The West Kootenay Fishing Report is provided by Kerry Reed of Reel Adventures Sport-Fishing Charters. For more info go to reeladventurefishing.com.
Kootenay Lake:
It’s been a great month of fishing on the lake. July started with the 2 day opening of Kokanee in the West Arm, and it was good one day and tough the next day. But, the fish that were caught were definitely good quality. That’s it for Kokanee fishing this year. Hopefully we see a good return this fall and can look forward to more opportunities next year.
We have also been spending some time fly fishing in the West Arm for Rainbows. This has been a fun treat. A nice change from the normal trolling on the main lake. And it has produced some nice Rainbows up to 5 Lbs. Always a blast on a fly rod.
And on the main lake, we have been having some incredible days of fishing for mid summer. It seemed like the fishing slowed down for a couple weeks, but once the weather became consistent, we started have some great days again. In fact, our latest trip, the boys managed to land over a dozen fish, with the largest being a 6 Lb Bull Trout and a 6 Lb Rainbow. That’s pretty good fishing for July.
We’ve also had a lot of family trips lately. It’s been so much fun getting out with young families and seeing the smiles on kids faces. That’s why we love our jobs.
Looking forward to getting more groups out this summer to experience our little piece of paradise.
Columbia River:
The river has been fishing well, when the weather has cooperated. And, when the water levels remain consistent it has been hot.
Some of our guys have been catching Walleye regularly on the jigs during the day, and our fly fishing groups have had some amazing afternoon/evening catches. Most of the day trips have started out slow in the afternoon, but as the evening progressed and the crazy caddis hatches started, the fishing has been fantastic.
The usual Columbia River Rainbows between 16 – 20 inches have been the norm, however we have seen a few 24 plus lately as well. These fish are feeding well. Fat, chunky bows with lots of attitude take you into your backing on a regular occurrence.
Pound for pound, these fish are some of the hardest fighting fish we have caught. Can’t wait for more consistent weather and some more great outings on the river.
On the lakes, it’s been a mix of flies, spoons, and hockey sticks for the Rainbows. Our favourite Gibbs/Delta crocs have been working pretty good on the main lake, and my favourite hockey sticks or TKO’s have worked best in the west arm. The best colors have been orange or pink for the hockey sticks, and the crocs have been the usual brass/fire stripe, or brass/fire wing.
And for the Bull Trout, my favourite Gibbs/Delta Highliner flasher with a green spatter back hoochie, or the green pistachio hoochie has worked best for us. The water is warmer and the fish are a bit deeper now. We have been catching the Bulls as deep as 150ft lately. However, the Rainbows are still being caught on the surface.
On the river, it’s been good flyfishing with caddis patterns when the hatch is on. And for the spin casters, its been good with the usual small crocs for Rainbows, or jig heads with Gibbs curly tails for the Walleye.
And finally, on the West Coast, its been hot fishing with the Gibbs/Delta flashers in Blue or White, followed by either the Blue/silver skinny G, or 3 inch Silver Horde Kingfisher spoons in all my favourite colors. Favourite colors being: Maverick, cookies & cream, white lightning, and the herring aid.