Fishing and exploring a new lake is always a fun time and I always look to learn something each time I go.
This weekend we had the opportunity to fish Quesnel Lake. Thankfully, we were able to go with someone who spends a lot of time on the lake searching for lake trout and trophy rainbows that the lake is known for.
When fishing a new lake (especially something as large as Quesnel lake), it helps to learn from someone who has spent some time exploring the lake. This lake was unique because of it’s size. While our boat would have managed the fishing this weekend, the waves would have been unpleasant most of the time and distance traveled might not have been as far as we went. After a weekend spent on a 20ft Duckworth and also getting a close tour of a couple 24ft fishing boats, I am sold on the idea of bigger is better. The width alone made the chop bearable. And the length made it comfortable to move around freely and help on the boat while fishing.
We managed to catch a couple lake trout trolling and jigging. We also caught a couple rainbows. One of the rainbows, which was the biggest rainbow I have seen to date, smashed a fly trolled at 3.5 mph.
As the rainbow hit, it eventually jumped out of the water at a distance and we knew it was game on. The whole boat cheered in amazement as the colors of the rainbow were shining in the sunlight. Then, Austin got to experience something he is not used to (we need to practice more). The rainbow took a turn towards our boat and must have turned on its afterburners. I kept coaching Austin to keep the tension and reel as fast as he could, but eventually the line went slack. Austin could not feel the fish, but I was not convinced (at first) that the fish got away. I told him to keep reeling so we could see the fly, but he was still convinced that it got off the hook. Then, once all the slack line was gathered, the line went tight again. The rainbow was at the boat and everyone went into panic mode and cheered at the same time. The tail of this fish was impressive to say the least as it surfaced and dove in an attempt to escape. Then, it turned again and headed for under the boat and toward the motors. We tried lifting the motors, but it was too late. The rainbow had wrapped himself on the prop of the main motor and the fight was over, but the anxiety kept climbing. Eventually, we would land the biggest rainbow Austin has ever caught (13lbs) and the biggest rainbow I have seen in a while.
This experience has made me understand and realize why people chase trophy fish. That being said, releasing them can be a delicate process and we did not have enough time to inspect its gill plate which looked like it was from a previous injury.
Jigging worked well at Quesnel lake for us. While the wind had to be just right, we were able to find shelter and jig up some lakers with 4 Oz white tube jigs. I am impressed with this lake. The higher daily size limits are appealing for when I am looking for a feast of lake trout.
If I had to take away one thing that I’ve learned from this weekend, I’d say it was how valuable local knowledge is. I understand why it might take a lifetime to explore a larger lake and find all the “hot spots.” This experience brought me back to the basics which consisted of listening and applying information to help catch a couple fish and not a floating log.
