Fishing with Rod Discussion Forum
Fishing in British Columbia => Fishing Reports => Members' Fishing Reports => Topic started by: fishseeker on September 16, 2008, 01:33:23 PM
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I had a chance to head out to the Pitt Lake area last weekend (Sep 14). Don't know it well but a went through the Park gates and followed the slough off to the right for about 20 minutes until I could find a clear area - access to water is very limited unless you have a boat.
There were certainly a lot of bass around - I must have landed about 8 small ones (largest was probably a bit under 1 pound). Took some pictures but I haven't posted them because it's not much to brag about :) In spite of that there was certainly a lot of activity in the water because much larger fish were jumping about everywhere - from what I could see of those that were jumping I would guess they were bass because the bodies were too fat to be trout or anything else I could guess at. All the larger ones were some distance from the shore and, even though I could get my lure out that far I could not entice them - very frustrating.
It is probably worth heading out there as long as the weather is good but, take note, there are bears about. I saw one swimming across the water just 300 yards from where I was standing.
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the larger fish rising may have been carp.
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how deep do those ponds/lakes get there?
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Fishseeker, you must be on the west side of Pitt Lake. The east side seems to have no gate and you can drive thru Sturgeon Slough all the way to the canoe rental.
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Steelhawk, there is a gate on the east side a few hundred yards before the parking area at Grant Narrows. It is closed an hour after dusk to an hour before dawn I believe.
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I had a chance to head out to the Pitt Lake area last weekend (Sep 14). Don't know it well but a went through the Park gates and followed the slough off to the right for about 20 minutes until I could find a clear area - access to water is very limited unless you have a boat.
There were certainly a lot of bass around - I must have landed about 8 small ones (largest was probably a bit under 1 pound). Took some pictures but I haven't posted them because it's not much to brag about :) In spite of that there was certainly a lot of activity in the water because much larger fish were jumping about everywhere - from what I could see of those that were jumping I would guess they were bass because the bodies were too fat to be trout or anything else I could guess at. All the larger ones were some distance from the shore and, even though I could get my lure out that far I could not entice them - very frustrating.
It is probably worth heading out there as long as the weather is good but, take note, there are bears about. I saw one swimming across the water just 300 yards from where I was standing.
Before we moved to our new house in Gods Country (Merritt) we lived in Maple Ridge and I use to go regularly to the Pitt Lake to fish for bass in the sloughs. There are some big bass in there too but to get them you have to know how to fish them.
I love bass fishing and wish there would be more of them here in BC. I am heading next week to the Osoyoos Lake to field test a few new bass lures. Should be fun.
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We DO NOT need any more stinking bass in BC. We need to catch who ever is bucketing them and perch and do an operation on them that stops the spread of their genes. :D I will even volunteer to do the deed as i have experience with turning male cattle into steers.
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I heartily agree with Speycaster. Those bass in that slough and in the N. Allouette River, and a lot of other locations around BC, were not put there by Fisheries. They were snuck in there by people that do not give a damn about any other species of fish.
Speycaster, I'm willing to help with the "alterations".
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I guess the bass around are a bit controversial but, since they are here, might as well fish for them. I find it odd that there are catch limits on bass in some places - why can't we just catch and kill as many as we like if they are the curse so many people say they are?
I am not very familiar with the area because this was only the second time I ever went there but I do know I crossed sturgeon slough to get there. There was a big parking lot about 400 yards on from the Gate and off to my right there was a slough with a path running next to it - I just followed that until I could find a clear spot. Sorry I can't be more helpful about the precise location. (Note: The gate did not open until 7am and that was a pain in the butt because it was supposed to open at 6 so I guess the precise opening times can be unreliable)
If the jumping and splashing fish were carp it would certainly explain why I was not able to entice them with any lures :(
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There are many places in BC where both smallmouth and largemouth bass populations are established and doing well. Kootenays, Okanagan, southern Vancouver Island and Salt Spring Island, for example.
In the lower mainland (region 2), bass is not found everywhere, but there is a bass catch limit of 4 per day, so there must be some areas where this fishery is controlled.
Yes, if there is bass in a body of water, might as well fish for it within the limits - but as an earlier blogger said, please do not introduce bass, or any fish species for that matter, in any body of water... This can have huge consequences on the fragile ecosystems on which many species depend...
guy
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why can't we just catch and kill as many as we like if they are the curse so many people say they are?
Bass are not a curse, they are a bigger sport fish than salmon is.
If you consider the population in areas where salmon can be found and then compare that with bass.
There are way more people fishing for bass than salmon I'd say.
Just ask Mark Pendlington, he is from bass country (Ontario).
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Yes so leave them where they belong. Ie not BC. I heard of people doing experiments of transporting bass to lakes and then documenting how well they survive as well as how other species adapt to living with bass. What idiots!
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bass are not the preffered sport fish in B.C. if you want to fish for bass go back east.
bass are listed as an invasive spieces, so why are they protected?.............well not protected from me.
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Oops I can see I opened a can of worms here. I am just perplexed by catch limits on bass here - just doesn't seem to make sense given that they don't belong here.
