Well that was an awesome year but it’s time close off 2012 and move on to 2013! Thanks to everyone that contributed reports, stories & pictures last year and we’re really hoping to see even more of you on our … 2013 Fishing Reports post!
Tight lines & good times in 2013!
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thanks for the link to Togen’s Rob! i just ordered up a plethera of tying beads and materials for cheaper than anywhere i have seen!
NP Nick. There also the only place I have been able to find with 1/16 beads in stock!
Just read a very informative article by Brian Chan regarding caddisflies in anticipation of my trip to Roche later this month. A must-read for other caddis novices like myself. Here’s the link for anyone that may want to find out more.
http://www.riseformflyfishing.com/caddisflies.htm 🙂
Thanks for the link Dawn. I use and can vouch for Brian’s Stillwater Caddis Pupa and the Mikulak Sedge to imitate the adult.
Good comment Dawn. I also love using caddis and a good lake to observe
caddis is Mystry.Also great article by Brian.
Roche Lake Area (Ernest, Hosli) Winterkill?
Just got back from a trip to Ernest Lake. Water level was down at
least 5 feet, not a single bit of fish activity found over three
straight days. Also it seemed as if the usual marl beds were gone.
No blips on the fish finder, even after spending half a day searching
in the deeper waters on both ends of the lake. Same goes for another
group who went searching. We both came to the same conclusion that it
possibly had winterkilled. Poured rain on us for 4 days, thousands
of scuds swimming everywhere in the lake Does anyone have any word if
there has been any fish caught out of there this year? I also heard
from someone fishing Black Lake that he heard Hosli Lake had winter
killed. Anyone have any knowledge to that as well? And winterkill reports in general?
I have fished Hosli a few times this year and have caught some each time. so I’m sure that it didn’t kill. but I was told that black had a partial kill not sure if that’s true
I was quite surprised by the number of large fish we saw dead in Roche. The more we trolled around the more we found, and it seemed they were all in the same state of decomposition. I can only assume that they were also winter killed.
That is interesting I was up May long weekend and I didn’t see any dead fish. And a buddy was just up there this weekend and didn’t say anything. Weather was tough but he caught about 10 fish?
That’s great news. It was strange to see and have absolutly zero activity for three straight days. Did you catch anything May long?
Yeah we caught 9, and one was almost three pounds. Over all the May long weekend was very busy on the water and lots of fish caught.
Was at there and saw dead ones figured it to poor releasing.
That was Roche Lake
Heading out to Big OK (Island) Lake on Thursday, any reports??
Heard its a bit rough getting in the last KM or so??
Heading to cache creek area for 4 days. Is Barnes a place to stay or are there better places
Was up there last weekend got about 20 in the boat with chironomids
We stayed at Barnes a while back. There’s a crowded spot right at the far end, but if you turn off before you get to the end of the lake, there’s some nice spots along the side. We caught quite a few, but nothing of any significant size. Saw them on the fishfinder, just couldn’t catch ’em. Nice lake.
Thanks for the info, I will let you all know how I do.
I was just at Stake and McConnell. Half dozen on tunkwanamids at Stake but skunked at McConnell
Hi all. Edith report. Fished yesterday caught about 35. They were all small 13 to 14 inches. Got 1 that was 16 inches. Saw one fellow trolling gear and he had one 2.5 Lb. I get the impression that most being caught were released catchables? may be wrong there just a thought. Olive with red rib in size 12.
Thanks for the Edith report. Were you catching little rainbows or brookies?
All Bows, saw one small brookie that some people caught while shore fishing at the second launch
2012 Roche Lake Report … a bit late but better than never 😉
was at roche for last week of may fishing was awsome.but they were deep and the bite time wasn’t very long.seemed between 11;00 and 3 was best time,landed tons of fish during the week i was there best day was 30 fish to the boat chromi red rib chroni size 12 was the ticket for me.and laned some hogs.here is a pic of one of them,this guy fought so hard she went past the point of no return, poor girl,oh well was wonderful eating on the bbq tight lines all
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Holy CRAP!!!! Beauty fish, Dave! Was this pic at the west boat launch? That’s where we were camped, wish I had seen this fish! I’ve never seen one that big! Very nice, too bad you had to keep her, but I bet she was yummy! One day it’ll be my turn…lol
yes Dawn was camped at west end down at the bottom by the lake,caught most of my fish straight out from camp sites at the bottom and was fishing in 40 feet of water 3 feet off the bottom.and have patience your time will come for a big one cheers tight lines
ahhhh good old Roche lake!
