Lake fishing

Hey guys

 

 

Today I would like to talk about fishing the lakes of the Pacific Northwest.  The Pacific Northwest is full of beautiful lakes many of which are stocked with an abundance of fish. I have done most of my lake fishing in the small lakes around Prince George, BC. However, in my travels I have also fished all kinds of other lakes in British Columbia and Washington.

 

 

I have always felt a little spoiled in the Pacific Northwest in the abundance and beauty of lakes in the area. From the bigger lakes like Okanogan Lake and Lake Roosevelt to the multitude of tiny little lakes that are not much bigger than ponds. I have always marveled at the number of different colours lakes can be; from the beautiful turquoise, to dark blue, to green and even sometimes appearing almost black. It always amazes me how clear water can make lakes of all different colours.

 

My favorite lake story to tell is one about a hike I did to Hedrick Lake where I caught my biggest ever trout. Hedrick Lake is a small alpine lake nestled in the valleys around Hedrick Mountain. Now for those of you who don't know where that is I don't blame you. It is located east of Prince George in the McGregor Range in the regional district of Fraser-Fort George (54.11667 latitude, and -121.01667 longitude).

 

People can access this lake in one of two ways: by floatplane or by foot. My family chose to go by foot. My father had been up to Hedrick Lake multiple times in the past but had not been up for a number of years. On the closest logging road there had been a bad washout in the spring and we had to use 4x4 to make our way around the barrier that had been put up. We then drove down a single vehicle width logging road until we came to the cut block that looked familiar. We drove up the block until we could go no higher and that is where we parked.

 

After getting out of the truck we spent 45 minutes bushwhacking until we finally found the trail which had been quite overgrown and was not very well marked. In total it was around a 5 hour hike up and it was well worth it. The view when you first see the lake is nothing short of breathtaking and puts you in mind of a mini Lake Louise. There were two small cabins near the lake which had obviously been built with a chainsaw and a few other supplies. There were also two small boats near the water.

 

We fished twice while we there once at night and once in the morning before hiking out again the next day. Each member of my family caught a beautiful trout and released it. I caught mine in the morning and I couldn't believe its size. Although it didn't fight like a salmon it sure looked like one. It was beautifully silver and was around the size of a small Coho. The hike out was not nearly as painful and only took around 3 and a half hours.

 

Once back at the truck we worked our way back out to the road but not before putting a whole in our muffler. This made the old diesel sound pretty mean until it went in to the repair shop. Overall it was a great trip and other than the bug bites I was no worse for wear. It was probably the hardest I ever worked to catch one fish but it is a fish I will never forget.

 

Hedrick Lake smooth as glass

 

 

Beautiful Rainbow Trout

 

 

River Fishing

I personally love to fish the river and I think it is one of the most enjoyable ways to fish. There is not really as much cost involved as you don’t necessarily need a boat and the river is often closer than the ocean. I also love fishing the river because I started when I was young.

When I was a little boy my parents took me on a trip to fish the Kitimat River just west of Terrace, BC. I am sure I went river fishing with them earlier however this is the first trip I remember clearly.  I remember seeing the carcasses of dead salmon floating in the shallow pools we waded through and I remember my parents explaining to me how the spawning process works.

My parents were fishing for the large chum salmon that were running at that time. This required more strength than either me or my brother had at the time. It also required more height to be able to cast the large setup that we were using. My parents had smaller rods for us and we would cast small spoons out into the river fishing for pink salmon which were more abundant and easier to catch.

There were so many pink salmon that we could literally drag our lures through a back eddy and snag the salmon by the large hump on their back. This is still one of the fondest fishing memories I have as my whole family was able to fish together sometimes having double and triple headers making it all the more exciting. My parents were also able to catch some huge chum that my brother and I later hauled back to the van on a large stick over our shoulders. We had our picture taken with these salmon that were the same height as we were and I will hopefully find a way to get that picture to the website.

In the years since then I have had the opportunity to fish many other rivers including; the Skeena, the Bella Coola, the Green, the Thompson, the Puyallup and the Bulkley some successfully and others not as much. I have always loved standing in the river and listening to the constant motion of the water before feeling that ever elusive tug at the end of my line.

 

Picture is from the Skeena River west of Terrace, BC my brother and a friend of his on a beautiful summer day.

Please Share your story and pictures at
http://pnwfishing.webs.com/

Saltwater Fishing

Hello All

I am busy creating a better website. I am still only part way through but I hope to create something better than what I currently have. Anyways, being from Prince George I was always far from the ocean but that didn't stop my family making an annual trip to the coast. Up until this year we had always been going out to Prince Rupert. This summer our trip ended up being Kitimat. Now that I am living in Seattle I have also had the opportunity to go and fish Puget Sound a few times.

We have always had the most success fishing out of Prince Rupert where we often come home with coolers full of salmon, ling cod, halibut, rockfish and crab. Kitimat was not quite as productive but was an amazing trip where we experienced multiple natural hot springs. Each night after a long day of fishing we would tie off to a buoy and paddle ashore for a hot tub before bed. Sometime we would even do another before we left in the morning. Puget Sound was the most heavily fished area that I have been to with hundreds if not thousands of boats out. It was amazing to see so many people out on the water enjoying the beautiful day and the sport of fishing.

 I have never really fished around Vancouver but I am assuming it is similar to Puget Sound. I would love to find out where all you guys have been fishing recently. Please leave a comment with the area you love to fish and maybe even a picture or a short story. Thanks for reading and please become a member of my blog on the right hand side of the screen where it says "join this site".

This is one of the hot springs near Kitimat, BC you can find more information about this area by visiting http://www.hellobc.com/kitimat/things-to-do/food-wine-relaxation/hot-springs.aspxThis picture is of the Bishop Bay hot springs.

February

Hey Fishermen,

I wanted to write a quick post just to say that I am sorry I haven't been posting as regularly as I was before. I am trying to create a better website and I am working hard to ensure that it will be as user friendly as possible. As I stated before my end goal is to create a community for fishermen and fisherwomen everywhere to be able to share their stories about the Pacific Northwest. I intend to have a forum and the ability to share pictures and videos with everyone else.

I also intend to collaborate with anyone who thinks they can help me or who I can help. If you have any suggestions or helpful information on creating a great website please send me an email or comment on this blog. You can even send me a facebook message or direct message me on twitter. I am a fisherman and not a computer whiz so please feel free to let me in on any tips or tricks you might know of when it comes to creating a website. Thanks to all who have read this and please follow my blog and let your friends know to come check this out! I will continue to work hard to get this going!

Here's a beautiful picture from the Prince Rupert area out near a fishing area they call "The Brain"!
Also if you haven't heard Prince Rupert and Alaska were rocked by another earthquake here's a link you can check out for more information.

http://www.thenorthernview.com/news/189221231.html