Time is precious.
As the years go by, I am inspired by my boys’ interest in learning different ways to fish. Earlier this year we started attending fly tying nights with the family and others who were interested in learning how to make various fly patterns and others who were excited to get together and show each other new fly materials, favorite fly patterns and to talk fishing. It was great meeting new people, seeing how intrigued and excited my boys were to attend fly tying nights, and watching how much fun they had practicing tying at home.
Our last few adventures brought us to the Dragon Lake fishing dock with spinning rods and my old fly rods in hand. Learning how to fly fish has become the next step in the Fougere house. Tonight was no different. While I was hoping to catch some kokanee first, the plan was to make a few casts for trout with an indicator and fly combo.
When we arrived at the lake, the wind was blowing at a steady pace which was less than ideal for beginner fly anglers. We rigged up our Scotty Fishing Products downriggers and prepared our Luhr Jensen downrigger kokanee rods. Our plan was to start with what was working on our last outing and let the fish tell us what they wanted. One rod was rigged with a six inch Mack’s Lure sling blade paired with the infamous pink micro hoochie from Paulina Peak Tackle. The other rod was rigged with a Gibbs Fishing dog tail dodger paired with a Gibbs bling blade. While we hooked fish on both setups, the winning set up was the undefeated champion, the pink Paulina Peak micro hoochie. Unfortunately, we only have one of these “exact” pink hoochies (I ordered more a while ago and the other pink micro hoochies do not seem to be as productive as the one we have). We decided to change up the bling blade and went to a Gibbs TKO since lately the apex style lures have been producing on Ten Mile Lake.
While we hooked fish on the Gibbs TKO lure, it was still not matching the pink micro hoochie and time was at a premium because we wanted to hurry and catch our limit so we could do some fly fishing if the lake calmed down. We then switched the TKO out for a small pink Macks Lure hoochie fished by itself. The fish could not resist just a hoochie pulled behind a dodger and in no time we had fish on both rods.
The first 45 minutes of fishing was spectacular. The kokanee were biting and the fish seemed to be everywhere. We were catching perfect sized fish for the smoker. Ethan decided to have a nap and so Austin and I prepared for some fun competition to see who could choose the winning setback and depth. Time would prove that every setback and depth between 28ft and 35ft was productive.
Over the last couple trips, I have noticed that while depth can make a difference in finding productive target zones, the exact depth does not seem to be as important as speed, lure color, size and dodger shape, color, and size. Kokanee seem to always be moving plus or minus 20ft or more up and down in the water column. It’s fun to watch on my Garmin Striker 4 fish finder and watching fish behavior between bites helps keep us entertained.
My special blend garlic corn (which I sell locally in Prince George and Quesnel) seemed to seal the deal and helped us get into over twenty fish in the first hour of fishing. Then, once the clouds broke and the lake started to calm down, the fish seemed to stop biting as well as they first were. We tried different speeds, depths, and areas of the lake but the slow down in excitement left us with grumbling bellies which triggered us to be hungry and ready to go home for dinner (we forgot to pack snacks).
As the setting sun hit the water at an angle and the kokanee bite started slowing down, it was with mixed emotions that we started planning our target time for calling the fishing trip. The boys still wanted to practice casting the fly rods, but a Panago pizza was starting to sound like a better idea.
We started trolling towards the boat launch and put one rod and downrigger away. Austin tried to pop the release clip for the second downrigger, but it seemed stuck. I reeled up the downrigger and found the release clip was somehow tangled around the downrigger cable, so I had to release it by hand as Austin held the rod. Once unclipped, Austin felt some weight on the end of the line. Did a fish just hit on the rise?
It would turn out that we had been trolling around a small kokanee on the end of our line and had no idea for how long. It did look like my downrigger ball was swimming at one point earlier, so next time I will be checking just to make sure there is no fish on the line. It has been a while since I have seen this. I would imagine that this fish swam strongly with us for some time before tiring and just choosing to stick around for the free ride. I have had this happen with bigger, stronger fish on Bridge lake before so this serves as a reminder to check your line frequently for fish and/or lost bait if not getting bites.
We ended up with ten nice kokanee and two smaller kokanee in just over two hours. While I was hoping we would all catch our limit, I will have to dream about limits for our next trip. I will also be reminded of the one large kokanee we lost because I did not dip the next deep enough. As Austin pulled up on the fish, my timing was not so great as I put the frame of the net right in line for the fish to hit it and shake off.
As time goes by, I look forward to many more memories like this. I look forward to helping my family learn about a fun, healthy and rewarding outdoor activity that puts food on the table. I am smiling with excitement as we slowly approach a new chapter in our fishing adventures.