Our most recent adventure brought us to Bridge Lake, BC.
We decided last minute to meet at a lake that was halfway between where we all lived and through triangulation we landed on one of my favorite lakes on highway 24. Finding accommodations last minute proved to be difficult. I called all over and only found 1 resort that would accommodate us for 2 nights. While there were a few resorts that had availability, they would not adjust their minimum nights stay on short notice. Thankfully, we found a rustic cabin available at Fawn Lake Resort. The hosts were great. We were greeted the first night on our arrival and checked out early Sunday morning after leaving the cabin clean and the way we found it.
On the first day, we spent some time exploring new spots I have been wanting to try. We toured the whole lake and even went into bear bay to check it out. While we did not find any large fish, a few fish were willing to bite throughout the day. Our first catch was a healthy length of fishing line that put up a good fight. We kept the fishing line for a photo opportunity and stored it on the boat to be disposed of at the end of the day. As the wind picked up, we tried trolling plugs and slip weights for my first time, ever. We caught a nice laker on a T50 frog pattern flatfish and lost it on the next troll as it snagged the bottom (I may have put too much weight on). We tried our luck briefly trolling for kokanee and managed to catch a nice one as soon as I slowed the boat down with my new MotorGuide electric motor. A Gibbs Fishing dogtail dodger and bling blade was the winning combination along with my new batch of anise corn that I made recently. After 14 hours on the water, we decided to make our way back to our cabin for some fresh steaks on the Camp Chef barbecue.
The second day had us planning our angle of attack based on the wind. During the calm portion of the day we chose to fish open water locations. Bryce managed to catch another trophy while jigging near the grassy island. The fight from the gang troll as he reeled it in was like nothing I’ve even seen before. We were also able to jig up a nice kokanee on a blue holographic buzz bomb (the same one we use for lake trout jigging). There’s just something special about feeling the initial bite while jigging compared to trolling. We also missed lots of bites jigging for kokanee and I’m intrigued to continue to find “the best” jig for kokanee on bridge lake.
Family adventures like this one will always hold a special place in my heart. This boys trip was a great way to spend time together and learn about fishing. It was also a great opportunity to reignite a fire for a hobby that is not only fun, provides memories and gets a person outdoors, but a hobby that puts some great food on the table and keeps a person dreaming about the one that got away or the possibility of the fish a lifetime that is growing bigger between adventures.