Howmuchdidthatbeautyweigh?
I am going to guess that it is around 5 lbs, but the way he is holding it makes it look 15 lbs! I believe this is referred to as the southern pose which Benny S has also mastered over the years. To achieve this pose you simply extend the fish away from your body toward the camera and the fish looks way bigger. A good rule of thumb when looking at such photos is this: if you can’t see the guys elbows in the photo then the southern pose is in full effect.
It’s still a nice fish, Art. I’d sure be a happy camper to catch one like that, “southern pose” or not! Also known as the “Rowland Martin” (bass fisherman) pose. lol
Thanks for the info, Dave. Will perhaps give it a go when we go back on the 24th. Last three days we were there, everyone seemed to go down by the islands, not too sure why everyone had given up on the spot out front. Seems like it worked just fine for you!
If you look at his hands in relation to the size of his head, you can clearly tell he is trying to size the fish up for the pic
that fish weighed 8.8 pounds and was 27.5 inches long looks big art as i am not a very big person
and that is a large fish by my standards. have caught some much larger in the good days fishing pass before it started getting winterkilled.and every notice that someone has to critisize instead of just being happy for someone eles i call it jealousy.come on art just be happy for a fellow fisherman no need to try and belittle another persons photo
Art’s just having some fun with ya Dave. It’s a beauty fish … congrats!
First off, it is a nice fish Dave no matter what the weight of it may be. My comment regarding the southern pose is a general tip to anyone reading as to what to look for in gauging an accurate size of a fish from a photo. If you can’t see the person’s elbows when they are holding the fish it means that the arms are extended toward the camera. That is why I always hold my fish in tight to my body in photos. It gives a more clear scale of the actual size of the fish, although it does admittedly make the fish look smaller. I have attached a photo of a 15 lb trout that I was lucky enough to do battle with last weekend (and no it was not at Roche Lake). I am practically holding the fish up against my body for the photo. I was worried that the big fish would start to thrash and I didn’t want to risk harming it for a photo. The fish in the photo was kept in the net in the water while my friend with the camera readied himself. Once ready I popped the fish out the water, took the photo and the fish was put back in the water immediately. I have attached a photo for reference.
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HOLY shamoley, Art! Looks like a steelie!!! What did you catch that whopper on?
It is a Kootenay Lake Gerrard rainbow trout and it was caught on a bucktail which is essentially a large fly that imitates a kokanee. These flies are trolled just below the surface and would only be effective on large lakes with fish-eating trout. Don’t bother trying this tactic at Roche!
Art, you should know by now that those Captain Highliner yellow rainsuits not only make your junk sweaty but also make your fish look smaller. As a matter of fact, I’m calling that fish in your hands a 4lber at best. I think you might have stayed up too late the night before that fishing trip… 😆
Not necessarily Kamloops area but we are heading up to Rudducks Ranch at the end of the month. First time for this lake. Any ideas on how it is fishing and/or typical flies to use?
Gents,
Heading out with my daughter and a friend and his daughter on Sunday as it is Father’s day. Any suggestions for lakes close to Kamloops that will produce a few catches for the little ones. I am ok with getting skunked – but would like the kids to catch a few. Is Isobel any good?
Cheers and tight lines.
There’s a family fishing event for the kids at Walloper lake on Sunday. I think they have refreshments and some gear for the kids as well as instruction. Walloper is packed with little fish. Not sure about Isobel. I think it winterkills but they restock it with catchables.
X2 on Walloper Sunday … the kids will have a blast! Stake & McConnell would work too.
I have always done good at isobel with the kids. Troll a tomthumb and you wont be able to keep them off. We usually hook into some around 18inches when the fishin is good.Might do goo with a damsel nymph as well
I fished the Adams River mouth the other night. Hammered a couple of 6lbers int he first 10 min and lost a large bull trout. Lost a few more fish before it got dark. The lake is extremely high. Interesting to see how many fry are in the water on the depth sounder. When we went through the bait ball, the sounder went black in 100 ft of water. Our bucktails were bumping the fry as we went through. You could see large trout on the periphery gorging themselves. It is awesome to see the ecosystem in such great health. It is a world class catch and release fishery.
