(continued)

As at Hungry, they were alot of fish marking shallow and deep at Murdock but again not so much as a bite, until I got near the log booms.  From the booms to the Eagle I got 10 or 12 hits in a very short time, but nothing that would stick, could be those squaw fish again.  Here too dead salmon were seen floating about, and the Eagle was teaming with birds chowing down on the fish carcasses.

From the Eagle I moved over to the tracks, Marv took a Laker here earlier today (I spoke to him on the VHF) but that was it for his fishing.  It wasn't until Val's Point that I took a good sized Laker,  on a T-90 William Spoon and down at 110', that was it for the days fishing!

Boat traffic has really slimed down, yippee ki yayyyyyy!  The lake has really dropped again and so has the surface temps.  There were a few fish rising out at Hungry and along the tracks, looked like dirty rainbows.  With the long weekend almost here and soon to be gone, the lakes will soon be devoid of all the boat traffic so maybe that will perk the fish up a bit.  I won't have time to throw a mini derby together this month but for sure in October we'll get the old gang together for a days outing......

August 28 2010 (0830-1230)

Have you ever had one of those days when you just knew you shouldn't go out fishing?  I kinda had that start to today's fishing.  Left the house on time, fueled the boat, blasted to the launch to meet Bruce in his new boat and me in my old boat.  Backed down, fenders out, ropes ready, block out from motor, antenna up, just about to remove straps and realized I forgot my downriggers at home!  I should have known, that when I woke up with a headache, I should have just stayed on the couch!

So, a quick zip home and got the riggers, headed back the launch and met up with Bruce and, Hank and Barb were headed out as well.  After a quick chuckle over my memory lapse and getting Bruce Almighty's "Titanic" launched, I got in the boat and started it up.

Yes, it started, but no water was coming out of the cooling "pisser" hole!  I let it idle for a couple minutes, still no water, this isn't a good thing!  I turned it off and signaled Bruce that I was having a malfunction so he hung around whilst I drifted towards the cement bridge abutment.  No worries, I flashed the big motor up again, still no water so I headed to the dock and told Bruce I was hooped for fishing.  Then, just as I was tying the boat up the water started to flow out of the hole!  How weird is that?  I'm no marine mechanic but I have had water pumps apart on these things before, either they work or they don't.  When they wear out the water flow becomes less and then you can have cooling problems, that, or the fingers of the impeller break off and no water at all comes out.  Anyways, I babied it out onto the lake and water was coming out so, I'm guessing the port may have been blocked with something, similar to when it freezes up in the winter.

OK, so now I'm at Murdock, big motor is working fine so I put the kicker down and get it fired up, well, for about 2 minutes!  It stalls, and I wear a hole in my right forefinger yanking on the cord but it starts, in a cloud of smoke.  Bruce radioed me, thinking my boat was on fire but I assured him all was well.  After wearing a hole in the forefinger of my left hand I finally got the little Yammy to run, sort of, on and off.  The strange thing in all of this is that while my right finger was healing and I was trolling with the big motor, I had a nice bow to the boat in less than 5 minutes, about a 4lber, taken on a grn/whi Lyman at 48'.  That however would be it for fish for the next few hours, but the kicker did eventually run like a top, gotta look into that.

So, I hung around Murdock and the log boom most of the AM, picking up one small Laker on a grn/blu spoon at 68' and then 4 mid sized squaw fish aka northern pike minnows, 2 on a chrome Croc at 48' and 2 on that Laker spoon.  Tons of fish marking in the area so I'm guessing the SF are on the move again, maybe to pick up the eggs from the river or even fish parts from the left over spawners.  That was it for fishing, I met up with Bruce and his better half just after lunch for a BS session on board the "Titanic".  The Thunder Jet is a fine crafted boat, its huge inside, can't believe the room.    My first trip in it was yesterday up to Anesty Arm, sorry Bruce, but I'll stay with Harbercraft!  Anyways, I made it back to the launch safe and sound, guess I have some "fixing" to do! That's what I get for not fishing for such a long time.

August 26 2010

Ya I know, been tardy with reports but haven't been out fishing, tomorrow, I hope??  Rob was out fishing the Salmon Arm end.  He just got himself a new Lowrance HD sounder so spent more time futzing with that unit than fishing, seeing as the fish just weren't to ecstatic about biting!  He did manage a couple of small bows but that was it.  Lots of salmon jumping in the area he was fishing and, the usual salmon anglers!  That's OK Rob, the run is almost done and so are the tourists!

