A Return to Kootenay Lake

The annual May long weekend tug boat trip resumed after a couple year hiatus and it was another epic journey on the waters of Kootenay Lake.

The trip started out auspiciously enough with Salvy hooking into a nice10-pound bull trout almost immediately. We trolled plugs, hockey sticks and a bucktail fly, had a couple on a down rigger and a couple more on the surface.
The action was pretty steady on Friday evening with decent water and a bite every half hour or so. After hitting a few bull trout, the middle rod, dragging the lone hair, bucked and bowed. I grabbed it immediately, setting the hook as the trout ran, and the reel screamed. But being of generous and kind disposition I graciously passed the rod to Notto who had been salivating over my shoulder the entire time.
He played the Gerrard pretty well, letting it run when it had to and eventually brought to the net a very passable 14-pound rainbow.


He looks a lot bigger than 14 pounds.

It turned out to be a great first night out. We landed seven fish in about four hours, including two 10-pound bullies and the Gerrard Rainbow landed by Notto.

The next few days however brought flat water and substantially slower fishing. We caught fish every day but nothing very large, mostly bulls with the odd 3-6 pound rainbow thrown in. We ate stupendously and enjoyed a few social beverages by the comfort of a small campfire at Pebble Beach in the evening.
Everyone caught fish, even Rieberger. No big screamers unfortunately, but lots of fish, beergaritas, and laughs.

Thanks to Mike for organizing a great trip - can't wait until next year.