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First Light departed from her boathouse in Kaslo and headed north for a 20 minute run to my honey holes. Set one down rigger @ 40' the other @ 55'.
One side had a Kootenay Lake Special dodger with a green hoochie the other side with a silver flasher and a Polar Bear Fly in fall colors.
Partly cloudy with a slight breeze, not too much chop on the water. Air 26* , water 35*.
Half way thru my first cup of coffee the 40' rigger goes off! Woo Hoo! Nice little 4 # Dolly. The stink is OFF!
I continued to make circles in the bay I was in and hooked a fish every pass for the next 5 hours! Five fish in the boat with two solid rips that never stuck.
The sun came out and the bite turned off fast. I dropped down to 60' & 75' and promptly caught two more Dolly's before the wind kicked me off the lake. The fish ranged from three to five pounds today. I kept a 5# Dolly for supper.
Turned south and let the wind blow me back to the boathouse.
The next day was brighter with a solid breeze from the south.
I headed back up lake and worked everything I had in the box. Five hours into my effort I hookup! Finally! Five colours out on lead using a Pro King spoon in Green/Blue. Unfortunately it was a lethal hook-up in the side plate causing bleeding. I already had enough fish to eat but it was meant to be to keep this one. A beautiful 6# Dolly!
The wind kicked up again and it was time to pull the gear and head home. What an outstanding couple of days on the lake! Eagles, fish, not too much weather, and a couple of Dolly Varden! Yum!
I'll give it a week or so and head north again for another trip.

jonb

1/29/2018 10:41:21 AM

Nice fish, those are actually bull trout though, not dolly varden. You can tell by the straight maxillery, pointed snout, jaw extending well past the eye and spotting near the tail. Definately S. Confluentus not S. Malma.

This of coarse does not take away the fact that those are nice fish. Well done.

jonb

1/29/2018 11:42:58 AM

Also as a side note if you're curious about the biology of that lake and whats going on as far as the fishery is concerned, there are a few documents regarding the lakes kokanee, gerard rainbows and bull trout. One example is Klap (kootenay lake action plan) which basically describes a plan to cut down on predator populations so the kokanee population can rebuild. In section 3.4 of that document the wild char in that lake are described as being adfluvial bull trout. Which means they live in the lake then migrate into tributaries towards the end of summer/early fall to spawn. Also dolly vardens range doesn't doesn't extend much further east than the coastal range of bc. Also as mentioned above the face of those fish are clearly bull trout not dolly varden. This is not meant to be inflammitory, and i hope you understand i am just trying to inform you.

First Light

1/29/2018 1:03:58 PM

Ahoy Jon. No harm, no foul. My bad on the fish ID. You are absolutely spot on. The locals call them Dollys but they are indeed Bulls. I've been fishing out of Kaslo for 28 years and with my wife being Canadian I often slip into local habits, eh? Jeff Burrows, the Provincial Biologist, has been doing an outstanding job on the Kokanee issue. The Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC had a great article, KLAP, on Kootenay in October of 2017 as well.
If you ever want to fish Kootenay Lake, you have an open invitation. First Light is moored in Kaslo every winter from October to April. I know the Crow's Nest can be a bugger, but it's worth it.

jonb

1/29/2018 6:20:19 PM

Wow, thank you! I very much appreciate it and may even take you up on that later this spring. Likewise if you came west i would happilly walk one of my favourite river beats with you.

First Light

2/3/2018 4:17:01 PM

Sounds great to me ! We'll keep in touch and see how things play out.

moosezema

1/29/2018 4:48:23 PM

Great report from a great fisherman! Thanks Todd and tight lines.

First Light

1/29/2018 5:14:52 PM

Thanks Moose. See you on the water. Tight lines to you too, Capt. Todd

Mike Carey

2/2/2018 7:02:34 PM

Nice backdrop to look at while fishing. :-)

First Light

2/3/2018 4:22:35 PM

Yes, that's one of my favourite views from the helm!
That would be the Purcell Mountains on the East side of Kootenay Lake looking NNE from Kalso Bay.
It's a little too bright for fishing but makes for a great view.
Thanks for reading my report.

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