Father’s day weekend was a success!
Most people would describe my weekend as crazy, but I was bound and determined to fish Bridge Lake and explore Little Deka in just two days.
My weekend started like I was building a Jenga castle. Sarah and the boys were planning to leave Friday to go meet Grandma. My weekend was free and I quickly scrambled to decide on the direction I would be heading for kokanee fishing during Father’s day weekend. I’ve been wanting to fish Purden lake this year and it was a tough decision to re-route south to Bridge. Now, some people might disagree that the decision was difficult. I would wager that most people would choose Bridge Lake for the chance at a monster land locked sockeye salmon. Those who know me, understand that one of my goals is to fish every kokanee lake in British Columbia at least once and hopefully more than once. Last year, Purden lake was the most productive kokanee lake we fished. Not only were the kokanee plentiful, the limit generous and the scenery breathtaking, but the kokanee were a perfect size for the smoker.
My interests in exploring Bridge Lake and all that it has to offer won over the plentiful kokanee of Purden Lake. I chose to explore Bridge Lake and I only saw half of it this trip. There are definitely many years of exploration ahead here.
It always seems to amaze me at how easy it can be to wake up on a weekend and go fishing. My alarm was set for 4am and I was up and on the road by 5am. I arrived at my first destination at 8am. Lone Butte Sporting Goods Ltd was not quite open yet, so I waited patiently for Mark to open the floodgate as I had some fishing reels in my sights (and maybe some extra tackle 
). After choosing a Diawa Lexa 300 and an Abu Garcia 6500 for my upcoming fall salmon trip, I was back on the road and headed for a second breakfast before I hit the lake.
The Interlakes store is quickly becoming one of my favorite “one stop shops” along the fishing highway. I picked up two of their bacon, egg and cheese breakfast sandwiches which were held together by one of the softest, mouth watering buns I have ever had. These breakfast sandwiches are made fresh everyday and are wrapped in a foil bag that keeps them hot for the trip to the lake. I loved them so much, that I went back for 2 more the next morning.
When I got to Bridge Lake I was amazed that I was the only boat at the launch. I would wager that the weather forecast kept most people at home cuddled up in a blanket on the couch watching YouTube videos of other people fishing. Later that day, I too was thinking about how comfortable the couch would have been. However, I was also well prepared with my Simms Fishing Products waders and rain jacket. My new Scotty Fishing Products rod holders worked flawlessly as well and helped keep the comfort level high. Once I dialed in how to protect my camera from the rain, I got comfortable in the rain and got into a rhythm of layer and de-layer as the Cariboo skies brought sun, wind, rain and even thunderstorms into the proximity of the lake.
For those who are not familiar with the Cariboo and fishing here, there is one saying that almost always holds true. The saying goes, “if you don’t like the weather, wait 15 minutes.” I highly recommend having a game plan though. When fishing bigger lakes like Bridge Lake, the rough weather and a small boat are not a great combination. There was one point where I figured my day was over. A big wind storm pushed in and the lake started forming large waves with white caps. I was no longer comfortable fishing my downriggers, because the bottom on Bridge Lake comes up out of no where and the weather made it hard enough to steer the boat let alone trying not to hang up on bottom with a downrigger ball. And, just as quickly as the storm came (I was almost packed up and ready to take shelter) it was dying down and gone. It is important to note that there are many locations on the lake to get out of the wind and take shelter. Although, some of these locations seem to be in coves where the rocks extend straight up out of the water. Someone told me this week that Bridge Lake is actually a volcano and this is why the bottom is all over the place. I’ll be looking into this, because the history of a lake interets me and might help me figure out where more productive areas might be.
Before I fish any lake, I always look at a bathymetric map and choose a few starting points to help develop a plan of attack and hopefully a successful day. This trip was no different. I chose a few new areas that I wanted to explore and see if I could locate and mark a few good schools of kokanee. The map I had with me in my boat was from Anglers Atlas. It is important to note that the disclaimer on these maps is 100 percent correct. Do not use these maps for navigational purposes. I found another sunken island in the middle of the lake. Thankfully, I was paying attention and trusted my fish finder. Also, I was only fishing 10ft off my downrigger. If I had been fishing any deeper, I might have a different story of hanging up my first ball on the bottom. I could not believe how quickly the bottom came up. Before I knew it, I was floating over 6ft of water as my heart rate went up and came down shortly after finding deeper water.
I found success through trial and error (and maybe a solid game plan). My plan was to focus on the top 8-12ft of water the whole trip, because it has been fairly cold in the Cariboo and lake temperatures haven’t had enough time to completely stratify. When I marked one kokanee or a school of kokanee below 10ft, I would drop both downrigger balls to just above the depth they were marked. After trolling thru the “zone” I would reel back up to 10ft and wait for the next mark on my fish finder. Time would soon teach me that 10ft off the downrigger was exactly where I needed to be. All kokanee were caught at this depth and they were all over 2lbs. The average size was 2.5lbs. Next time, I need to remember to bring a bigger fish cooler.
I used a few different setups to help entice these kokanee to bite. My new Brad’s extreme dodger that I bought at the Portland Sportsman’s show was the top dodger. I paired this dodger with a green and white Yamashita hoochie that I bought in Hawaii this year. There was something special about this hoochie that caught my attention. These Yamashita hoochies came with a lead weight in the head. I have always heard other kokanee anglers tell me to keep the hoochie as light as possible. This idea went against the norm and this intrigued me. I believe the hoochie was given a different action that these Bridge Lake kokanee haven’t seen before and this may or may not have given me an edge over the other anglers fishing nearby. The other setup that produced was two different Rocky Mountain Tackle Company dodgers paired with their spinners. I also picked this tackle up at the Portland Sportsman’s Show and was excited that it was producing kokanee here in the Cariboo. Jared thank you for making a great product. My scents varied and they were all equally productive. I used my Shrimp/prawn corn, and corn made with garlic scent and kokanee scent from Sam (which I also picked up at the Show). This trip proved to me that there are a lot of great products and people out there who are always striving to improve the experience we as anglers have on the water. This tackle, worked so well, that I had a double header (and landed them both. Video to follow soon). I was amazed at how these kokanee grabbed on and held onto this stuff.
The next day, I decided to explore Little Deka (I should have fished Ruth Lake as this was on my list too). I fished for 3 hours and the lake only gave up one kokanee. It appeared that the brown stained water was still turning over and my fish finder was going crazy as it registered many areas of the lake that seemed to be unsettled. I marked kokanee all over the water column. I employed the same technique that I used on Bridge Lake, but this time my only success was 17ft off the downrigger. It was easy to see how this lake could get lots of ski boat traffic (someone please correct me if I’m wrong). There are many great access points on the lake. There were also many boats out fishing and the kokanee “hole” or “slot” was easily distinguishable as each of the 12 boats or so trolled thru the area (which was where I picked on the map before I arrived).
Time was ticking and I wanted to find some kokanee. I quickly took my boat out of the water and “puddle jumped” to neighboring Sulphurous Lake. It was amazing to see the color difference of the water. I went from brown stained water to clear turquoise colored water. After a few hours, I officially claimed defeat and waved my white flag. It was time to pack up and head home.
As a farewell send off, I was greeted by the largest army of mosquitoes I have seen in a few years. I layered up one last time with a generous coating of deet so I could comfortably pack up and head home. As I drove away from the area, I said goodbye to a piece of haven that I hope stays just as amazing as the first day I discovered it.