The West Kootenay Fishing Report is provided by Kerry Reed from Reel Adventures Sport Fishing Charters at reeladventurefishing.com or ph. 250-505-4963.
Well, February was a bit more like winter. We were faced with a lot of windy days and the snow just kept coming.
Cooler temperatures and inconsistent weather made conditions a bit tougher for fishing, but we still managed to put in our time.
We alternated between Kootenay and Arrow Lake for the past month and have been rewarded for our efforts. Here’s the latest news.
Kootenay Lake: With the water temperature running around 3C now, the fish have been a bit lethargic. We have adjusted our techniques a bit and have been able to hook into a few fish most days.
Most days have seen the odd rainbow, but more commonly we have been hooking into a couple bulls each time out.
Rainbows between 2 -3 pounds and bull trout between 3-10 pounds have been caught in the past couple weeks.
Looking forward to the weather finally smartening up and the fish will become more and more aggressive. Stay tuned.
Arrow Lake: We’ve been spending a lot of time on Lower Arrow Lake this past month and it has been kind to us.
Still slower fishing, however the quality of the fish has made up for that. Most days we have been hooking into 2 to 5 bull trout, but we have also hooked a few rainbows.
The Scotties Marina held their annual derby last month and there were quite a few fish caught this year. It was nice to see most boats hooking into a fish or two. Weather was good for that day and fun was had by all.
The biggest fish of the day was a beauty 15-pound bull trout, with a bunch more between 6-13 pounds.
Since then we have been out a number of times and still manage to hook into one or two fish most days. Same as Kootenay, the fishing will get better and better as the water warms up.
Columbia River: We did a couple trips on the Columbia when we had a decent break in the weather. Both trips rewarded us with a few rainbows each time between 2-and-4 pounds. Best technique was float fishing from shore.
Once again, we are awaiting some milder weather and look forward to hitting the river hard when weather permits.
Usually March and April provide us with our biggest fish of the year on the river.
What are they biting on ? We’ve managed to catch a few rainbows on the surface with bucktail flies, and a few on plugs and spoons. My favourite Gibbs/Delta Croc spoons have caught a few, and the brass/fire stripe croc has been the most consistent lure.
Bull trout, on the other hand, have been fairly consistent on my favourite flasher/hoochie combo, or a flasher and spoon combo has been working as well.
The Gibbs/Delta guide series flashers in lemon lime or STS are my best producers, followed by a green spatter back or glow green pistachio hoochie. We’ve also caught a few on the ‘No Bananas’ skinny G spoon behind the flashers.
Best depths lately have been between 50-100 feet on Arrow Lake and between 75-150 feet on Kootenay.
With Spring Break coming, we are looking forward to spending more and more time with guests on the water this month. Lets hope the weather co-operates.
Tight lines …