Sandra and I flew to Vancouver last Friday and hooked up with Harry and Sandeep for a short jaunt to Sproat Lake on Vancouver Island. I brought a light action fishing rod and loaded up some spinners, jigs, and spoons into a small Plano tackle box. We stayed at the Lakeside House (http://www.sproatlakehouse.com) and were awed by the magnificent and mountainous views there. We arrived in the afternoon and I could already see the fish surfacing...
Weather: Cloudy and Overcast
Water Temp: ~10 degrees C
Air Temp: 5-8 degrees C
Water conditions: Glass 90% of the time.
Sproat Lake is known for its Rainbow Trout and Kokanee Salmon fishing. Since it was October, I expected that the Kokanee Salmon would be difficult to catch because of the post-spawn period. I went out to the dock to try my luck and managed to hook a small rainbow using a Half 'n Half Williams Wabler, but it got away. We rented a canoe from the owners of the cottage and set out to explore the lake, in was rainy and drizzly for the entire day. Harry was a bit nervous about the canoe initially, but quickly got used paddling and balancing. I hooked into a small rainbow, it jumped and spat the hook out.
The next morning I set off at sunrise (around 7:15am) and went out there. I ended up paddling more than fishing, but caught a small rainbow trout:
I paddled so far, that it took me almost an hour to get back to the cottage running at 80% speed. Needless to say I was quite winded when I got back. The lake is so calm that the distance of objects is very deceiving. The reason why the lake is so utterly calm is likely due to the mountainous terrain. I ended up paddling 8 kms that morning without realizing it. In order to not waste precious fishing time, I put the rod to the side and trolled a Williams Wabler spoon. No luck on the trolling side of things. Not even a nibble.
The trout would surface all day, snatching small flies from the surface of the ultra-calm waters. I really wish I had brought my fly fishing gear, it would have been perfect. They only hit small #2 Aglia silver spinners. I made sure to pinch the barbs down on the hooks to avoid injuring the fish. Harry joined me in the afternoon and I caught a few more:
I also tried using a spoon and jig to try some bottom fishing, in hopes of getting a bigger fish. Turns out this Lake is DEEP. I let out more than 200 ft of line before it hit bottom. Not a surprise, since the lake is surrounded by such high terrain, it is logical to assume that the lake drops off quite rapidly.
The next morning I caught this little beauty on a spinner. There were a few large fish splashing around in the shallows. I tried using Rapalas and Wablers, but didn't have any luck.
So get this... The last morning, I return to the dock after catching this guy. I try my luck with a Williams Wabler again, this time jigging DIRECTLY below the dock. I see a 2 lb'er inspecting the lure, following it all the way up to the surface. All this time, they were under the docks! If I only had more time.......
Here are some other pics during our weekend stay at Sproat Lake:
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