So, if you wonder why I occasionally wax poetic about the fishing on Kootenay Lake, this video might explain why. This was one day of fishing, that occured last Saturday, and was posted by one of the guides up there. (No, I don't know him, or shill for him; in fact, my suggestion is to fish it with your own boat!) All the guides and tackle shops up there are reporting red hot fishing on most days, with lots of rainbows running in the upper 15's and low 20's. This fishing had almost collapsed like its cousin to the south, Lake Pend Oreille. They have brought it back and it continues to just get better and better for rainbows (Gerrards, or Kamploops) dollies, and big kokanee. By the way, the fishing is poor during the summer months. Mike
[url "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lj6khBZ3GHU"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lj6khBZ3GHU[/url]
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Boy wouldn't that be a hoot [cool]
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Those are bigger than a lot of salmon! wow!!!
How deep do they have to fish?
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Sure makes me want to go. Do you fish it with a guide when you take your own boat? I had to laugh a bit when they said safely released, because it looked like some of those were treated a bit rough, but even so it looked like a good time.
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No, we just head out ourselves, with a little info from local tackle shops. Trolling polar hair flies, plugs, and flasher/hoochie combos. They did seem to be a bit rough on the one fish, but I believe they kept that one. The released fish were shown still in the water. There is so little pressure on the lake and it is so large--100 miles long--that I am sure it wouldn't really matter if you kept the fish. We release after a picture. To get across the lake, there is a free ferry at Balfour. The crossing takes a half-hour. There are very few ramps on the lake. Mike
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It's on my bucket list for sure. Now all I need is a boat, and a truck to tow it! [cool]
How long of a drive is it? What kind of permits or licenses do they require? Have you gotten into any of those kokanee?
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Mike I have been watching the video a lot, was going up the 1st of June but from what I have been reading I might wait until December of next year.
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Don't know about that Healthy Release, but MAN those are some toads for sure.
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