THOMPSON OKANAGAN
waters that can only be reached by hiking or on horseback.
The five hatcheries of the non- Quiet. Peaceful. Getaway. 14 House-Keeping Cabins
Mountain Bike Rentals Ice Fishing
Fishing • Boat & Kayak Rentals • Quading •
• Camping Hunting • Seasonal Sites Available • Snowmobiling • Ice Skating Cross-Country Skiing • Snowshoeing (on Face Lake, between Merritt and Kamloops)
Find us at the Tradex BC Boat & Sportmen's Show MARCH 2-4, 2012 • BOOTH #320
profit Freshwater Fisheries Society of British Columbia (FFSBC) produce some eight million fish and eggs to enhance about 900 lakes and streams around the province. One hundred percent of the fee from every freshwater license sold in British Columbia goes toward the management of sport fisheries, and over half of that to the FFSBC. Its restocking program produces blue- ribbon sport fishing while reducing the angling pressure on natural fish stocks. The province’s most prized freshwater game fish — rainbow trout — drives most of the FFSBC’s hatchery efforts each year. The Society also rears other species (like cutthroat trout, brook char, kokanee, and steelhead) using native brood stocks wherever possible. The Society pioneered the technology that produces sterile, non- reproducing triploid and all-female triploid fish (designated 3N and AF3N respectively) that, in a nutrient-rich environment, put most of their energy intake into growing to trophy sizes instead of producing eggs. During the winter months, fishing enthusiasts of a sterner disposition look forward to the challenges of steelheading along the Thompson River and its tributaries, or ice-fishing; however, it’s at “ice- off” in the spring when most anglers first swarm into the region. Anglers can find easy-to-catch fish in the lakes’ upper water columns soon after the ice clears. Hungry after winter’s deprivations, the fish of early spring will hit just about any bait, lure, or fly.
About two weeks after the ice completely melts, deeper waters charge to the surface. This denser, oxygen-depleted “turnover” water slows the fishing for about two weeks. Vigorous winds, stirring up the surface to mix and re-oxygenate lakes, signal the start of the main fishing season. Warming water, along
42 The SPORT FISHING Guide 2012
with increased oxygen levels, bring the first major hatches of the larvae of aquatic insects (like chironomids, dragonflies, damselflies, caddisflies, and mayflies) along with
invertebrates like leeches and scuds (Hyalella and Gammarus shrimp) – the main sources of food for trout, char, and kokanee. While you can troll for fish
using hardware like a gang-troll and worm, or spincast with bait, early spring is one of the best times to fly- fish in this region. Despite hatches of mature insects boiling off the surfaces of lakes, most of your success will come from using wet-fly patterns that imitate larval forms rising through the water from the bottom. Later, dry-fly devotees can sight- cast to surface-feeding fish gorging on prolific, early- through late-summer hatches of mayflies, caddisflies, and big travelling sedges. In autumn, when fish are loading up for the lean winter months, give them a big, juicy- looking leech, dragonfly nymph, or scud imitation … but it’s still a great time to fish with dry patterns, like the water boatman. Winters may be freezing cold, but the fishing remains red-hot. Ice- fish with small spoons or micro-jigs sweetened with natural or artificial baits (worms or maggots). Ice-fishing is a popular pastime in the region that the whole family can enjoy.
Boundary/ Similkameen In the southern part of
the province, the Boundary/ Similkameen is a narrow band from Princeton to Keremeos that follows Highway 3 (the “Crowsnest” route) beside the Similkameen River, then hugs the Canada-United States border to Greenwood. Highway 3 is mostly a sedate two-lane road winding through this laid-back, agricultural region. Following the mountain-fed West Kettle River from Kelowna, Highway 33 runs south to Westbridge, where it joins the main Kettle River to Rock Creek
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