Peter Hope Lake: Great Expectations

Last week I made the journey to Peter Hope Lake just outside of Merritt filled with hope and great expectations.
 I met up with my friend Colin who had 
 first-hand news from a friend who had been there two weeks earlier and reportedly landed a multitude of eight- to 10- pound rainbows on micro-leech patterns suspended from a strike indicator on about 20-feet of leader.
 Dickens was right, it turned out to be the best of times and worst of times.
In fact, on the first day we arrived, one of the locals told us a tale of a fly angler boating a 14-pound triploid on a  chironomid and 5X tippet  that he played for an hour before the massive trout capitulated, so needless to say the expectations were high.

West Kootenay Fishing Report

By Jim Bailey - Trail Daily Times
Published: May 09, 2013 1:00 PM
Updated: May 09, 2013 1:22 PM
The West Kootenay Fishing Report is back with reports and tips on how to catch fish on local lakes and streams. The Kootenay Lake submission is courtesy of Reel Adventure Fishing Charters’ Kerry Reed. www.reeladventuresfishing.com


Rossland fly angler Garry Gill put on a chironomid clinic last week
 at one of the local West Kootenay lakes.

Kootenay Lake: It’s that time of year. The weather has warmed up to the balmy spring-like conditions we’ve all been waiting for and with that, the water will warm and the fish will start to get more active. My favourite time of year is coming.
April saw some good and bad days on the water. Still had to be patient, but we were normally rewarded. The creeks started to flow a bit in the past few weeks and that has brought out some bugs and debris on the water. This has also brought out the small, insect eating fish. So, we have been hooking into a lot of shakers lately. At least it keeps us running for the rods.

Knee deep in rainbows: Columbia River

Knee deep in rainbows

The Columbia was nothing short of spectacular last month. Tossing a full sink line with a number 6 golden stonefly nymph, or a big and ugly #4 pteronarcys californica (salmonfly) nymph produced a number of good rainbows.

Large spawning male caught on a stonefly nymph

On Sunday I strung up the floating line. With fish rising everywhere, I managed to land and release a half dozen rainbows on a black ant pattern and adult salmonfly.
Fish the back eddies, tailouts, or at the mouths of streams. Highstick it through the shallow riffles, letting your nymph tumble along the bottom like a dislodged stonefly nymph. Then let it swing and rest in the seam for a few seconds before a slow retrieve.
Be sure to get out before the freshet is in full force. I already noticed that the water is rising. Normally it muddies from run off and becomes laden with debris, but this year has seen almost perfect spring conditions for a slow run off, except of course the recent heat wave.
Good fishing and tight lines.

Experiment. This orange woolly bugger
fooled a couple rainbows

Another nice Columbia River rainbow