August 17 2010

Just back from my salmon trip to Haida Gwaii so haven 't been out on the lake.  Todd Lenzi however was out and added a bit of info with regards to my salmon article: 

I would like to way into your Salmon debate but I would not be adding anything that you haven't said already, We where out August long at the Shuswap and did really well on the rainbows 8 bows in less than 10 hrs of fishing, biggest rainbow was 6 lb. We did get two Salmon, one I would guess would go 20 lb to 25 lb. I think the key for us why we picked up more  rainbows than Salmon was speed we did 3 to 3.4 mph. This was faster than my friends in the bay that where picking up just Salmon. We where fishing under them also we would pickup a Salmon at 30' to 40' on the fish finder and fish 40' to 50' and stayed around any bait balls. This helped target rainbows not salmon.

Thanks Todd, good info and insight......

August 11 2010  (0615-1115)

Three things made this a good day to fish!  #1 was that it was not a houseboat turnaround day so, no problems with them for a change.  #2 was that it was overcast with low cloud, I actually had to wear a jacket most of the morning.  And #3, the fishing was pretty good!

I started at the Eagle, 2 bows in the 3 lb range, one on the big chrome Coyote spoon and the other on a red flasher/hootchie squirt, both at 44'.  Both fish hit the lure in less than 30 seconds once it was down but then nothing else on those hooks.  From the Eagle I moved over to Murdock, another bow but smaller on a blu/chrome Coyote at 72' and then 2 real nice Lakers on that same spoon and same depth.  To round out this spot two squaw fish taken on a blu/whi Lyman at 44'.  Oh, I also caught a seagull on that same plug and when I changed it up to a Cop Car Apex the danged gull came down and took that, flying off with it for about 10'!  Last spot was over on the west side and just south ofthe Totem.  Not much for Lakers marking but quite a few koks so put some of that gear down.  Only a few pokes at the Wedding Band setup at 48' and a couple hits on the blu/chrome Coyote for Lakers down at 110' and that was it for the morning.

When I first started at the Eagle there were alot of fish rising in the area, not salmon, but looked like Kokanee.  Along with the fish rising, the Osprey and Eagles were busy pounding the area for those same fish and did very well.  A couple salmon carcass's on shore also kept the Eagles busy and the smell of rotted fish was starting to permeate the air.  With the aid of the binos, I spotted 14 boats working the salmon along the tracks, all the way from the outer marker right past Semaphore Pt..  In fact, when I finally headed into the launch I had to take a picture of myself as a Dufus as I had to "thread" my way through the boats that were working the area right by the outer marker.  One guy had a fish on and all the other boats flocked to that area, practically putting up a blockade to get into the channel!  I have no doubt there were some words said as I zigged and zagged to get through them but, what the heck do they expect!  With this large quantity of boats fishing for salmon, and a few emails,  it prompted me to type up a quick story on our salmon for those who aren't familiar with them in the lake.   "What Salmon??" will hopefully shed a little light  for those who are not aware that they cannot fish for this species in the lake.

August 7 2010 

Kevin, Doree, Jen and her son Layton got out to do a bit of fishing on the weekend.  They worked Annis Bay over pretty good and wound up with a several nice Lakers and this (photo) strange looking fish!  Ya, they're all over the place right now.  Best hooks for the day were the flasher/hootchie or "skunk" Apex, depths 55' and 90'.  Thanks Kev!

August 3 2010  (0800-1200)

Another quick trip with the Mrs. for the AM.  Smoke has really started to "sock in" in our area, bad for us allergy types and those with asthma.  The fish were obviously also affected by it as this was one of the quieter outings.  We started at Murdock, quite a few marking, and wound up trolling all the way to Hungry Cove, where we caught one small Laker on the big chrome Coyote spoon at 64', that was it.

So, we picked up the lines and buzzed over to Semaphore Pt and were going to do a little jigging but to much boat traffic for that.  We put the lines back in but all we caught were those pesky salmon again!  The big one hooked himself in the side so that was a half hour battle getting him to the boat and released.  The second one was more forgiving and took it in the mouth like a man, he was a much quicker release.  That was it for fish.  Quite a few salmon seekers in the area, just remember not to target them?????  I'm afraid the only way you couldn't target them is to fish in a different lake, really.  One week until the Charlotte's trip, can't wait, then I can keep them for real!

July 30 2010  (0800-1200)

I figured I'd take my life into my hands one more time before the long weekend and hit the lake first thing again.  Well, 0800 isn't exactly "first thing" but when your 5 minutes from the launch its close enough.

I headed down to Annis Bay for starters, ran into a dust storm right off the bat.  The rail crew were doing some track work and putting up huge clouds of dust.  I did one pass by "the point" and took a nice bow in that 3-4 lb range right off the bat, Cop Car Apex at 44'!  That was it though, I left the dust and the fish, in the dust, so to speak, and moved on.  Further into the bay it was Lakerville, 4 in about an hour and change, biggest 12 lbs!  Two hooks worked, grn/prl Apex at 84' and a grn/prl Diamond King spoon at 110'.  I also gave the Kokanee a whirl, lots marking and probably why the Lakers were in abundance.  One small one on a 1 1/2" Lyman plug at 44'.

