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8K views 55 replies 16 participants last post by  Squamishpoacher 
#1 ·
Planning out the spring fishing season for BC lakes.

It has been cold here and it looks like the fishing season is going to be later than usual.

A fellow on one of the websites has a formula based on Jan/Feb temp as to when the ice is going to come of for a specific lake here (6 Mile). The lake is located between the Nicola (Merritt/Kamloops) and Cariboo regions.

The calculation puts ice-off for this lake at April 11th - normal ice-off is around March 25th.

Now I don't fish 6 Mile, but those calculations imply that all the other lakes will be equally late.
Roche normally ices-off around early- to mid-April - this delay puts it into early-May.
25 days after ice-off is when things get hot at Roche.

I have time off booked for May 21 to 27 for Roche - hope ice-off is early.

Here's my list of lakes for this spring:

Courtney – 3300 feet
Roche – 3700 feet
Tunkwa – 3750 feet
Hathume – 4600 feet

I had Batstone on the list but it is a private lake and has limited opportunities (4 boats only).

Courtney in late April or early May
Roche May 21 to 27
Tunkwa - may fit in it in the spring but there is also great fishing in August for bombers
Hathume probably mid- to late-June

Also doing Hihum from June 6 to 10 but it is with a larger group that tends to turn into a party instead of serious fishing.
 
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#2 ·
Courtney about 3rd week in June, Little Fort area lake to be be determined 4th week in June. From there to Jasper and Banff, probably not a lot of fishing with runoff conditions likely. Haven’t determined exit route back to Washington in early July; take Hwy 3 south to Nelson/Fernie or east on 97 and hit Tunkwa or other options. So many choices. Locked in with grandsons summer break schedule.
 
#3 ·
I will be @ Courtney the first week of May. I plan on camping @ Kentucky-Alleyne lakes.
 
#5 ·
July is a tricky time to fish - too hot.
Tunkwa has a bit of different fishing patterns in that they get chironomids in mid-August that are productive to fish for/with.

Roche is typically in "algae bloom" that time of the year.
A choking layer of algae sits near the top of the water preventing chironomids from getting to the surface.

Courtney does have shiners - https://www.bcfishn.com/courtney-lake-the-thompson-nicola-best-kept-secret/
Blackwater rainbows have been introduced in many BC lakes to combat them.

Perhaps search stocking reports for Blackwaters if you want to target lakes with shiners.

http://www.gofishbc.com/Stocked-Fish.aspx#stocked-strains
http://www.gofishbc.com/Stocked-Fis...ic=BLACKWATER R&start=3/22/2008&end=3/22/2018
 
#6 ·
I fished Bolean Lake in July, around Kamloops, and got snowed on! Neat little resort up there. They turn on the electricity between 7& 10 PM, but have wood stoves in all the cabins. Camping is also available. Here's a link! 2 other lakes nearby, Arthur and Spa. Elevation is about 5000 ft.
http://www.boleanlake.net/
 
#8 ·
I will be @ Courtney the first week of May. I plan on camping @ Kentucky-Alleyne lakes.
There was 20 inches of ice on both Kentucky and Alleyne lakes last week. You may want to go the the FlyBC Forum at www.flybc.ca. You can view posts as a guest under the "Fly Fishing BC" section. There you will see an ICE OFF thread with members posting lots of updates. FYI .... Logan Lake has been winter killed this winter due to a malfunction with their aerator. There have been some reports of a couple of others, as well as some partial winter kills. It has been a long cold winter up here.

Six Mile Lake yesterday



Morgan Lake yesterday


Jacko Lake just outside of Kamloops yesterday

 
#13 ·
There was 20 inches of ice on both Kentucky and Alleyne lakes last week. You may want to go the the FlyBC Forum at www.flybc.ca. You can view posts as a guest under the "Fly Fishing BC" section. There you will see an ICE OFF thread with members posting lots of updates. FYI .... Logan Lake has been winter killed this winter due to a malfunction with their aerator. There have been some reports of a couple of others, as well as some partial winter kills. It has been a long cold winter up here.

Six Mile Lake yesterday



Morgan Lake yesterday


Jacko Lake just outside of Kamloops yesterday

@Super Dave - thank you for sharing these pictures and some great information! Two lakes I really love to fish and one not yet on my "punch card". I haven't fished Logan Lake for several years, too bad about the winter kill.

Pat
 
#11 ·
There's a lot of things that factor into it and lake depth isn't necessarily something that can save a lake. Winterkill happens when decaying vegetation creates a biological oxygen demand. When a lake freezes it can freeze in different ways. A BOD can occur when thin cloudy ice gets covered with several inches of wet snow. The issue here is light penetration. Light passes through clear ice better than cloudy ice. It passes through dry snow better than wet snow. A hard winter with thick ice and a heavy snow cover can be tough. Another factor is circulation of water through the lake. It helps if water is flowing into the lake bringing in oxygen. Big fish are the first to go in most situations as they need more oxygen. And, as fish and vegetation die, the bacteria that feed on them increase in numbers creating a further BOD. The good news is that winterkill is a natural process. It rarely is complete and makes way for new growth.
 
#16 ·
Courtney's ice is off or close to it.

Not sure of the timing of turn over on this lake but it sounds like it fishes well before turn over and should be great just after turn over.

Looking to hit the lake in early May (May 10).

Got a stretch of warm weather coming up in the Merritt/Kamloops area so the rest of the lakes should be looking good soon.

Expecting May 3rd or so ice off for Roche.
 
#24 ·
#23 ·
Ice just came off a lot of the bigger lakes north of Kamloops ie Barriere area which is a good month late of average... smaller lakes at higher elevations might be later depending on exposure. Went for a tour this afternoon south east of Calgary the Bow is chocolate from field run-off and likely will stay that way for a few weeks as there is still a lot snow in the fields and with the ground frozen in tends to just run-off rather than being absorbed into the ground it might be better further south in the Oldman/Crowsnest area but I doubt it at least for a few weeks good luck on the lakes in BC but take a warm jacket for the evenings as it still cools down pretty good at night
 
#28 ·
The ice is pretty much off Roche according to local reports - a few days earlier than expected.

There was the scare of winter kill but it has been confirmed by the lodge that there is no winter kill.
A nearby lake (Bleeker) had some winter kill but it is a much shallower lake (~35 foot max).
 
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