My dad pays me a visit a couple of times each year and we usually try to get at least one fishing trip in during his short one-week stay. In the past we've been lucky, a couple of productive trips to the Capilano River several years ago when he managed to bag his limit while I came up empty handed. A trip to Alice Lake in Squamish two years ago resulted in multiple hook-ups of catchable rainbow trout for him, which was very satisfying. Last fall we were not as lucky like many others, he ended up not playing any fish after a couple of trips to the Chilliwack River, so I was eager to find some good fishing during his visit this week.
In the past several weeks, a few of us have been focusing our effort on Alta Lake in Whistler. It has become one of my favorite lakes to visit locally. The drive is not unreasonable for a day trip, which makes it a good warm-up lake before trying something further away. It's a catch and release lake where bait ban is in effect, so the quality of fishing is very enjoyable. Two species of trout inhabit it, rainbow trout and cutthroat trout. The rainbows are generally between 10 and 14 inches, but unlike stocked fish, these wild residents are extremely feisty. Sometimes it seems that they spend more time in the air than water when hooked. The cutthroat trout have a bigger size range, which is between 12 and 20 inches. They are not as abundant, but very rewarding when one falls for the fly.
The fishing has been, in my honest opinion, fair to poor. I found myself with a big cutthroat trout on the second cast during our first trip of the season. Several casts later, I briefly connected with another. Just when I thought the fishing was going to be incredible, the next several outings either resulted in a couple of lost fish or blanked days. With the weather staying unseasonably cool, the action seemed to be delayed. Each outing in the cold wind and snow shower at times was very frustrating, but we remained optimistic.
The welcoming warm weather in the last few days had me rather excited. This surely would bring on some good hatches and start a trout party. I longed for today since earlier in the week, begging Shane/Itosh and Mark/Fishersak to come along so they could enjoy another outing, cough cough, carry my boat for me.
After several disappointing trips, they hesitated but committed to another day. This morning we headed to Whistler with high hopes.
Although it was gusty in the Lower Mainland, we arrived and found the lake to be flat calm. For once, Environment Canada was actually accurate by calling for calm condition in Squamish and Whistler. The last several trips felt more like drifting on the salt chuck at times. We quickly unloaded, set up the boats and headed for our favorite holes.
Peaceful lake with a beautiful setting
Mark enjoying his new pramSince he is a non-flyfisher, I rigged up an ultra-light spinning rod for my dad with some of the small spinners that I have made up. No trout can resist a fluttering piece of metal in the water, I was confident that this would bring him a few fish.
After anchoring and fishing at one spot where I have done well in the past, we decided to troll for awhile to another spot. Within minutes after we started the slow troll, the spinning rod tip had a quick tap but the fisherman was not ready.
Sensing that there were fish around, he was now much more alert. We continued to troll. At one point, I stopped the motor so he could reel in to check the spinner. While he was reeling it in, a fish grabbed it with no hesitation. Excitement took over the boat. I frantically grabbed the video camera while telling him to slow down. The camera started rolling, the rainbow trout leaped highly as usual and the spinner popped out of its mouth as it dove back into the water. One lost fish, which had us both excited and disappointed at the same time.
Once we reached the other spot, it didn't take long before my dad was once again into another fish. This time, it behaved differently. The strong weight stayed deep down and cruised around the boat like a submarine. I informed him that it was a cutthroat trout, a big one too. The video camera once again focused on the angler. Just when we thought this one was going into the net for sure, the spinner once again decided to leave the fish's mouth. Tension I said, must keep tension on that line!
Here is a video of the fights of both fishAfter our brief drama, the spinner luck seems to have ended. Hatches were happening on the surface, and small rainbow trout could be seen feeding on them. Somehow I was unable to entice one, but Mark on the other hand, was having a lot of love from many rainbow trout. Unfortunately, he had a problem similar to my dad's. My dad sat and watched Mark as he patiently wait for the strike indicator to go down. Several times, my dad remarked, "Hey, his float is gone!" I looked up, Mark was still standing on the boat. Two seconds later, he frantically dove for his rod but the fish was either long gone or spitting the hook out by that point. In the end, out of the 6 or 7 possible connections, Mark managed to land one rainbow trout.
By mid afternoon, we decided to shift back to our original spot. While drifting freely, I found myself coming across a school of fish. I quickly hooked a good fish after a couple of short tugs on the olive leech, but it popped itself off within seconds. On the following cast, the tugs came soon after I started stripping. Another hook-set resulted in yet another good fish. This time the fish was solidly hooked. A nice cutthroat trout which I estimated to be around 16 inches surfaced eventually. I scooped it up with the net, handed the camera to Dad so he could take a photo. Just when I thought that we could at least go home with a fish photo, drama took place again. The camera didn't seem to understand the button pressing as I posed with the fish. I decided to fix it, but I forgot that while I took the fish up, the landing net in the water had drifted away from the boat, so I couldn't put the fish back in while I looked at the camera.
Without jeopardizing the fish, I sent it back to the water. It turned out that I forgot to set the date on the camera so it was asking for it prior to the picture taking.
Not to worry, with one lost, one landed, there had to be another one. I decided that we should anchor and try again. Within minutes, I was once again into a fish. This time, a small hungry rainbow trout went for the same olive leech. Finally, Dad was able to get the photo he wanted, even though the fish was slightly smaller.
The only fish that decided to co-operate today
A close-upWith the wind picking up, we decided to pack it in for the day. Cruising on a nice pram around some pretty snowy mountains on a sunny day with a few fish to entertain us, it was truly a BC fishing experience that most would enjoy. Here are a couple more photos from past trips earlier this season.
Biggest on the coldest day
Smallest on the warmest dayEnjoy the stillwater season everyone.
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Topic: A refreshing day at Alta Lake, May 12th, 2007 (Read 3863 times)