BC Kokanee / Rainbows ice fishing

[Brandonkop]

https://youtu.be/JCElSBleeJo?feature=shared

If anyone ever wants to cross the line for some winter salmon fishing through the ice... this is how to get the job done. Stump lake is a great lake with lots of fish and great sizes once it freezes up. Usually the kokanee lakes area larger and take till January to get safe ice on them.

Stump Lake British Columbia Ice Fishing for KOKANEE Salmon and Stocked Rainbow Trout after the Polar Vortex froze the lake.

They may not be huge, but these land locked salmon are an iconic species in the North West for ice fishermen.

What they lack in size, they make up with their high numbers and excellent flavor.

Large schools of fish can often be found suspended over the lake basin. They are attracted by using flashy spoons and will chase most small lures tipped with bait.

Having a sonar is super helpful since you will need to find what level in the water column they are swimming by to catch them consistently. Having the awareness of when a fish is in the location allows you to work them into a frenzy to bite.

I find slow jigs, and pulling the lure away from them triggers the bite. It also makes it easier to feel the light bites when you are pulling up.

I was using a small pink fly and a red/gold wire worm tipped with a meal worm.

I also spent some time in the south end on the weedy flats looking for rainbow trout. In this lake 8 to 10 pound rainbows are actually pretty common. Putting in the time can get you hooking a monster. The morning bite was great and plenty of fish were coming in hot to check out my blob fly. The Jaw Jacker was doing its thing to put fish on the ice as well.

I hope you enjoy this little fishing trip up to Stump Lake from the Lower Mainland of BC. It was a very enjoyable day to be out fishing. Glad you could join along with the video.

[Frank_NK28]

Great video. Glad to see I'm not the only one who has professional faux pa's!

[Brandonkop]

https://youtu.be/-tlYOxPpk78

I was out last Thursday from about 7am till 10:30 am on Edith Lake, 11:30am till 2pm on Stump Lake and then headed over to Kane Valley Road for the last light bite. Plenty of good ice under foot still for safe ice travel. A little bit of shore melt started where people walk on the ice can be easily avoided.

As with the day prior, the kokanee were found deeper in the water column than I usually find them. I was fishing about 80 feet of water and fish were mostly coming through between 40 to 70 feet down. Having the Marcum M5 flasher sonar really helped to get the lure in front of fish scattered throughout the column.

Once the fish notice the falling spoon, they usually turn towards the spoon and rise to meet it. At this point is where the game begins. You may not have much success just wiggling it at the same level. They'll probably lose interest pretty quick.

If you aren't triggering bites, then try slowly lifting the jig away from the fish. This helps you feel the bite and causes a more likely instinct chase and bite response.

If they turn away and swim down, let the spoon drop again and see if they come back to repeat the process. Be ready for very quick, light takes.

Meal worms have worked really well for me as bait. I suspect you really don't need any other bait.

5 mm and 7 mm tungsten jigs work, I like the pink or orange colors for kokanee. Tungsten jigs are great as they fall fast and don't get tangled in your flasher like a lighter fly or jig.

Some days, they do like the slower moving lure like a lighter fly or jig though. Just have to feel it out each day and adjust to the circumstances.

Surprisingly, some of the lakes that have been frozen the longest with snow cover only have 4 to 5 inches of ice. While others that froze more recently have 8 to 12 inches of ice with little snow cover.

So be careful out there, always take a little precaution while traveling on ice.

Thursday was a great day! I stayed overnight in Kamloops and hit Edith Lake first thing in the morning. I arrived shortly after 7am and had the lake to myself. While only 15 minutes from Kamloops it tends to not be crazy pressured fishing unless you show up on weekends.

The fish have seen a lot of lures, I'm sure, and the bigger fish can be tricky to fool into biting.

I wasn't sure what to expect, but since I had the lake to myself, I chose a spot I had never fished before. I drilled holes from 20 to 5 feet deep along a shoreline with rocks. When I hit the 7 to 8 foot hole, I knew I was in for something good because before I had my hook down, I saw three marks go by.

I set up the jigging Jaw jacker, and right away, it went off. I caught several smaller brook trout and rainbows. Kept two lovely Pennask bows around 17 inches long. The limit for rainbows is only 2 on this lake. I imagine this helps with population numbers since it's close to town.

I then had a big hit on the jigging Jaw jacker when I was packing up to leave to the next lake after 3 hours of fishing. The rod cranked over, and the line was peeling out. I ran over and landed a beautiful specimen. A fat Pennask. I let her go and finished packing up to head to Stump Lake for Lake, NO. 2.


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