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I heard of people doing experiments of transporting bass to lakes and then documenting how well they survive as well as how other species adapt to living with bass.
Of course, it's illegal to introduce alien species into any waters of BC and there is a law against that.
If some bozo puts a fish where it doesn't belong, you should report that.
Bass are stocked in a few lakes in BC.
And if there is a limit on bass, obey it.
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I dont have any good info just read it lastyear in the school paper. If i did i would report it in a second
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I had a chance to head out to the Pitt Lake area last weekend (Sep 14). Don't know it well but a went through the Park gates and followed the slough off to the right for about 20 minutes until I could find a clear area - access to water is very limited unless you have a boat.
There were certainly a lot of bass around - I must have landed about 8 small ones (largest was probably a bit under 1 pound). Took some pictures but I haven't posted them because it's not much to brag about :) In spite of that there was certainly a lot of activity in the water because much larger fish were jumping about everywhere - from what I could see of those that were jumping I would guess they were bass because the bodies were too fat to be trout or anything else I could guess at. All the larger ones were some distance from the shore and, even though I could get my lure out that far I could not entice them - very frustrating.
It is probably worth heading out there as long as the weather is good but, take note, there are bears about. I saw one swimming across the water just 300 yards from where I was standing.
Fishseeker, congrats to your successful bass trip. I also went to Pitt Lake area Monday in search of my first bass in life. ;D But it was not meant to be as I didn't see or hook any like you did. I parked at the big parking lot right at the canoe rental/launch area. Went through the gate on the right and walked along that long long dyke, with Pitt Lake on the left (really shallow near the dyke), and a llily patch filled slough on the right. Saw no risers on either side, but the lily patch side has lot of ducks. There is no access to cast to the lily patch side at all as the shore is all tall grass & bushes. The llily filled slough looks more bass habitat than the cold Pitt Lake side but there is hardly a casting spot and no risers at all. So did you fish the lily slough side? I didn't even make a cast there. I had a small rod and no weedless hook to avoid the lily patches. I should have brought a hip wader so I can stand in the water to have a better cast. Well, next time.
I went all the way to the end of that long dyke until where there is a no-trepassing sign for private property (who owns it?). There are quite a few cars there and people use the small pier there on Pitt Lake side to get on boats (where are they heading?). Well, over there only the Pitt Lake side has some fishy water as it is where the Pitt Lake is connected to the lily filled slough, so I casted my bass lure to the Pitt Lake side and there was a strike. I was excited and expected to see my first bass, but too bad it turns out to be a pike minnow. No more strike after that. So much for my first bass hunt. Seems like salmon and steelhead are a lot easier to catch than those silly bass. ;D
Was I in the right area? If yes, then it must be the cool weather which turn these warm water fish off. So my fiirst bass trip this year is a skunk. ;D Still working on my first bass. ;D
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Steelhawk, you were absolutely in the right place. I think you actually ventured further than I did to get to that no tresspassing sigb
The spot I found was on the left side of the dike (Pitt Lake side) about 20 maybe 25 minutes walk along it. You know you have reached it when you get to a low concrete barrier on your left - if you hop over that and head down to the water there is enough clearance even for flyfishing. There are also the odd access points to the slough on the right but I agree, not many - I really had to watch out for the blackberries. (Unfortunately it's not very visible - you just have to try every potential access point until you find something useful - there weren't many of them).
I think that would be my first and last bass outing this year because you are right it is cooling off.
Next time I go I want to head into that slough with my inflatable raft - did you see any boat access to that slough? Can't recall.
With boat access to that there is an enormous emount of fishable water that looks very promising - may be good for cutthroat trout too in the cooler season. Never did figure out all the fish that were jumping that day - some people on this thread think they were carp. It's very likely but I did not get close enough to see one way or the other.
Hope this helps.
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Thanks for the reply Fishseeker. I am surprised that you caught the bass on the Pitt Lake side. I always thought bass likes warmer water with lots of vegetation cover like those lily patches on the other side. The Pitt Lake side has hardly any weeds or lily covers and the water should be colder on that side due to tidal changes plus the cold water from Pitt River. The lily patch slough should be a much better bass habitat. It is shallow on the end near to the parking lot, but the other end is much deeper. I did not see any clearing spot for a boat launch. It looks like not too many people even walked and fished that side, otherwise you would see those tall grass trampled by people walking through it. However, I think you probably can float-tube it if you can get through those black berry bushes safely, hehe. They can puncture an inflated tube in no time. On the mountain side, there is also a dyke fringing the slough. Perhaps there are access points there but I have not bothered to check - just too tired after that long, long walk to the other end of the dyke. I saw lots of car parked on the other end. Perhaps they belong to loggers or people who fish Upper Pitts by getting on boats moored at the small pier. But you need key access to open that gate in order to drive on the dyke.
Ya, I think it is getting cold from now on & the bass will be off bite. Time to start my coho hunt. Thanks for the information though. :)
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I went all the way to the end of that long dyke until where there is a no-trepassing sign for private property (who owns it?). There are quite a few cars there and people use the small pier there on Pitt Lake side to get on boats (where are they heading?).
How do cars get to that spot? isn't the gate closed?
