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kbd635
Member since August 2010Recent Activity
Babine Lake Annual Excursion
We went to CoopDoggs Resort on Babine Lake once again for our annual Sockeye expedition for the September Long weekend. The weather didn’t look like it was going to cooperate, since Thursday was torrential rain, but it started clearing up a little on Friday. Saturday, Sunday and Monday were very calm with relatively clear skies. With only 2 fish to show for Thursday, it looked like it was going to be a slow weekend, but once the weather broke and we found the correct depth and area for the water currents the fishing improved greatly. The boat limited out every time we went out and were happy to take others out to share the day with. The fish were averaging 5-7lbs with one that was possibly 9 or 10lbs from another boat in our group. On Sunday, we had a little mishap, turned too tight and cut a downrigger cable, but being a McGyver, we were able to fashion a terminal connection from a large clip swivel and a couple of crimps, which lasted for the rest of the trip. Luckily, the kicker didn’t sustain any damage. As usual, the green flasher, 18” leader, 2 red beads and a red #2 Gamamatsu hook was the set up for the weekend. The fish were 65’ down and seemed to be in large groups for most of the time, but there were some caught as the boat turned and the lures dropped down to around 75’. We were expecting the limits to be increased, as they usually do at this time, but it would appear that the Sockeye run was lower than previous years and the 2 per day (2 day in possession) limits were in effect.
BC Day weekend
For the BC Day weekend, we thought we’d try something different and go to Babine Lake, fish for Char and Rainbows before trying our luck for Sockeye on the “Glorious 1st”. Ron at Coopdogg’s (Topley Landing) was, as usual, his helpful self and we got a great campsite with full services, close to the lake. Saturday was a bit choppy, with whitecaps rolling through, so we had a relaxing day and walked to the Fulton River spawning beds to have a look. Unfortunately, the beds were empty of water, but we were amazed at the size and design of the place. (When we go back on the Labour Day weekend, we’ll definitely take some time out and visit when it’s in full swing.) The weather on Sunday was spectacular and we fished all day, catching a few nice Rainbows, with one at 3lbs and a nice Lake trout of around 6lbs, which we released. Rainbows were caught using a small willow leaf and a green Apex. The Lakers were taking a slow troll medium sized Apex around 50 feet down. On Monday the weather was calm and the lake was like glass, so we ventured out early and, although the sockeyes were not flooding the screen of our fishfinder, people were catching some nice specimens. We landed 3, ranging from 3-6lbs, all taking the Green flasher and red bead setup, which is the “goto” for this lake. We actually got broken by 2 fish and I can only attribute one of these to a bad knot at the hook. The other was a good fish, but not enough of a monster to break a 20lb trace. (I can dream though!)
Francois Trip with friends
We camped at Sandy’s RV & Camping Resort ON Francois Lake (near the Ferry to Southside) a couple of weekends ago and fished the area, looking for some good Lakers. The RV park was very comfortable and the lots, which were quite spacious, were located 20 feet from the shore. It was quite windy and that limited our range on the lake, but we managed to safely get out a few times over the weekend. Here is Nat holding one of the Lakers we caught. We don’t normally keep Lakers, but we were told that they are good smoked, so we thought we’d try one. It didn’t turn out very well! It was very oily, didn’t hold the smoke as much as it did the salt so was not to our taste. The rainbows, however were delicious!
First outing of 2016 and first ever Burbot!
Our first camping / fishing adventure in 2016 was to Carp Lake on the May long weekend. After arriving on a rainy Thursday evening (after towing one fallen pine off the road and going around several others), we promptly launched the boat and set up camp in the provincial campground. There were only a few other campers in the site that evening, but more arrived as the night progressed. On Friday morning, it was cold, wet and windy and we even had a little snow, so we decided not to venture out that day. On Saturday, the weather broke and, although overcast, it was a pleasant day, so we set out around 9am. We were using willow leafs and apex lures and as soon as we set one line out, we started hitting fish after fish (the majority were on a transparent purple Apex). We took 4 nice rainbows into the boat for supper and released the rest. (We lost count around the 30 mark and guessed we got closer to 40 that day. We set our first ever Burbot lines that evening and were pleasantly surprised when we hauled in a nice 6lb specimen the following morning. We promptly put the set lines back down and continued the previous days trolling methods, keeping a number of rainbows and releasing the rest to repeat the previous days count. On the way in that evening, we checked the set lines and amazingly enough, we got another nice Burbot. On Monday morning, like kids at Christmas, we waited with baited breath to see what the set lines would present us with. Verna hauled in the line and the fish that was on the line was bigger than the first one, but as we gripped the line to bring it in, the line broke and we watched in amazement as the catch returned to the deep. The lesson we learned is that you never underestimate the abrasive properties of a Burbot’s small teeth! Next time, we will be using braided wire for the leader!
