Brian Chan - BC Interior Field Editor
Brian has lived in the southern B.C. interior for the past 27 years. This area is known for its spectacular stillwater trout fishing, as well as being close to some of the province's best inland river fishing. When not managing trout fisheries for the provincial government, Brian is usually out fly fishing or writing about it.
BC Interior
August 2010 report for the Canadian Fly Fisher - by Brian Chan
July arrived with the heater on for much of the interior regions of the province. We are experiencing a good, old fashioned summer of hot, dry days. This comes after a very wet spring and start to summer. In fact, these early season rains provided enough water to more than make up for an only average snowpack. Many lakes filled for the first time in over 8 years. In particular, these renewed water levels have really helped out a number of quality fisheries that have been experiencing elevated pH levels. The dilution effect of more water in these lakes plus the flushing of water through the lakes will significantly improve trout survival for at the least the next several years.
Late summer can be a tough time on the interior trout lakes as water temperatures become very warm and thus impact trout activity levels. This year’s increased lake levels and flushing action has helped stave off the summer doldrums that we typically see by late July. We are still seeing decent chironomid emergences and August is always a good month for the very large "bomber” chironomids that typically emerge from well known fisheries such as Tunkwa, Leighton, Scuitto and Campbell lakes located near the city of Kamloops. Shoals or shallow water areas that get too warm during the day will become accessible to hungry trout at night, when cooler water support adequate concentrations of oxygen for big trout to feed on such food sources as leeches, dragonfly nymphs and scuds.
Large chironomid larvae and pupae emerge in many interior lakes during the hot days of July and August. Both life stages reach in excess of 20 mm in length
The prospects for fall fishing look great with the higher water levels found in many of our most productive and popular fishing lakes. Typically, by mid- September water temperatures start dropping which begins to stimulate trout feeding levels. As air and water temperatures continue to lower the fish come into shallower and shallower water to feed. Prime fall fishing occurs when surface temperatures dip below the 10° C mark. This is the time of the fishing season when floating lines and sinking leaders with or without strike indicators become extremely effective in catching some of the biggest fish in the lake.
A late-July, well-conditioned rainbow taken on a bomber chironomid pupa
Enjoy the rest of our summer and get ready for some great autumn action!
