Fresh Banff National Park Fishing Reports

The month of August has been absolutely fantastic fishing! Or should I say catching! The Walleye bite has been exceptional with some ridiculous numbers of fish caught with up to 50 per trip! Some large fish up to 27" landed in the last few days alone! The Pike bite is also great with some nice sizes 28" to 35" boated! Now is the time to get out here!

So much fun with this family yesterday afternoon. The seas finally calmed down and the sun came out. Oh, and the fish cooperated too! Thanks for the fun afternoon.

The Walleye bite is heating up! We are now catching more and more nice Walleye every trip and will continue this trend all summer! The Northern Pike bite is still very productive as well! This pic is showing a 30" 10lb Trophy Walleye just caught!

From the West Kootenays to the West Coast, we’ve got it covered… It’s that time of year when we send one boat to the coast and 3 boats on the Kootenay. Here’s your latest fishing reports: Kootenay Lake: The month of June provided some pretty good fishing throughout. Lots of Rainbows and the odd Bull Trout were caught. Water temps remained perfect, as the weather remained cool. Although now, we have hit the heat wave and the water temps are rising fast. That’s good news if you’re going swimming. But, the fishing has slowed down a bit. We are now into our normal Summer fishing. Hot days and warmer water means the fish are moving deeper. However, in saying that, we have actually hooked some pretty decent fish in the middle of the day lately. Most fish are more aggressive in the mornings, so it’s best to get out there early and also beat the heat. Some Rainbows up to 7 Lbs and Bull Trout up to 17Lbs have come in lately. So, it’s still worth getting out. Let’s go…… West Coast Salmon Fishing: Our West Coast fishing is on fire!! Most years it starts off slow and then ramps up. However, this year has been on fire right from the start. Chinook Salmon up to 35 Lbs have already been caught, and Coho Salmon are abundant already. The Halibut fishing has been consistent, and the Ling Cod/Rock Cod fishery has been a blast. Too much fun already. It’s hard to explain to the new comers, but once you’ve seen the fishery in Ucluelet, you’ve been ruined. While we’ve only been here a few weeks, it’s been a blast. And if the forecasts are correct, this is going to be an amazing summer. We still have one single day available, as well as a bunch of afternoon trips if you’re going to be in the area and would like to get out. Give us a shout!!! What are they biting on??? On the lake, it’s still been good fishing on the surface. Although the lines are getting covered in algae now, so you’ll have to keep cleaning them up. Lux Flies #**hidden content** have been working best for us on the choppy days. And on the calm days, we’re still using our favourite Gibbs Croc on the surface. Bull Trout are biting on the STS flasher with green spatterback hoochie. Depths between 80 – 120ft have been working best. On the Ocean, it’s been a mixed bag of everything. It all depends on where we are fishing that day, and what the local bait is. Our favourite flasher for the past few years has been the Blue Footloose. And lately, the Skinny G has been killing it. Favourite patterns have been the Tailspin and Killy Magee. Also working well has been the Kingfisher spoons in 3″, as the bait has been small. Favourite patterns have been: white lightning, herring aid, cookies & cream, and maverick. For our Ling Cod, we’ve been killing it with the Jumbo Anchovy jigs on our spinning rods. What a blast that has been. And the Gibbs Paddle tails have pulled up quite a few big ones, including our biggest Halibut lately. (while fishing for Ling) That’s enough for now. Not much time to update the reports, as we are fishing everyday. Hope this helps with your next adventure. Tight lines…………. Captain Kerry

June has been epic when it comes to the Northern Pike bite. They are still in the shallows in our area as water temps remain lower then average. As we finish up the month and move into July, the Walleye bite will be going off all summer! Our summer trips set up for some great days on the water reeling both species being Northern Pike and Walleye.

Well, I thought we were out of the woods and headed into spring, but apparently not! Oh well, one last blast of winter and we should be good to go. In saying that, we have still been on the water a bit, so here’s your latest fishing report: Kootenay Lake: Similar to January, we had some good days and some slow days in February. Typical for this time of year, as the water is at its coldest and the fish metabolism has slowed. February saw more Bull Trout than Rainbows, but definitely getting some nice ones. Our latest group of skiers from back east were rewarded with some nice fish. After skiing/snowboarding for 5 days in a row, they were looking for a break. A day to rest their legs and found something fun to do on their rest day. As I explained to them about the current conditions and the lazy, winter fish, I kind of set the bar low. The crew wasn’t concerned about the fish, but more excited to get out on the water in the mid of winter. We started out with a few bites, but nothing coming to the boat. But then, when the magic hour happened, the fish became more aggressive. First fish to the boat was a beauty 9 Lb Bull Trout. What a start! Not far after that, we caught and released a chunky 7 Lb Bull Trout. These guys were losing their minds. Not expecting a lot, and mostly used to catching 2 Lb fish back home, they were pleasantly surprised. The fishing slowed down late morning so we moved locations and tried a different approach. Hoping to hook a few Rainbows, we put on the lucky Gibbs Croc spoons and and a couple buck tails. Only one strike on the surface in a couple hours, so we decided to switch back to using the down riggers. Early afternoon the bite began again. A couple more Bull Trout hooked before we ended our day. What a great way to spend a ‘rest day’ from the ski hill. We had a few more trips throughout February, although the quick cold snap shut us down for a few days. Most other trips managed to hook into a fish or two, although the bite seemed to slow down. As March has rolled in, we look forward to the weather hopefully changing for the better. As the water begins to warm up, the fish will become more aggressive. Spring break is fast approaching and the phone has started ringing again. Looking forward to getting everyone out on the water during the break. We still have a few dates available if you’re looking at getting out. What are they biting on??? Bull Trout have been biting on the usual flasher/hoochie combo, hockey sticks, or Lyman plugs on the down rigger. Our favorite combo has been the Gibbs STS flasher, followed by the green spatter back or the green pistachio hoochie. Favourite depths have been between 100 – 160ft. Try adjusting depths according to where the bait is showing up on the sonar. On the surface, we have been dragging our favourite Gibbs spoons. The Skinny G (outfitter or no bananas), or the brass/fire stripe croc have been working best for us. Also getting the odd fish on the buck tails as well. Lucky numbers have been buck tail #**hidden content**. Trolling speed is still a factor during the cold water months. Our best speed lately has been between 1.8 – 2.3 mph, but definitely need to experiment with that. That’s it for now. Hope this helps with your next adventure Tight lines……. Captain Kerry