Fishing with Rod Discussion Forum
Fishing in British Columbia => Fishing Reports => Members' Fishing Reports => Topic started by: Rodney on April 22, 2008, 11:13:04 PM
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A week of no fishing seemed like a month when it was mixed with a couple of snow days. Finally the sun decided to make a long appearance today, so the spinning rod went into the car and off we went. :D Today's destination is a couple of lakes in Alice Lake Provincial Park. This is a lovely area to wet a line between April and June, before the crazy summer camping season kicks in. Both Alice and Edith Lakes, which probably have not been fished much since last year, were recently stocked by the Fraser Valley Trout Hatchery, so I had expected the fishing to be quite good.
I left Richmond at 9:00am, to avoid the morning rush. No such luck, Granville Street was slow going at West 41st. Finally I picked up Erin at 9:30am, wiggled through Downtown and arrived at Alice Lake in Squamish at 11:00am. Today was quite gusty, but we managed to tuck ourselves to a sheltered corner on the lake. Beside a few hikers, the park was pretty empty.
(http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc90/fishingwithrod/2008/080422-01.jpg)
Today's setup is simple and effective on stocked rainbow trout in lakes. Ultralight spinning rods rated 2 to 4lb test were used, coupled the smallest spinning reels that I can find. The main line is 4lb test, which is tied to a 1/8oz spoon that I have made up. The nickel spoon is either green, blue or orange striped. The spoon is casted from shore, allowed to sink and flutter for a few seconds before retrieved slowly. The fluttering, flashing, vibration make it irresistable for any trout that are nearby.
(http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc90/fishingwithrod/2008/080422-02.jpg)
Once rigged up, I made the first demo cast to show Erin how to fish the spoon properly. Few seconds into the retrieve, I already felt a couple of quick taps. I handed the rod to Erin and a couple of casts later she connected with the first fish, which fell off before it reached shore. Her second fish came a few casts later, which also broke free before being landed.
(http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc90/fishingwithrod/2008/080422-03.jpg)
The bites continued on basically every cast. Rainbow trout were landed, as well as some of the cutthroat trout that are native to the lake. These pretty cutthroat trout in Alice Lake are around 6 to 8 inches long, but some do grow beyond this size range. The average weight of stocked rainbow trout is around 250g.
(http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc90/fishingwithrod/2008/080422-04.jpg)
(http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc90/fishingwithrod/2008/080422-05.jpg)
After catching fish on and off for several hours, we decided to hike up to Edith Lake for a change of scenery. The hike from Alice Lake to Edith Lake takes about 20 minutes, via a steep yet well maintained trail. The trail crosses a creek that runs from Edith to Alice a couple of times, making the hike rather interesting.
(http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc90/fishingwithrod/2008/080422-06.jpg)
(http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc90/fishingwithrod/2008/080422-07.jpg)
We arrived at Edith Lake at 4:00pm, so it is mostly in the shade. Fish could be seen rising regularly. What a lovely little pond. Its shore access is limited but spincasting is doable at certain spots. I whipped out the spoon as soon as we settled at our spot. In no time, rainbow trout could not keep themselves off it. One after another were brought to shore in a short span of time. If a fish is lost, another would grab the spoon if I allowed it to sink again.
(http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc90/fishingwithrod/2008/080422-08.jpg)
After an hour of action, we finally had enough of the mosquitos hovering around us. I wasn't totally done once we hiked down to the parking lot, where I made a few more casts on the floating dock and hooked two before we were really done. ;D
If urban fisheries such as Lafarge, Rice, Green Timbers are not your cup of tea, then perhaps give Alice, Brohm, Edith, Stump in Squamish a try. The drive maybe slightly longer, but the experience is priceless. :)
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Nice report Rodney.Its been awhile since I have fished the lakes in Squamish.Edith lake is a little gem.
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I haven't been to alice lake in a number of years ,Thanks for reminding me how nice it is.I will have to go back there soon.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2THlZcT2yIQ ;D
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I think you and your friend where lucky to not have been eaten by a BEAR. :)
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lol
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There are no bears in Squamish, especially no grizzly bears. ;D
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All joking aside...is it safe to walk that area? Did you carry bear spray with you Rod?
This time of year the cubs will be out and guarded by the momma bear.
Thinking of going next week. I'd like to come back :)
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Of course necessary precautions should be taken (bring bear spray and maybe bells). But it is not like they are running around attacking people. You should be fine.....
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I headed up to Alice today and made the side trip / hike into Edith. While it was a little cool and windy fishing was decent at Alice...all in all i probably released 10 cuttys under 8 inches and 10 or 12 rainbows 8-12 inches. The hike up to Edith was a good little workout. It is a pretty little pond but unfortunately i couldn't entice any bites up there. I was using gold coloured , hammered , orange striped crocs. I would of liked to have had some silver coloured ones to compare but the gold seemed to work well.
