Trolling for Trout in Vancouver

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:

I ask again: WHY is there a Largemouth in our lake.

Ok, this is the 2nd largemouth bass I've caught in the last year. I froze him and intend to bring him into the MNR for confirmation.... But it sure looks a heck of a lot like a largemouth. See this entry to see the last largemouth I caught. Notice:

a) When the mouth is closed the jaw extends beyond the middle of the eye (for smallmouth the jaw only extends to the middle of the eye)

b) Notice the horizontal 'stripe' along the lateral line.



I can only surmise that some idiot decided to create his own sport fishery on our lake, likely because they don't have the patience nor the skill to catch trout. Who knows what the impact on the lake will be..... what's next? Smelt? Alewife? Salmon? Maybe throw in a few Sunfish and Perch while they're at it.. Oh I forgot, there are already sunfish and perch in our lake. Maybe some Walleye? How about a Musky..... That would be grand..... Hey while we're at it throw in a few zebra mussels, round gobi, and spiny water fleas. Watching the lake not turn over at its regular time is enough, due to global warming, now we have morons throwing largemouth into the lake that clearly do not belong here. Last year the water was freezing in September. We had the fireplace roaring throughout the fall. This year... feels like the tropics. Maybe I don't even have to put away the dock?

Other than the foreign fish species, it was a pretty good bass fishing weekend:

Saturday / Sunday weather: Cloudy, gloomy, misty, thunderous
Water temperature: 16-18 degrees
Water conditions: Glass

I caught this guy just before the thunder started on Saturday morning on a Storm crawfish:



Sandra and I caught a few others on Gulp and Powerbait grubs on Sunday:



All bass were released this weekend except the foreign invader, which will be sent to the MNR.

I am concerned that if the lake does not turn over soon, the water beneath the thermocline will become more and more stagnant. Our lake is an oligotrophic lake, meaning in the summer, the lake stratifies into 3 distinct layers:

a) The epilimnion, or the warm upper layer.
b) The metalimnion, or the thermocline, where the water temperature changes rapidly over several feet.
c) The hypolimnion, or the cold lower layer.

During the summer months as the thermocline is established, the warm upper layer ceases to mix with the cold lower layer. The trout, being a cold water species, remain below the thermocline. Because the lower layer doesn't get any wind action, the oxygen starts to run out due to decaying matter and respiration of the fish and other marine wildlife. The decaying matter forms the lowest layer of the lake. On the sonar it looks like a solid mass. The fish don't go there because there is no oxygen.

When fall rolls around, the upper portion of the lake cools, eventually getting colder than the bottom layer. This causes the lake to literally turn over. The colder top layer, sinks, the lower warmer layer rises and the entire lake is re-oxygenated. This happened last year around mid-September. This year, nearly a month later, the water is still 18 degrees! Here's hoping it turns over soon. If we keep hitting temperature records, there won't be a winter, trout eggs will hatch too soon, and our lake will be devoid of trout.....

Of course, if it gets any warmer we'll have a thriving largemouth bass fishery....