Kootenay Lake Fishing Report
By Contributor
Hooray Hooray, it’s the beginning of May. And our spring fishing is starting to get going.
Here’s the latest reports
Kootenay Lake
Water temps are finally rising after a long-drawn-out spring. Our temp has been up to the mid 40 degrees, which means the fish are starting to wake up.
Most of April saw some cooler weather and water, and the fishing was hot and cold. But the past week or so the water has started to warm, and we are seeing more fish coming to the surface. Rainbows up to four pounds and Bull Trout up to 10 pounds have been coming in lately. The top three Bull Trout in the Easter derby were between 5 – 10 pounds.
Because of the mixed weather in April, fishing continued to be inconsistent throughout the month. But the latest warming of weather has turned things on a bit. In fact, our first trip of May saw a busy group of fishermen hook into over a dozen fish. And on another day, we managed to hook into twenty fish. So, the feeding has begun.
Mostly Rainbows lately but expect the Bull Trout to become more aggressive as the water warms. And because of the warming trend, the creeks are starting to flow, and some more food is washing into the lake. This has the fish looking upward. Most of our fish are being caught on the surface now, and this should continue through May and June.
The phone is ringing, and people are excited to get out of the house. We’re looking forward to a busy month and hope the weather will finally become consistent.
Time to get out there.
Columbia River
The river is still low, but the water temperature is warming up.
Like the lake, the fish are starting to feed more aggressively. Some fat Rainbows up to six pounds have been coming in. Also getting into a few Walleye this spring still. That will probably slow down a bit as they approach spawning time but will pick up when everything is done.
Fly fishing seems to be more productive now, as the hatches have begun. We seem to be getting more action on the fly rods compared to the spinning rods.
Looking forward to the water reaching that magic temperature and the fish to really turn on.
Stay tuned….
What are they biting on???
Kootenay Lake Rainbows have been taking the bucktail flies lately. Our favorite color in the past couple weeks has been the #22 or #26. These colors always seem to produce at this time of year. As the water rises and begins to stain, look at using some different patterns with greens or golds, as they will show up better in the stained water.
Our normal line-up of lures to start the day is: bucktails on one side of the boat, and Gibbs/Delta spoons on the other side of the boat. The brass/fire stripe or brass/firewing croc is always a go-to for us.
And on the down riggers we’ve been hooking a few Bull Trout down between 100-150 feet. The ‘STS’ flasher or the ‘Lemon Lime’ flasher have been our favourite. Followed by the green spatterback or green pistachio hoochie.
On the river it’s been pretty good using an indicator and a nymph. Also swinging some streamers along the seams has been producing. Shore fishermen have been getting a few on the bottom bouncer with bait.
That pretty much sums it up for now.
This is the beginning of our favourite time of year. Water temperature is climbing. Water levels are climbing. And fish are coming to life!
Stay tuned for the best action of the year coming in May and June.
Tight lines……
Kerry Reed, Reel Adventures Sportfishing
