Fall fishing: Lyman Lures

Fall is upon us and the fishing on the bigger water bodies like Okanagan Lake is going to start to pick up quickly. As the water surface starts to cool down the bigger rainbows are going to start to move up higher within the water column aggressively feeding to prepare themselves for winter. October and November provides some of the best fishing opportunities on Okanagan Lake to try your luck at hooking a trophy Rainbow Trout.

By far the most effective way to target these rainbows is by trolling Lyman Plugs. Lyman Lures is a local Kelowna company that makes one of North America’s best lines of fishing plugs on the market. I wouldn’t be caught on the lake without Lyman Plugs in my tackle box! The reason that Lyman’s out produce other lures on the market is because they are hand crafted wooden plugs. The buoyance of the wood and weight distribution of the lure creates the erratic and darting action of an injured fish. Big trout can’t resist an easy looking meal!

For fall fishing the top 5 Lyman Plugs that I recommend to have in your tackle box are numbers 10, 69, 84, 98, 182. All these plugs imitate forage fish and their colours found in the bigger water bodies during the fall period. The trolling speeds that I find most productive this time of year are speeds ranging from 2.7mph up to 3.5mph. Long lining the plug right on the surface without any weight and about 200 feet out the back of the boat can bring good success. When the trout hit on the surface it will be a hard hit and an exciting fight!

Photo: Contributed

Since the Kokanee are spawning it is a good idea to target within a few hundred feet of creek mouths. The Kokanee school up around this area until they are ready to make their run. Since Kokanee are a forage fish for bigger rainbows you can bet that there are some opportunist trout lingering in this area.

Using Bucktail Flies trailing on the lake surface trolled at a fast speed (over 3mph) also work very well. If there is a chop on the lake surface of over 8 inches it’s worth giving Bucktails a try. Colours in red & white, purple & white and brown with a bit of flash are my favorites for fall fishing.

The old tail of darker colours on darker days is very accurate in the fall. On the cloudier days be sure to troll darker colour of lures to create a strong contrast within the water so the trout can easily see your lure. During the fall I also tend to run “false flashers” off my downrigger ball, not on the main fishing line. This will help attract those hungry trout and ignite their competitive instincts. Just remember when doing this to run your plug no more than 6 feet behind the flasher. This technique works when fishing water deeper than 50 feet as there is enough depth between the boat and presentation that it won’t spook the fish.

For more information on Plug Fishing check out our “Fundamentals of Fishing with Plugs” article on BCFishn.com: http://bcfishn.com/fundamentals-fishing-plugs/

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.

Osoyoos Lake Sockeye fishing

Over the past four years we’ve had a remarkable Sockeye fishery in Osoyoos Lake. This Columbia River stock is starting to return in record breaking numbers thanks to the hard work of the Okanagan Nation Alliance Fisheries Department and DFO. We are nearing a fishery opening that is forecast to be a record run of Sockeye with over 300,000 Sockeye returning to the Okanagan watershed!

We are looking at a two week sport fishery opening to start and then a possible extension to a full month. Keep an eye on the DFO Freshwater Salmon Fishing Regulations for opening date.

Photo: Contributed

Targeting these fish from a boat offers a fantastic family fishing experience for everyone to enjoy! The method to fish for these sockeye is simple and requires basic terminal tackle.

Tackle Needed:

• Silver Dodgers (8 & 9 inches long)
• 8-15 inch 20 pound test monofilament leader
• 2-3 inch pink UV hoochies
• Red barbless hook (size 3/0 and 4/0)
• Krill or Shrimp UV Scent

Rigging up your Gear:

• It is important to use shorter leaders between your dodgers and hoochies when Sockeye fishing. Leaders between 8-15 inches is best, 13 inches has proven to me over the years to be the magic length!
• Be sure to use heavy pound test for leader material as Sockeye will chew up the leader line quickly. 15 pound test and over ideal.
• Red hooks work the best hands down when Sockeye fishing; like Kokanee, Sockeye love red and pink colours! Carry size 3/0 and 4/0 hooks in your tackle box, mainly 3/0 hooks work best but sometimes when getting into bigger fish it is nice to be able to switch up to a 4/0.
• Pink hoochies are by far the most proven lure for Sockeye. 2 ½ to 3 inch hoochies work best. Be sure to trim the skirt of the hoochie back enough so the hook point is exposed as this makes for better hook sets.
• Some anglers use bait such as marinated shrimp; however adding scent like Krill or Shrimp onto the hoochie works well and will deliver results.

Trolling Technique:

• Trolling speeds between 1mph up to 1.9mph is the prime.
• “S” Turns will help attract the Sockeye to your lures and entice them to bite. The erratic action the turn creates sometimes triggers the fish to attack your lure.
• The use of “dummy dodgers” or “false flasher” will help lure the sockeye in as these fish are schooling fish.
• When hooked up do not stop the boat as usually if one is following your tackle another may be right behind it. Double headers are a common scenario when Sockeye fishing.

