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Better days ahead for Kootenay Lake

Well another month down and another step closer to my favorite time of year.
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Nelson resident Chris Dejong with a beautiful 16 pound rainbow from last month.

Well another month down and another step closer to my favorite time of year.

March was another tough month for fishing. Weather was up and down and so was the fishing. We did have a few really good days however, with more than 10 fish to the boat. Other days made us have to work for our dinner, but we seemed to still manage a good fish each day.

On one of our better days, I remember trolling for the first couple hours without any action. But when that magic feeding time occurred, we started catching fish regularly. First fish didn’t hit until around 11 a.m., but it was the beginning of a frenzy.

My crew, who had been out on the lake before, were hoping to learn a few new techniques that would help them catch fish on their own. And they were pleasantly surprised by the fish’s cooperation.

Greg had never had much success on the bucktail flies and didn’t have much confidence in them. Well by the end of the day, I think we proved that they are definitely the lure of choice. Over 10 fish that day and all on flies.  The biggest of the day being a beautiful 16-pound rainbow caught by his buddy Chris. Congratulations Chris.

A bunch more rainbows between eight and 12 pounds made for an exciting day. These guys can take the information they learned and apply it now to their next trips out on the lake. I hope this helps with your success. It’s nice to have a great day like that during this slower fishing month.  Still helps keep the hope alive that any day could be a great day of fishing.

That day was an exceptional day for March. Most other days were producing only a few fish, but always made it worthwhile being on the water.

The first week of April saw the one-week opening of the West Arm Kokanee fishery.  This year produced many Kokanee and great sizes too.  Many fishermen were rewarded with their limits within an hour. With a lot of these fish measuring between 14 and 19 inches, it made it well worth the outing for everyone.

Hopefully this is the beginning of a great fishery this year. The next opening for the West Arm will be the first week of May. Looking forward to it.

And so far in April, I have noticed the rivers running steady. Looks like the beginning of spring runoff. This means more insects and debris starting to show up on the lake. And with that, fish are starting to surface.

I have noticed a lot of activity on the main lake this past week. As a matter of fact, we seem to be catching a lot more fish right now. Maybe not a lot of quality fish, but the quantity is there. Seems like the smaller fish are finally coming out to play. This is usually the sign of the beginning of our favorite spring fishery.

As the water warms up and the bugs come out, we will start to see more and more fish becoming aggressive.  Can’t wait for the big ones to follow.

Usually the end of April starts to bring some consistent fishing. And May and June should be on fire. Looking forward to our amazing spring fishing !

 

What are they biting on?

We’ve been catching a lot of fish on our bucktail flies.  Lots of shakers at this time of year, but always a few big ones mixed in. My favorite colors so far have been: black/white, grey/white, and still purple/white. The lucky numbers being: 210, 215, 222, 228.

Apex lures are working well also. Similar colors as the flies.  Black/white, silver, or blue/green has been working as well.

And my favorite Lyman plugs have also been producing some fish. Lucky numbers:  16, 55, 69.

Our water temperature is rising and the fish should be turning on.

Prime time is coming, so let’s get out there!

Tight lines...

Kerry Reed owns Nelson’s Reel Adventures Charters. He can be reached at 250-505-4963 or head to his website at reeladventuresfishing.com