Well, surprisingly February turned out to be one of our busiest months on the water. An unusually warm month found a lot of people wanting to get out and enjoy the spring-like weather. So, with being on the water almost every day, I can give you a very accurate report.
And the report is: still very inconsistent fishing. However, a number of trophy fish were caught. So, the trade off once again was worth it.
Similar to last month, the fish were feeding heavily for a day or two each week. Then, lazy for the rest of the week. We were lucky enough to be out there on all of the good days. And then we tested our patience on the slow days.
But, like I said, it was still usually rewarding. Even on the slower days, we were still hooking into trophy fish. And these fish are usually someone else’s biggest fish. Or “fish of a lifetime,” as one of our clients described. There’s not many places where you can catch a rainbow trout of this size on a daily basis. We truly are lucky to live where we live.
Some of our good days lately have produced more than 10 fish to the boat. And most fish at this time of year are big. So, some exciting moments for sure. Rainbows from 10 to 20 lbs have been the norm lately. And even on a slow day, one 20 lb rainbow will make it well worth the trip.
Also bull trout up to 20 lbs lately have been caught. Most of the bulls average between 5 to 12 lbs, but the big ones are lurking at this time of year. So, another good reason to get off the couch.
Looking forward to what the rest of March will bring us, and even more excited about April and May. I think it’s going to be a great year.
What are they biting on?
A little bit of everything. Once again we find ourselves going through the tackle box and experimenting until that magic hour when the fish turn on.
The usual Bill Norman lures have been producing big fish.
Our biggest fish in the last couple weeks happened to be on a Billy. Blues, purples, and greens have all been working when the bite is on.
Also, we have been having some great days catching on our bucktail flies. Same colors as before. The lucky numbers for me have been: 207, 210, 214, 215. Or colors blk/grey, purple/wht, grey/wht.
My Lyman plugs have been producing some nice fish as well. It all depends on the conditions. Lucky plugs have been: 10, 16, and lucky number 69.
Prime time is coming, so Let’s get out there!
Tight lines.....
Kerry Reed owns Reel Adventures Sportfishing in Nelson. Reach him at 250-505-4963 or log onto reeladventuresfishing.com