Last minute decisions are always tough.
Our family plans changed late last night and I found my imagination running wild with lakes I’ve been wanting to fish for some time now. I had to slow down my thinking process on where I would go fishing today on such short notice. I had a free day to myself, but the lakes I wanted to fish were out of reach so I had to decide on my direction of travel based on the weather and the proximity to home.
I started planning my angle of attack to a few lakes, but found myself reverting back to Purden Lake. This lake is still a fairly new kokanee fishery close to Prince George and the kokanee have been extremely abundant due to limited (if any) access during the winter months. And so, I decided to try jigging for kokanee at Purden Lake.
Due to a previous commitment, my schedule allowed me to arrive at the lake around lunch time. Loading up the boat was quick and easy, because I decided to leave all my trolling gear at home. I wanted to see if I could jig up some aggressive kokanee and did not want the distraction of trolling if the wind picked up, which it did.
The weather forecast looked windy from what I could tell before leaving home. I decided to use the hill sides surrounding the lake as a buffer to help slow the wind down. When I arrived, the wind was blowing to the east, so I took shelter in the bays on the east end of the lake. I would eventually catch a couple kokanee jigging my blue holographic Buzz Bomb which I coated with some gel scents and tipped with the PowerBait crappie nibbles that I’ve been testing out recently.
Unfortunately, Purden Lake has my number. I’ve struggled in the past with my landing ratios and today was no different. Usually when we troll around on Purden Lake the bite seems soft and we loose just as many as we land. Today, I had many bites but could not connect with the fish below. And to add insult to injury, my crappie nibbles kept falling off (I must have used what felt like half the jar in one day). Every time I rebaited my hook I kept wishing I had remembered my kokanee corn that I was planning on taking. At least it was safe in the fridge for my next adventure. I also wished I had bought some of the fresh corn I dropped off today at Corlane Sporting Goods. I was actually going to buy some of my own corn, because I had a feeling it would stay on better compared to my crappie nibbles. But of course, I had my sights on getting to the lake and it slipped my mind to bring fresh bait. I’m thinking it’s checklist time again for my next trip.
Today, I was wishing I had a bow mount motor in the wind. While the eastern bays protected me for a while, the wind eventually found me and started pushing my boat in every direction imaginable. It was the strangest wind I’ve seen in a while. Just when I thought I had it figured out, the wind would change direction. A heavier jig helped keep my line more vertical in the water column, but the kokanee were not interested in the larger size of jig. Once I downsized, they seemed to be happy to bite.
As time elapsed, I found myself getting closer and closer to that “one last cast” time. I frantically tried multiple locations and brought one fish in the boat, but that was it. Time was up and it was time to pack up and head home.
I was disappointed at first that I was going home 2 fish shy of my limit. Then, I looked up. It was then that I remembered why I liked Purden Lake so much. Now the non-stop action helps and the fishing is only getting started as the surface temperature was still 57 degrees, but the view surrounding the lake is breathtaking. After a few minutes of taking in the snow capped mountain views, I fired up my motor and headed back to the launch. I caught myself looking back at the mountain views on the way back to the launch and at that time, I felt relaxed and happy to have had the opportunity to fish a productive lake with generous limits.