We all as fly fishermen have our own personal fav’s when it comes to fly\Lake selection, I’m no different. With time of year in mind and type of water, my fly selection changes as it should throughout the year. I will start by talking about spring time fishing.
I like to start my spring fishing in the Kamloops region, i have many lakes that i will visit in the region throughout the year but i usually start at Salmon lake.
SALMON LAKE: This lake is on the Douglas lake ranch( approx 1 hr NE of Merrit) and is one of the larger lakes that i visit in the year. It is at a fairly low elevation(3200 ft) Approx.
Salmon lake is around 125 hectares and has a few very deep holes off of the hill closest to the cabins. There are some nice weed beds on the south as well as the north ends. Theses weed beds are ideal for casting your reliable chronie into. Due to the size of this lake it can get quit windy in the mid day so if your in a tube be aware if this fact. Of course like as in most lakes the best fishing is at the furthest point away from the campsites.. I have found that this lake is best fished between 10am and 2pm and again from 5ish till dark. I have had the most success on Salmon with a size14-16 black chronie with red ribbing and a white snowcone head,This for me has outfished any other color on this lake. I would have to say the next most common ones i use would be Red(bloodworm) and green. If the fish are being picky i try to get away from chroines and i would start casting a dragon,red leech,black leech, or a damsel nymph into the weeds with a slow slow retrieve. This has produced some big fish on this lake and for me is one of my favorite ways to catch these fish. If all else fails try trolling(yuk) a leech,dragon,scud, or the always good 52 buick on the eastern shore of this lake. I have fished this lake more that 30 times and find that if trolling is what you want the best places are the east side from the cabins south to the second to last bay. Early spring (may long) i try the south end first, if this proves futile i go to the north end to the river inflow and set up there for a while. I have found that leader lengths from 12-18 feet work best and i use no bigger that 4 lb tippet. There are some BIG fish in this lake but i found that the average is around 16-18″,they are good scrappers but not great.
For a nice cozy start to the season this lake has some good fishing along with a store,cabins,washrooms,showers and campground. For all the guys its a good place to take the family with all the comforts of home and with some good fishing when it’s on.
NEXT Blog: DAIRY\DUFFY Lakes.
Wishing everyone tight lines and tons of fish.
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