We had a great day fishing yesterday on Dragon Lake.
The water temperatures are starting to drop into some great feeding parameters. The surface temperatures felt warm to the touch at a comfortable 63 degree temperature. It was great for keeping our hands warm but we noticed the fish were tired on release even after a quick fight to the net. Today had me thinking about sustainability. While all our fish swam away except one, I started thinking about changing species and chasing some 3 year old chrome kokanee to bring home for a few meals. Maybe next time we will explore the fall kokanee fishery if the water temperatures remain high.
We used barbless hooks and landed our fish as quickly as possible. One of the fish we landed was bleeding bad. We tried to revive it, but it was no able to stay upright and had lost too much blood. We figured he had wrapped in our line during the fight and our line cut its gills. After dispatching the fish we examined it as we noticed a few fins had been cut off by the hatchery. I started thinking, could missing fins affect our recovery efforts as the fish was not able to stay upright easily? It was missing its dorsal, left pelvic, and adipose fin. Can anyone tell me what strain of rainbow this clipping pattern identifies?
While the death of this rainbow trout was tragic to us (we fish Dragon Lake as a catch and release fishery), it was also a catch to remember. In fact, the whole day was a day to remember, because Austin out fished me. He chose the winning lure of the day which was a Kamlooper spoon. After jumping around in a few spots, we eventually found a feeding location where multiple trout were inhaling whatever crossed their path. We hooked, landed and lost at least a dozen rainbow trout in the span of 20 minutes. Our pelvic fin clipped trout was the product of another trout smashing Austin’s Kamlooper spoon, jumping in the air a few times and throwing the spoon. As soon as the spoon hit the water it was attacked again and another epic battle began. Once in the net, the fish spit up a live goldfish and then we noticed the fish was bleeding, so we went into revival mode. This experience was a teaching tool to help show Austin what we need to do in order to ensure the future of whatever species we are targeting and releasing.
We trolled around after this spot and ended up catching a fish on a Sea Four Lure. These lures are intriguing as they are made on a 3D printer and can be shaped and re-shaped to achieve the action an angler is looking for. It’s like 3 lures for the price of one.
While trolling was fun and provided us a quick break to have a snack, we went back to casting as soon as snack time was over.
Our next few spots produced a couple fish in each spot. We saw a tank of a rainbow jumping around like it was being chased by a Killer Whale. Numerous casting attempts failed at enticing this fish to bite, so we moved on. We trolled a few times between some of our spots (we have a few spots really close together) with our spoons and caught a few fish doing this. Austin’s Kamlooper spoon continued to out fish whatever spoon I chose, even while trolling.
It was hard to leave the lake, because the fishing was so good. Luckily, when we got to the boat launch it looked like another boat was there and getting ready to be taken out of the water. So, naturally, we decided to cast some more for rainbows. Austin landed another spectacular rainbow while the spectators on shore watched him reel in and release the fish to be caught again another day.
At home, we checked out the stomach contents of Austin’s rainbow. It was easy to see that his Kamlooper Spoon was “matching the hatch.” This was the most goldfish I’ve seen in one trout. That being said, we do not keep many rainbows from Dragon Lake, only the ones that can not be released to be caught again.
To see a Kamlooper Spoon in action, check out this link on our YouTube Channel, Fougere Family Adventures and subscribe if you like our content.