Red Lake-The Bite Was On

by Mr BFSH
(Kamloops)

I remember back in the early 90's when drought was a concern. My friend Steve and I and my nephew Jeff and his girlfriend went to Red Lake in the spring and had a hay-day catching brookies like crazy. 40...50 fish each... it was orgasmic.

Well this last weekend wasn't quite that prolific but the fishing was pretty darned good. The water had cleared up from after the turn, about 48F and the daphnia hatch was prolific.

I didn't have a bite for the first 2 hrs as I cruised around the south end of the lake. Around noon the swallows started swarming over the water and I got my first fish in about 14' of water, dragging a booby fly. A nice 2lb brook trout along the south-west side of the lake near the little island.

It was only a few minutes later that I had two strong hits but lost them. I decided to find a spot to drop anchor. A couple of guys who were in a some shallower water (and had been catching fish) moved out so I move in the proximity. With the bite coming on it was my best decision of the day. I anchored and I swear that I went 30 casts in a row either getting a fish or a strike. Using my floating lines I was casting a black/red micro leech and a green/dark green rib micro leech. It was non-stop action. Most of the fish were small but the odd 2lb fish came in. There were lots of others catching fish too, including the shore fishermen along the road.

Just after 2pm, the bite slowed significantly. The fish were not hitting as hard, in fact just tugging on the loose end of the leech, making it tough to hook them. I still caught a bunch until about 6pm then the rain started. The wind was gusting now and then and the situation seemed to be deteriorating so I got off the lake before many of the other guys that went further down the lake looking for rainbow trout came back. I ended up taking 3 fish home.

It was a strange day because the brook trout appeared to be schooling and hitting the fly awkwardly. There were many a soft bite that when I tried to set the hook I ended up snagging the fish in the tail or on the side. I think I landed 6 fish that were mal-hooked.

The rainbow fishermen did well too. There were a number of 5lb+ trout being caught on black chironomids in about 14' of water and on deep lines to 25' with a black leech.

Lack of good access points keeps the traffic at Red Lake down and that's a good thing. The lake only stays prolific for a few weeks then it rolls into a 3 month doldrum until mid-Sept.

There sure were a lot of deer on the road coming home. The deer population around Kamloops has sky-rocketed over the last decade and the winding Tranquille Valley Road is just littered with mule deer (I didn't see any whitetails). When I did hunt years ago, this was one of my favorite areas... maybe I should think about it again.

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LET'S DO LUNCH AT TOBIANO
After fishing in our local lakes, drop by the clubhouse
restaurant at Tobiano Golf. Great Menu, Great Views

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