I was up at Ernest in May and didn’t see a single fish. We were out on the water for the entire day. We came to the realization that it must have been winter killed. We stopped by the Roche lake resort on the way out the following day and one of the lodge staff was nice enough to confirm that it had been winter killed. What a shame.
Woot 4.5 lbs hehe
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Back from Barnes today. Spent 4 days. With a bloom on it was slow going 3-4 fish a day but Sunday with the wind, cold and rain taking much of the algae out, the fishing was great. Chronies and Daniels were the ticket. Also all fish, no exceptions were caught on the nose. Never seen that before. Thanks for the info on camping, folks.
Hi, guys. I heard there is usually a caddis hatch end of this month around here. Just wanna clarify whether that’s true? or if possible, any detail, please? I appreciate any help from any veteran fisherman in this blog. 🙂
Yes sir Lance there certainly will be caddis hatching on many of the Kamloops area lakes now or in the very near future – mid June to mid July is prime time round these parts. Here’s some more detailed info -=> https://flyguys.net/blog/aquatic-entomology/fly-fishing-caddis-sedges
Also look back at one of Dawn’s comments she posted a link to a very informative article on the subject by Brian Chan 😉
Don’t know how to thank you, Rob. You just saved me many frustrations on finding out what might work. You gotta be the most generous guy always providing the insight fishing info in this town. 🙂
Another great article, Rob. Printed off the details on how to fish these, and which ones to use. Too blonde to remember everything! lol Sure would be exciting to catch one on a dry fly…gotta learn to cast properly first, so I’ll try the other two methods. Got Bob busy tying up the flies mentioned…getting pretty excited, HURRY UP Saturday! And I agree completely with Lance….you rock, Rob!!!
Lance,
The caddis hatch will be delayed by the brutal weather that we are having lately. As soon as we get a few consecutive hot sunny days I would expect the hatch to begin at lakes below 4,000 ft. Anything above that probably won’t happen until early July (unless the weather turns in the next couple of weeks). These hatches are elusive and fishing is typically limited to the last hour or so before dark (not always). Prime caddis conditions are during a high pressure weather system with hot, sunny days and clear, calm evenings.
Most of the lakes around here have a decent caddis hatch with a few having a great hatch. The lower elevation grassland lakes (i.e. Jacko, Morgan, Six Mile, Edith) tend to have poor caddis hatches. Focus your efforts on lakes with a marl bottom as they seem to have better caddis populations.
Thanks Art.
This piece info is very detailed and insight, man. I really appreciate it.
But I don’t quite know some of the lakes that have marl bottom. Do you mean the lakes like Tunkwa or Campbell would have marl?
Thanks so much!!!
🙂
Lance,
Marl is just a combination of clay and calcium carbonate and looks like a light coloured mud. Lakes such as White are almost exclusively marl-bottomed which gives the shoal areas that beautiful white/light blue tinge. Other marl bottomed lakes with a good caddis hatch would include lakes such as Community, Hyas, Heffley and Roche (in certain areas). Stake Lake used to have an awesome caddis hatch but the fish are so small in there these days that I would be hesitatant to recommend it, but if you don’t mind catching tiddlers then it would probably be a safe bet.
I can’t comment on Tunkwa and Campbell except to say that they are not marl-bottomed and I am not aware of much of a caddis hatch. Although, I seem to recall hearing that Tunkwa does have a bit of caddis hatch but I think that it is the smaller cinnamon caddis and not the big “traveller” caddis.
Good luck out there,
Art
We decided to escape the crowds at Walloper and do some trolling (me with a fly and my daughter with a worm) at Stump lake. Two fathers and two 3 years girls – we had in the boat were having a great time regardless of the fishing – but after a few hours on the lake my daughter yelled “dad, I have one!” As she was reeling it in as hard as she could – it took a run and she exclaimed “My arms to sore can you bring it in?” To my surprise it was a great fish and as you can see in the picture she is pretty happy to!
3lbs, 2oz
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Way to go guys! Beauty fish! That smile is priceless!
Awww…awesome Father’s Day pic!!! How adorable is that??? Way to go, Dad!!! Did the other little girl get one? Hope so!!! Sure wish my boys liked to fish…..good for them for being so patient at 3 yrs old. Very nice, Jayme.