Rainbow Trout
Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC
The southern interior of British Columbia is home to some of the world’s best small lake rainbow trout fishing. The City of Kamloops sits at the hub of hundreds of fishable lakes. These lakes offer a wide variety of angling experiences from wilderness hike-in to highway accessible, and from trophy to family fisheries.
Regardless of the type of lake you fish, time of year and elevation often dictate what lures or flies will work best. This is because lakes undergo seasonal changes in temperature and water chemistry that affect where trout live in the lake and whether they will be actively feeding.
Insect hatches are dependent on water temperatures and therefore affect daily feeding habits of trout.
Generally, one can expect good fishing immediately after ice off. Trout at this time of year are often confined to shallow water because of oxygen requirements.
The previous 5 to 6 months of ice cover often results in the deeper waters lacking enough oxygen to support fish life. Anglers should therefore concentrate their efforts in the shallow or shoal areas of the lake.
The shoal is defined as that part of the lake where sunlight can penetrate to the bottom and allow photosynthesis and plant life to occur.
This can vary from 3 to 7 metres in depth depending on water quality. The ice-off fishing generally lasts up to 7 days before physical and chemical changes occur that put trout off their feed. What happens next is important for all small lake anglers to understand. In most situations within 7 to 14 days after ice off a lake will mix or turn over. A lake in turnover is very turbid or murky.
It is not uncommon to have good success at a lake one weekend and return the next weekend to find less than 30 centimetres of visibility. The water will be filled with all kinds of plant matter floating, and the fishing will be poor. Surface winds cause the lake to mix from top to bottom. This results in mixing of oxygenated and un-oxygenated water and release of other gases that affect fish physiology. Trout will stop feeding completely or feed very little until the lake water chemistry has improved. It can take from 5 to 10 days for a lake to come out of turnover.
Lures worth trying at ice-off include flatfish types in patterns of silver, gold, black and silver and frog patterns. Dick Nite, Panther Martin, and Rooster tail spoons in smaller sizes are also good bets. For fly fishers try dragonfly nymphs, water boatman, shrimp, chironomids and leeches. Fish your lures or flies on the shoal or edge of the drop off where the trout will be concentrated. Remember fish are hungry during those first few days after ice off.