My little friend Abby with her 2lb rainbow
Caught on a downrigger, with Salmon rigging. (Flasher, 2' leader, 2 orange beads and a red hook.) My, how she's grown from last years pic!
Tukii Lodge on Babine Lake
Once again on our annual pilgrimage to Babine Lake, we decided to try somewhere different and headed to Tukki Lodge. Tukii Lodge is located at Smithers Landing on the shore of beautiful Babine Lake, only one hour from Smithers, with eight cabins of various sizes to choose from, boat rentals and very spacious mooring for those of us who prefer to bring our own. The Lake at this end is very protected and, as you can see from the photographs, it was like a mirror for the whole of our trip and the weather overall was kind to us, with only a little rain. The limit was 2 per day (with a 2 day possession limit) when we arrived, but it was changed to 4 per day while we were there. Talking to the locals, we found out that a purple flasher worked better than the customary green one and we did find that the rod with the purple flasher was catching more. We caught 28 Sockeye between the 4 of us on our boat in 4 days, which although not the limit of 32, was enough to keep us (and our smoker) very happy. Overall a very good time, with good friends, extended family and good sport. My apologies for the slightly bloody photo! :-)
Francois Lake fishing with my Dad (MK II)
We were lucky enough to go back to Francois with my parents a week later and visited Nithi on the Lake this time You will know from my previous posts that I like Nithi and armed with our new camper, we set off to fish the far East of the lake. Again, I couldn’t keep my Dad out of the boat, the the smile from his face or the fish off our lines either! Again, willow leafs and green apex's were the recipe for success! It made me very happy to make their vacation fun and full of memories!
Francois Lake fishing with my Dad
WE recently had my parents over from Scotland on vacation and we rented a cabin at Birch Bay Resort on Francois Lake. Birch Bay is a nice, clean, family run resort located on the North Shore and has cabins and RV spaces for rent. My Dad is 80 years old and isn’t a “boat” person, he prefers the good old Terra Firma (The more firma, the less Terror hehe), but as soon as he got in the Numpty Tub, he was hooked (Pun intended). He was first to the dock, waiting for me to get the boat going. We fished for 3 days and although the downriggers didn’t find any Lakers, he was rewarded with a few of Francois’ finest rainbows on a surface trolling rod. I’d like to say that they were caught on the Lucky Bugs I was asked to test, but it would appear that they are not that successful in that Lake and all were caught using green flatfish lures with willow leafs. We tried the Lucky Bug “Zombie Max” lures on the downriggers, but we didn’t get a single bite. These lures are VERY realistic and actually DO look like a fish swimming in the water and perhaps that was the issue. In my experience, the best lures have an erratic movement, simulating an injured fish, but these are perhaps too realistic and predators don’t view them as an easy meal? I’d like to know your opinions on these lures?
Beautiful Sunrise on Babine Lake
Monday morning salmon fishing at Tukii lodge on Babine Lake.
Lucky Bugs on Purden
Last Sunday was the first time I could get out and try the Lucky Bugs and although I wanted to do a more scientific analysis and fish one rod with the Lucky Bug and one with my usual Purden Lake fare, Ryan and Hunter had other ideas and wanted to both try the new lures! The Weather was hot, the water calm and I wasn’t expecting to catch much, but it was a good day out with my friend and the two kids. I put one rod in with a black and white Bingo Bug trolling 100 feet behind the boat and was just setting up the second and Ryan had our first fish on! A nice stock rainbow which was well hooked and gave a good fight. Not 5 minutes later Hunter hit a fish, using a red and white Bingo, but lost it, but made up for it a little while later with one we managed to land. (See photograph) We continued to fish and were rewarded with 3 more fish, which we decided to release, since the 2 we caught were for Ryan and Hunters supper. I must admit I’m always skeptical when new lures come on the market, offering “life like” action and new technology, but these lures do seem to entice fish to hit, and I was especially impressed since the conditions weren’t looking good for some sport. Needless to say, I WILL be keeping a few of these lures in my box of tricks on future adventures! Next week, I’m off to Francois Lake to try out the Lucky Bug Zombie Maxx’s for Char.
Record warm ocean temperatures pose threat to B.C.
Concerning news indeed! http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/record-warm-ocean-temperatures-pose-threat-to-b-c-salmon-1.3151406