Osoyoos Lake is one of the finest fisheries in BC! This fishery offers a world class bass fishery (small & large mouth), fantastic trout fishing and now a first-rate Sockeye Salmon fishery. A sincere thank you is deserved to the Okanagan Nation Alliance for their hard work and efforts in bringing back this marvelous Sockeye fishery. For more information on how to fish for these Sockeye please check out www.BCFishn.com

Good luck, tight lines & please take a youth fishing!

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.

Fly fishing with spinning rod & gear

Fly fishing with spinning gear? Really? That’s right! There are numerous good reasons why an angler would fly fish using spinning rod and gear. Not all anglers have an arsenal of different types of fishing rods at their disposal. Acquiring multiple fishing rods and tackle for different methods of fishing can also be costly.

I grew up on the Similkameen River and this is where my love of angling started. I spent many days learning to fish for small feisty rainbow trout. My go to lure as a young angler was by far a yellow/brown Panther Martin Spinner. Most days I would have success catching fish. However, I will always remember the day when I couldn’t buy a bite and watched an elderly man walk down to the river, cast out a float and started catching fish! I politely mentioned to my fellow angler that the river has a bait ban in effect; assuming he was casting a float with a baited hook. The man smiled, reeled in his line and came up to me. I was pleasantly surprised to see what he was fishing with. He was using a nymph pattern under a slip bobber. He explained to me he had shoulder surgery and was no longer able to cast his fly rod; however that didn’t stop him from fly fishing!

The method of using a spinning rod fly fishing isn’t too much different than using a fly rod, except the angler is using the weight of the float to cast the fly out rather than the fly line and rod. When I ask newer anglers to come fishing with me they sometimes say, I don’t fly fish nor do I own a fly rod. My answer to that is “no problem, I have an easy solution for you”.

To fly fish with spinning gear you need a few key pieces of tackle that are readily available from any tackle shop.

• Small Slip Float (bobber)
• Small split shots
• Swivels
• Small Diameter Line for leader (less than 5lbs test)
• Flies of choice

Think of fly fishing with spinning gear the same way as you would fly fish under an indicator. You’re going to suspend the fly under the slip float. It is important to use a slip float so you can adjust the length of leader between the float and the fly. For example if you are Chironomid fishing in 15 feet of water, you want to set the bobber stop at 13 to 14 feet of leader line. This way the fly will be suspended just off bottom. The swivels and small split shots will help get your fly down in the water column. The same method can be used for when nymph or egg bead fishing rivers.

Photo: Contributed

Want to fish a leech or wooly bugger pattern? No problem! Use a small float and a long leader approximately 8 feet, cast it out and slowly retrieve.

Fly fishing with a spinning rod is a great way to try fly fishing. It’s an easy way introduce people to the sport, especially youth as they sometimes have a challenge casting a fly line out far enough. It doesn’t really matter what method you choose to participate in the sport of angling as long as you are following the regulations and having fun!

Photo: Contributed

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.

Shore fishing with a bottom line set up

Not all anglers have access to a boat so they rely on fishing from the shore. Even though fishing from a boat has its obvious benefits, shore fishing can also be very productive. Most anglers fish from the shore by using a simple float (bobber) and baited hook method. One method when bait fishing that is very under-utilized is the bottom line set up.

Photo: Contributed

The bottom line set up is the means of presenting the bait suspended off the bottom rather than below a float. This positions the bait deeper in the water column and near the bottom which is where most of the larger fish reside in the warmer months.

To setup this presentation you will need the following items:

• 3 Way Swivel
• 1/2 & 3/4 ounce Casting Weights
• Size 6 & 8 Bait Hooks
• Fishing Corkies
• Extra Fishing Line
• Bait

Tie the main line to the top of the 3 way swivel. Then tie a separate piece of fishing line to the casting sinker, and then tie this line onto the bottom part of 3 way swivel. The line between the weight and the swivel can vary but 12 inches works well. The leader (section between the 3 way swivel and hook) is tied onto the middle eye of the swivel. Before you tie on the hook you can slide on a small fishing corky onto the leader line. This will help float your bait up off the bottom and give it more movement while positioned in the water. If you don’t have corkies, bait marshmallows or power bait balls work well.

When fishing this rig start with a long leader between 4 to 5 feet then shorten it until you find where the fish are feeding. Some day’s fish will be cruising at 5 feet off the bottom and other days they will be feeding at 1 foot.

Bait the hook with which ever type of bait you prefer, worms, krill, power bait, etc. Cast the rig out into the water along the shoal lines or drop off ledges. Once the weight makes contact with the bottom tighten your line just until there is a slight bend in the rod tip. As soon as you sense a bite set the hook. The idea is to hook the fish in the snout and not allow it to swallow the hook. Adding a corky at the end of the leader can also help prevent the fish from swallowing the hook.

There are numerous variations of this bottom line setup such as the Carolina rig, slip weight, or even drop shot methods. I find this method to be the best as the line between the swivel and weight helps reduce snags, it’s also easier to adjust to locate the fish and the bait gets the most action under the water.

This method of fishing is ideal for family fisheries when harvesting the fish for table fare; this is not a good practice for catch and release. It’s a great way to fish with the kids as you can simply place the rod in a rod holder and wait for the bite! Good luck!

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.