Last stop was south of the Totem, not much marking and no fish taken.  I did get some good hits on the all chrome Coyote spoon at 68'.  Looked more like bows hitting it then Lakers, but then what do I know!  Hot hot hot this weekend, gonna hide for a bit!

July 27 2010  (0800-1300)

A bit slower day for the wife and I but a few fish to the boat.  The usual salmon anglers were hanging around Semaphore Pt., no fish seen taken and one guy back at the dock said they had been out since 0400 and got nothing.  When we put the lines in I saw Marv out in his boat and he had a pesky salmon on and, 5 minutes after I put my line in I too had one of them things on!  Helen actually reeled this one in, first time ever she boated one, she just wanted to feel the power of these fish, and she did!

We didn't hang around there to long and trolled over to Murdock, a couple of hits a Cop Car Apex when we went past the Eagle but that was it.  Once at Murdock that same Cop Car took 2 nice rainbows down at 48', pound for pound the one bow had as much spunk as that salmon!

Lots of fish marking on the bottom at Murdock so we pulled the jigging rods out for a bit but all we managed were a bunch of bites.  So, we went back to the troll and picked up a nice Laker on a gold Apex and had several other real good hits on that same lure.  That was it for the fishing!

We had a group of what I will refer to as "uneducated boaters" paddle (photo) by us when we were at Murdock.  A group of about 8 canoes, all loaded up with kids, paddled by, coming from the north side of Murdock.  The wife had the binos and saw that at least 6 of the persons in the canoes did not have any lifejackets on!  This may not seem strange except it would appear that this was a group of kids being supervised by adults, the adults of course were the ones without the life jackets on.  It hasn't been that long since I plucked those kids out of the drink up at the Narrows and returned them safely to shore and now, more of the same.  Guess I'll have to send some mail to the local clubs and find out who's in charge.

One other Dufus to mention, actually Rob sent me the pic.  He was fishing down in the Salmon Arm end when this (photo) blithering idiot went by him not once but 5 times!!  Rob finally got up on the bow of his boat when the moron again went by and Rob tried to bring it to the boaters attention that he was a total idiot!  The guy left but returned about 5 minutes later and did the same thing!  Only another month or so left Rob, guess us anglers got to hide or something, cannons are illegal on the boat!

July 25 2010  (0800-1300)

We decided to take a chance on the lake, again, and headed to Murdock Pt. to give that a whirl.  Needless to say it didn't take long and this (photo) idiot showed up!  There was a whole line of houseboats coming in and staying well away from where I was fishing.  This moron cut out of that line and cut less than 30' from in front of my boat!  I yelled "something" at him and he just had a stupid "deer in the headlight" look on him.  Not long after that this (photo) Dufus showed up, buzzing us at less than 50' off the deck and about 50' off our starboard side.  I believe this is the same guy that buzzed Kev a couple weeks ago,  photos sent in!

OK, back to why we went out, fishing.  Two small Lakers at Murdock, both on blk/gry Apex at 68' and then we left, headed for Hermit.  Two more Lakers here, both on the big, all chrome Coyote, and back to back.  I saw Lakers marking on the bottom, put that hook down and less than a minute there was a fish on.  Got that off and put it back down, fish on again, both at 98'.

We started a slow troll out of the bay and towards Crescent Bay and the Cop Car Apex line just ripped out of the clip and the line spewed out!  A huge fish about 75 yds behind the boat took a couple of jumps and then headed straight down.  After 3 more runs I finally got the fish close enough to the boat to tell it was a decent size salmon, one more run and big jump and the hook was out!  What a fight!  Salmon are in!

For our last stop we hit Semaphore Pt., the wife wanted to try a little jigging again for Lakers, I think I've got her hooked!  There were very few marking off the point and with all the boat traffic I opted to troll for a bit instead.  It didn't take long and this (photo) bad boy hit!  Wow, so that's what catching salmon is like!  Drive 12 hours to the west coast and fish for 4 days and then catch more and bigger fish back at home!  This sucker wouldn't quit, we had to shut the boat down and drift with the wind and after about 10 minutes finally got it to the boat.  Helen netted her first salmon and did a fine job of it.  While I don't net all of the salmon I catch out of the lake, if they are played out I do net them and then tail them beside the boat to revive them.  I don't know how many runs it took but, it was a battle royale!!  I gave it a good 5 minute ``recoup`` time before it started to kick again, a quick pic and away it swam, what a fish!  I should have known that the salmon were in when I saw all the boats flogging the tracks area and by the outer marker.  Not many anglers fish there other than me, unless the salmon are in.

Anyways, a zoo at the launch when we got back, didn't have time to take pics of the Dufus's or those terrible scantily clad women hanging around, just disgusting!  Fishing's good, get out when you can!

