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[halcyonguitars]

I'm going to visit Tunkwa lake sometime soon.

What kind of setup do I need? I have an A&N 'Catch more fish' 40$ combo which has been great for rice lake and such with 2lb line, but I wonder if that is strong enough for some of the potentially bigger fish there?

I also have a 4wt flyrod with floating line. What strength tippet is good enough?

Thanks in advance...

[DanL]

The 4wt should be a nice setup for Tunkwa. 3-6lb tippet would be a good start. According to the resort reports they are getting them on all sorts of things. Chironomid, leeches, damsels etc.

[Tex]

2lb line is quite underweight for Tunkwa. I would steer clear of using that combo.

As DanL says, the 4wt is adequate and with a floating line will be versatile. I'd stick with 5lb+ tippet if it were me.

[Damien]

You will be in for some battles with those set ups for sure.  Potentially with broken gear and overly played out fish.  I was just there and as always, 3lb trout in and around the weedbeds can be a handful even with a 5 weight and/or a medium-light spinning outfit with 6lb line.  Your 4 weight fly and light weight spin outfits will be stressed (particularly as I gather they are not high quality to begin with).

I'm sure you'll be fine with what you have, but it would make for a better situation with SLIGHTLY more robust gear.

My .02$

[halcyonguitars]

Thanks,

The trouble is I have no intermediary steps between my toy trout rods and the salmon outfits, and I can't justify buying more new stuff for a one off.

Does it make a difference that the 4wt has 5wt line? It's a Pieroway, so a decent rod that was a gift I'd rather not break. Next step up I have is a 7wt switch and an 8wt switch rod with a Rio switchchucker. Pretty sure it's meant for rivers, not lakes.

Next step up in spin casters is the 8'6" 10-20 salmon/steelhead rods with 20lb test, which seems entirely overkill. Not sure, is it harmful to the fish to overpower them by that much?

[Fish or cut bait.]

Mainline and leader/tippet are two different things.
The mainline will put  up with more abuse.
Your leader/tippet will be (should be) the breaking point and determine how hard you play the fish.

[obie1fish]

Halcyon, it's not whether the fly line is heavy enough, but rather whether the rod can handle the larger trout in that lake and not overtire them before releasing.

A 5 wt. line has virtually no effect on the breaking point (your tippet would break first), but rather it would be like adding more weight to your spinning outfit. The 5 wt. line might help you cast farther, but it will be less delicate and possibly overpower the rod if it is too heavy. If you can cast with the 4 wt. line, there would be no need to go heavier. (I happen to have my lines 1 line weight heavier to compensate for my poor casting form. Sort of a permanent Band-Aid solution).

As for leader tippet, might I suggest some 6 lb. fluorocarbon; it's less visible underwater so you can go heavier. If you go much heavier, you might not be able to thread it through the eye of some of your smaller flies.

Have a great trip!

[Damien]

and I can't justify buying more new stuff for a one off.

I couldn't fathom not having a medium/light decent spinning 7 or 8 foot outfit at the ready.  I can't see this as being a one off living in BC.

I have a bucket load of them for tossing spoons and spinners at pinks and coho as well as using them for trout, kokanee, bass and whatever else is around.  Any fish in the 2-8lb fighting weight class, this is my go-to rig.

[halcyonguitars]

Damien, what is the line rating of what you consider a medium/light rod? Cause I have a few that I use for coho/pink, maybe I already have what I need...

[clarkii]

What pieroway rod is it?  If It is the 10' 4wt Tactical (or any tactical) you shouldn't have a problem.

People will be surprised, but you can bring an extraordinary size of fish in with light rods.  However you have to be able to put the wood to the fish and if they want to run, let them!  Otherwise you will break off/break your rod.  if you are using 4x or 5x tippet the tippet will break first.  I would advise against 3x and definitely avoid anything 2x or larger.

For example, here are some fish I have landed with 3#'s.

5x tippet (7'6" Echo Carbon)




4x tippet (this rod is about a 2# tip with a 4/5# butt section*)

[halcyonguitars]

I got a spool of 8lb leader for the spin caster (8-14lb rating I think) which will have to suffice even if it's overkill, and some 4x tippet for the fly rod which says its 6.4lb test. If this trip is like most of my trips, it won't matter anyway, for a fish that bites not, breaks no leader...

[Noahs Arc]

I'd get your butt up there it's prime time right now. Good luck!

[Damien]

That'll work well.

[Rodney]

Just updated a report for Tunkwa on the website.

http://www.fishingwithrod.com/fishing_report/tunkwa_lake.html

For spinning, I go as light as I can at Tunkwa. This year I have been using a Gloomis IMX spinning rod, 5' long and rated 1 to 4lb, it's the lightest ultralight spinning rod I've had so far. Just casting and retrieving a 1/16oz Croc got us into some very nice fish, and you can still put lots of pressure on it and get the fish in quickly if necessary. It's a fairly pricey rod, another alternative I like is Daiwa's Spinmatic-C, 6', rated 1-4lb.

[halcyonguitars]

Are waders of any use up there for shore fishing?