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there is a lot of water to cover ,all on the east side of the pitt river.google earth it an you will see that there is over 100 acres of bass habitat!!its a great place to get away from all the crowds and full of wildlife,birds, waterfowl,otters, beavers, deer and i've seen the momma bear and her cubs acouple of times this year,and oh yeah bass.hint, the colder it gets the slower your presentation should be.
>:( >:( on a further note, i do not agree nor do i condone the transplantation of any alien species, fish or otherwise, but the bass are here and i enjoy fishing for them as i do for anything thats will grab whatever hook i'm using.being angry about illegal species isn't going to help the situation, educate those who don't know and go fishing for whatever turns your crank! ;D
ss abnik
ss abnik, thanks for the tips on slowing down the presentation. I think those bass must be off bite on that day with much colder condition than the warmer days when Fishseeker went. Besides, I was fishing half-heartedly on the Pitt Lake side so I did not cover much water there.
ss abnik, are there more bass waters past the far end of that long dyke? It is the start of the mountains there and the private property stops further access. But there are enough rooms for the few bass fishers to roam around along that long dyke, particulary if the lily patch slough can be fished from tubes or rubber boats. Besides there is always the Sturgeon Slough & Silvermere Lake. By the way, the sloughs on the west side of the lake also have lots of bass as one of my friends canoed across & saw them in the shallows. I am tempted to rent a canoe to go to the slough right across from the launch area. Well, may be next year.
Hen, the gate is locked. Those people authorized to park on the far end must have keys. But I don't know who they are.
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The trouble is that the morons at MOE have put that stupid 4 fish limit on them. As an invasive species in areas that were not stocked by the province i do not abide by their limit. There should be no limit on them, they are the starlings or norway rats the water.
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I should mention that I experimented with lots of different speeds both fly and with lures and they only way I could get them was by trolling very...slooowlly. Oddly enough fly fishing with wooly buggers and other flies did not produce. It's also true that I was catching them in the lake side and the slough and, yes, the slough did look more promising but the access limited my ability to fish there.
Do any of you have any ideas on the pitt river before the lake? I wondered if there is anything there but access seems to be even more difficult.
Also, are there other types of fisheries worth going after in that area now things are cooling off - there's got to be cutthroats about too.
As for the 4 fish limit, I agree. Makes no sense to me. I did catch and release on those I caught but maybe I should take them home provided they taste OK - not sure my wife would be thrilled about it though :)
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There are dollies or bull trouts around in the Pitt system, catch & release only.
Yes, the 4-fish limit on bass is totally unnecessary. If they are an invasive and predatory specie capable of swallowing lots of salmon smolts or juvenile trouts. So why keep them around? They are not even supposed to be here. Why so many stupid rules from the people we entrust to regulate our fishery? Many years back, I read an article on Fields & Streams that the Oregon fishery dept issued a bounty on the heads of squash fish on the Columbia River - $1 per head. They encouraged young kids to wipe out these predators of juvenile salmon & trout and made some money in the process. Now what do our government do about our own non-native predatory fish? Conserve them, stupid. Go figure. ???
Never taste a bass before. If they are like the tilapia (similar specie), then they should taste like mud. Perhaps smallies are better taste because they are in cleaner and colder water than their large-mouth cousin.
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You guys should try the ponds before Swaneset golf course where I normally catch 10-15 bass for 1st hour of fishing. You are missing the good spots ;D ;D ;D
FS
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Thanks for the tip fishiotherapist. There is certainly a lot in that whole area worth exploring, this was only the second time I have been out there.
Definitely worth keeping in mind for next year. I think I will be trying my hand at the Salmon fishery over the next 6 weeks or so.
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You guys should try the ponds before Swaneset golf course where I normally catch 10-15 bass for 1st hour of fishing. You are missing the good spots ;D ;D ;D
FS
Isn't that the famour Sturgeon Slough? It is right before the Swaneset turnoff. I fished there last year twice and both times skunked. You guys talk like catching a bass is a piece of cake, but I have caught hundreds of salmon & steelhead and not even a single bass yet. Bass hate me. ;D
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I know Sturgeon Slough is by Neaves road. The one I'm referring to Steelhawk is by M. road. Email me for directions.
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Fishiotherapist, you are most generous. But I cannot find your email in your profile. It is hidden. So can you send it to my email in my profile? Much appreciated.
Steelhawk
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Sorry about that Steelhawk, directions sent to your email.
Might see you there one of these days ;)
FS
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Just a couple of times ssabnik, it is actually my first time flyfishing in my life. Had a couple of hookups and still getting the hang of it. For sure I will give you a ring the next time I head out with my flygear for bass. Thanks man. FS
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Flyfishing should work for them very well if not better than other techniques sometimes.
One good thing about using a fly is you can retrieve it really slowly - I caught I really nice one like that once. My experience with bass is not that extensive and maybe some of you will disagree but, from ones I have caught so far I think they are both greedy and lazy. They will snap at most things that will fit in the big mouths but they won't chase after a fly or a lure the way a trout will. The only way I seem to get them is by retrieving very slowly with the odd quick jerk or fast pull just to create some movement that will get their attention.
...Just my two cents worth.