, but seemed to be catching more fish down deeper.

The trade off has been, we are catching bigger fish. Bull Trout up to 14 Lbs and Rainbows up to 7 Lbs have been coming in lately.  The Bulls have been hanging around 120 – 150ft deep, and the Rainbows are still coming to the surface to feed.

Our last trip of 2022 had a large group of adults and kids.  To make it interesting, we decided to have a little derby amongst the gang.  In the first 15 minutes, the old guy hooked a fish.  But, he was not able to land it, and on to the next turn.  Another couple bites and a couple more lost fish.  But, then it happened.  Young fellow hooks up to a beauty Rainbow. He fought it like a pro and managed to land our first fish of the day.

This set the bar for the rest of the gang.

We adjusted our techniques and tried to beat the current leader of the derby.  Knowing this was a tough Rainbow to beat, we tried a little harder to catch a Bull Trout, which potentially could have been bigger.

A couple more Rainbows for the crew, but none big enough to take the lead.

The Bull Trout which have been pretty consistent throughout the month decided not to come out to play that day.  And so, the winner was the young buck.  Congrats little man.

Maybe the adults will stand a chance next time.  Lol.

As for the rest of our trips, we have managed to hook a few good Bull Trout and the odd Rainbow.

Looking forward to the next couple months, where the fishing might be slower, but the fish should be bigger.

Stay tuned….

 

What are they biting on???

The last few trips have caught Bull Trout on the downriggers between 120-150ft on our favourite Gibbs STS flasher with green pistachio hoochie.  And the Rainbows have been caught on the surface on our Gibbs croc spoons in brass/firestripe, or on our favourite bucktails.

The grey bucktails (#210,215), or purple patterns (#203,207,224) have been working best for us lately.

Also note:  due to the colder water temperatures, you may have to slow down your presentation.  Trolling speeds of 1.8 – 2.2 mph have been most productive for us.

Hope this helps with your next adventure!

Tight lines………….

Captain Kerry