July 23 2010  (0800-1230)

Well I'm back from the big salmon trip, had a great time but we missed the fish by a day or so.  But, there were fish in Shuswap today!

The wife and I got out and fished one spot for the AM, from Semaphore Pt to "Val's Pt." and back.  Lots of fish marking, I'm assuming Kokanee, in that 30-60' of depth.  In the first 2.5 hours we boated 3 lakers, biggest 10lbs, and 2 rainbows, biggest 5 lbs, now that was some good fishing!  One Laker took the grn/grn flasher/Coyote spoon, 2 on grn/prl Apex, all at 68'.  The rainbows both took a all chrome Coyote spoon at 46'.

It of course wouldn't be a summer day without one Dufus to disrupt things, actually we had 2 or 3 but only got this (photo) pic.  This guy was fishing earlier and then headed in, came right up our stern and then cut out and cut in front of us!  We had a couple other wakeboard boats do the same thing, when is summer over?  Between that and the idiot people parking cars/trucks in the truck/trailer spots, it was quite a day!  Complaint in to the District!

Rob Stearns was out on the lake in the Tappen Bay area.  He was using the Captains trick of putting a Ford Fender onto the cannon ball and then run the lure behind that.  He drop a Cop Car Apex to 38' and something immediately smacked it, bending the rod over into the water!  But, as quick as it was on it was also gone.  He got it hooked back up, lowered it down and bang, it again got hit but this time he boated and released a real nice bow around 4 lbs!  He kept that rigging down there for the duration and took another bow, this one a bit smaller than the first.  That was it for his evening fish, which can sometimes be the best time to be out there to avoid the "crazies" as he says!  Thanks for the report Rob!

July 13 2010  (0800-1230)

Today was the best day on the lake so far this summer.  Number 1, I needed a jacket and Number 2, was that there were next to zero tourists on the lake!  Albeit windy and raining, the first two items made it quite nice out there.

I started at Murdock, a real quick Laker on a new blu/whi Gibb's spoon at 48', not much for size.  Then a short time later another Laker on the big blu/chrome Coyote spoon, which then took a 3 lb bow as well, both at 68'.  As the wind and waves picked up so did I and met Tom up at Annis Bay.

Nothing at Annis Bay itself but, that point of land just before the little cabin gave up this (photo) nice bow almost as soon as the grn Canoe spoon was put down to 78'.  I just got that same spoon down and the line again ripped out of the rigger clip.  This fish felt heavier than the first and took a couple of good runs but, according to the reel line counter I lost it about 74' behind the boat somewhere!  Tom then came through the same spot and had a fish on but lost it right away and that was it for this area.

For the last spot I tried Semaphore Pt and it gave up Lakers like they were Taliban suicide bombers!  Four in about 45 minutes, the biggest 7-8 lbs, grn Canoe spoon again, still at 78'.  That was it for the outing, friends coming by in the afternoon and I had to go home to figure out how to fit a 44' motor home pulling a 20' boat onto my driveway, along with all my toys!  Tomorrow should be even better fishing with that frontal "high" system coming through, best get out there early though!

Here's a pic sent in on how to not dock your boat!  It apparently let loose (photo) from its mooring during that big storm we had come through here a couple days ago.  Oh well, one less wakeboard boat on the lake...................'nuff said.

July 10 2010  (0800-1130)

We had a "Harbercraft" convention on the lake today.  Bruce with his 2125, Kev with his 2025 and me with the little 1925!  We spent our morning at Annis Bay and for lack of better words we slaughtered the fish!  Kev led the pack, 9 Lakers to the boat and 1 small bow, biggest Laker hitting the 10-12 lb (photo) zone.  I was second with 4 Lakers and 2 bows to the boat, and Bruce brought up the rear with 2 Lakers. It was a mixed bag when it came to the hooks.  Blk/whi and Cop Car Apex's and blu/chrome Coyote and blu/yel Gator seemed to be the best, pulled in that 50-90' area.  There were tons of fish marking along the tracks again, just past the little cabin.  We did a quick lunch at Old Towne Bay and then called it a day, after Bruce and I tested out Kev's new boat!  Road test coming on that one for sure!  Good day guys, 1 week to the salmon!

July 6 2010 

Kevin, his wife Doree and his boss Mark (from Harbercraft) got out for a bit of an evening fish.  Fishing got good about 7:30 PM and they boated 5 Lakers like this (photo) one that Mark took.  Best hook was again the blk/whi Apex but this time in shallower water, 60'!  While out there they got buzzed by this (photo) idiot!  Its bad enough when they crash and kill themselves but at this height he's got no room for error, and that's when innocent people die.  Anyways, they had a great time out, thanks for the report Kev and glad to see you got Mark out of the office!