Teepee Lakes - sometimes... that's fishin'

by DaveO
(Kamloops, BC)

Last week I was lucky enough to spend 3 days of exclusive fishing at the southern BC fishing destination of "Teepee Lakes Resort".

After spending a day fishing another lake on my way down from Kamloops, I arrived on Wed. June 12. I checked in at the lower resort office (the Bankier Store) and got a chance to meet the resort manager, Michele, and store operator, Judy, both awesome hosts to greet you before heading up the winding road (approx 11 km and about a 1000ft climb) to the lakeside resort. When I arrived I was surprised at how large this secluded resort was and the fact that I could get there in 2wd (caution... you need some bottom clearance because of the potholes and rocks in the road).

I found my cabin (a rustic but comfortable cabin that sleeps up to 4 people) and was able to track down Zach and Kees, the guys that are temporarily looking after the site (Zach is the gentleman who generously forwards the weekly fishing report), to get an update on what was happening on the lakes and what to use. They were helpful and, because they were too busy working, they offered me their boat for fishing Friday Lake. I took them up on their offer and set the boat up with my electric motor.

I actually had a pretty good first day on Friday Lake. The fishing was slow but steady... a fish an hour kinda thing. I spent most of the afternoon fishing alongside Chilliwack sturgeon fishing guide, Marc Laynes (www.BCsturgeon.com). He filled me in on the flies that he was using and (#14/#12 black and red chironomid) the successful techniques (dry line, strike indicator at 9'). As usual in this kind of situation, I rigged up 2 lines, one with the indicator and a naked dry line. It wasn't long before I started hitting fish but there seemed to be long stretches where nothing was really happening. The thunderheads moved in, occasionally with a light rain shower and a little wind but nothing to scare us back into camp. Marc left just after 5pm and I stayed out for a few more hours. At the end of the day I ended up with 7 fish, most in the 13"-14" range.

My eldest son, Dano, showed up in the middle of the night (I was supposed to pick him up in Princeton early in the morning but he drove up instead... that's another story) to fish with me on Thursday and Friday. As luck would have it, the mornings were sunny but very quiet on the lakes and the afternoons brought thunderstorms that seemed to quiet the hunger of the fish.

On Thursday we started fishing at Friday Lake in the morning, had a noon hour nap, scurried over to Sunday Lake for the mid-late afternoon fish and finally ended up at Saturday Lake for the evening. Unfortunatly, the thunder was taking it's toll. Very few fish were rising at any of the lakes. I caught 1 fish in the morning at Friday Lake and another at Saturday Lake in the evening (on a sedge!). There were lots of fish around the launch dock at Sunday Lake but unfortunately the rest of the lake was rather quiet. Dano, for all his efforts, was skunked. He did however learn to cast the dry line with a strike indicator rather efficiently. Perhaps it was his retrieve.?.?.?

Friday morning saw us pack up almost everything and evacuate the cabin as the camp was fully booked for the weekend, a Telus (ex-employee/current employee) fishing derby. They started arriving Thursday night and were quickly filling up the camp. After packing, we gave Friday Lake one more try. It was pretty quiet for us. A couple of the Telus guys that were trolling Mepps spinners seemed to attract a few fish but the fly fishermen were having a tough go.

We called it a day just after 1pm as the thunderheads started moving in again. As luck has it (or doesn't have it in this case) Dano, while lifting the anchor for the last time before we trolled back to camp had a strike. The boat was turning there was so much slack in the line that before he could get control the fish jumped (one of the bigger fish that we had seen this week) and spit the hook.

Rats... skunked again. He took it in pretty good humour as we said our good-byes.
Until next time... that's fishin'!

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Teepee Lakes Resorts is a great outdoor adventure destination for individuals, families and group functions. There is plenty of room and other than the fishing you can enjoy canoeing, hiking, cycling, ATV'ing, snowmobiling, cross-country skiing and wildlife viewing. The staff is friendly and hospitable and they offer a great wilderness experience, not all that far from the city.

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