Kootenay Lake:
Almost a carbon copy of the last couple months, the fishing has remained the same. Lots of fish, but still waiting for the big ones to come to life.
Water conditions are perfect and so is the weather. This is our favourite time of year for fishing the lake. So, hopefully, like everything else this year, things are a month behind.
And maybe December will be the beginning of our “Big Fish” season.
November saw lots of days with 10 to 15 fish coming to the boat — a lot of smaller fish, but usually getting a couple decent fish each day to keep the excitement alive.
On our last trip of November, we finally saw a couple big fish come to the boat. A beautiful chrome 18-pound Rainbow followed by an amazing colourful 20-pound Rainbow.
So, hopefully that’s the beginning of our famous winter fishery.
Other reports from the lake are similar — lots of shakers and small Bull trout, with a couple biggies being reported each week.
The north end of the lake is reporting good Bull Trout fishing, but not as many Rainbows.
Hopefully, as December progresses, we will hear more reports of the big boys coming out to play.
Stay tuned.
What are they biting on?
Most of our Rainbows are being caught on the surface and our Bull Trout on the downriggers. So, it’s best to cover both angles if possible.
We’re lucky enough to have three or four people on the boat each day so we can run both surface and deep lines.
My favourite bucktail flies as of late have been: #210, 214, 215, and 224.
Or the common colours of Black/white, gray/white, purple/white.
My favorite Lyman plugs have been: #16, 55, 69, and 160 as of late. Colours are similar to the flies we’ve been using.
And the old standby, flasher/hoochie has been catching its fair share of Bull Trout. Favourite depths have been 75-feet, 95-feet and 110-feet.
That should about cover it for this time of year.
Hope to hear more people having success during this next month.
Definitely my favourite time of year!! So, let’s get out there.
Tight lines
Kerry Reed operates Nelson’s Reel Adventures. He can be reached at 250-505-4963. For more information head to reeladventuresfishing.com