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Exactly what I was going on about. Don't be doing a Timothy Treadwell for the sake of a few fish. ;)
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=timothy+treadwell&search_type=&aq=f
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Like Dereke said, always take precautions. That's why I always bring someone who runs slower than me. ;)
During this trip I didn't bring my bear spray. Forgot it actually, just like I forgot all my camcorder tapes. ::) The trails were lightly used by other hikers, mountain bikers so I wasn't so worried about bears.
The hike from Alice to Edith is indeed very lovely. Normally I hate walking in general, not because it's tiring, but because it's boring. ;D The setting made the hike interesting.
Those trout in Edith Lake were biting quite differently to the ones in Alice. There were lots of hits, but they were really light, almost as if the spoon was bumping into them.
Bites would go off at one spot after about 30 minutes, probably because the fish became conditioned (flash = pain ;D ). We would move to a new spot every 30 minutes or so to keep the bites going.
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I think alice lake and surrounding lakes up there are pretty safe to hike to. There are moutain bikers and hikers keeping bears away.Ive been there many times and never seen a bear. Maybe i've been lucky ;D
All the bear are down at the squamish river looking for fisherman. lol
Squamish river is the scariest place to fish. been there many times alone and seen many fresh bear tracks. Every step and cast i'd be looking over my shoulder. :o :o
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I was up the Squamish Valley today and saw fresh Bear tracks following Elk tracks,and a few fresh crap piles.
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Thanks for the report on Alice Rod. I used to go up there regularly, but the FFSBC has drastically reduced the stocking numbers. Good to hear that they stocked it this spring. With respect to Edith - how would the hike be with a float tube? Sounds a bit awkward...
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Stocking at Alice Lake has been reduced to avoid native trout population being out-competed. "The Master" Nick and I were discussing that today actually. Catchable rainbow trout cost $3 each, the most expensive to raise. Putting 800 into Edith and 500 into Alice seems quite excessive if they are not heavily used. I sure wasn't complaining while we were up there on Tuesday. ;D
The hike from Alice to Edith is pretty short. I mentioned 20 minutes earlier, but was being quite conservative. I think it only took us 10 minutes, maybe 15. Halfway through the hike, it becomes quite steep but you can walk up comfortably. It's not like Grouse Grind steep with steps. It is a well maintained trail, fairly wide. Carrying a float tube up is definitely doable, just have to take it easy.
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Here are Erin's photos from this trip. Much nicer than the ones I took.
(http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm147/fishingerin/alice%20lake/DSC_2810.jpg)
(http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm147/fishingerin/alice%20lake/DSC_2812.jpg)
(http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm147/fishingerin/alice%20lake/DSC_2833.jpg)
(http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm147/fishingerin/alice%20lake/DSC_2846.jpg)
(http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm147/fishingerin/alice%20lake/DSC_2731.jpg)
(http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm147/fishingerin/alice%20lake/DSC_2724.jpg)
(http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm147/fishingerin/alice%20lake/DSC_2736.jpg)
(http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm147/fishingerin/alice%20lake/DSC_2763.jpg)
(http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm147/fishingerin/alice%20lake/DSC_2758.jpg)
(http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm147/fishingerin/alice%20lake/DSC_2724.jpg)
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More nice pics Rodney..thanks
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Like Dereke said, always take precautions. That's why I always bring someone who runs slower than me. ;)
I may walk slower than you, but it'd be a pretty close race if a bear was chasing us! Plus, I'm not the one with my hands full of gear... ;D
Here are a couple more pictures from Alice Lake! (I know I need to work on getting nicer landscape shots, but I'm not sure why you double-posted that mediocre one of the lake? Unfortunately that was the best of the lot.)
Rod does all the work while I play with my camera. Teehee!
(http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm147/fishingerin/alice%20lake/DSC_2729.jpg)
Yet another of Rod's many catches:
(http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm147/fishingerin/alice%20lake/DSC_2768.jpg)
I wish I had brought a polarizer since there were so many of these teeny tiny ones swimming about us!
(http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm147/fishingerin/alice%20lake/DSC_2750.jpg)
Beware the trees! There were 4 stuck in this tree and another 6 in the tree to the right of our fishing spot.
(http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm147/fishingerin/alice%20lake/DSC_2790.jpg)
I must've gotten my line in the surrounding trees 20-30 times... but somehow managed to get free everytime. Heehee! (I only lost a hook in the water when I got caught on a log.) I can only imagine how many times Rod must've been laughing inwardly at my bumbling casts!
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Nice pics guys
is it still $5.00 to park there
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$1.00/hour or $3.00/day.