Scuitto-Lake-Kamloops-Region
by Steve Crews
(Cashmere, WA)
Scuitto Lake - Near Campbell Lake
I used to live in Kamloops in Barnhartvale. I was only 30 minutes from the Campbell Range, so I could go up after work and fish.
My best friend Bob Sorenson and I went to fish the lake in May. It was a beautiful warm spring day. When we got to the lake we put the boat in and motored (trolling motor) up to the Southwest corner of the lake.
There were trees and lillies. We saw several good rises. At first we tried a Crystal Flash Black Ant. We caught and released several fish in the 1-2 lb range. Then the fish just quit. We then each tied on a Christmas Leech (my own personal pattern) and cast to the edge of the lillies.
At the first cast just as I started retrieving the fly, SMACK, but nothing, then it felt like I had hooked a log. When I applied pressure the water exploded and a trophy size rainbow broke the surface. I played him and then he got tired of me and just snapped my leader. Bob cast in the same area and he had a nice fish on, it never broke the surface, but he too had his leader snapped. We eventually had to change to 4X leader and after that we caught several fish in the 5-10 lb range.
I will never forget that day on Scuitto Lake. It is one of my favorite lakes to fish in the Kamloops region. The fishing is great all the way through to ice on.
But, don't be surprised if you lose several fish to broken leaders. hint: we finally discovered that the fish were touching the fly as it went through the water because it was longer, like a leech swimming. Then they would come back and take it in their mouth as the marribou would fluff and take on the look of a leech that had drawn up smaller after being hit. So, the first hit was a warning, be prepared for the second to be more of a grab than a strike. I hope you enjoy fishing this secluded, but productive lake.
I hope some day to fish it again with my friend Bob. I now live in Cashmere, WA and have not been able to get back to Scuitto for a few years. If you fish it I would love to hear how you do.
Over 25 Years of Kamloops and Area Real Estate Experience!
