Area 5-15 Zone B - Moose - Quesnel Lake

Hmm I think Chris has many of the reasons for unpredictable water on this lake..

Years ago my cousin Buck and I were having a once in a lifetime fishing trip on the lake near the junction..2 pm.water was flat.then within minutes 10. The water was dancing straight up and down with white caps. Not rolling from the north just 2 foot dancing white caps. .very difficult in my 12 foot Lund.
The fishing can still be exceptional.I like lures that require a bit more speed to troll..apex...

Not all of that mu requires Quesnel lake access..
But that MU does have plenty of grizzlies..and still exceptional moose..for the Sept draw..back load your dates to the end of Sept.
Bring vinegar /water to wipe down the meat..lower PH..keep the meat from turning..
Srupp

Dang, I've spent some time on the water too but Quesnel Lake sounds like one of those geographic anomalies that is just NASTY.

I'm glad Srupp and Willy threw their knowledge out there.

I'm a pilot too, and a fair hand at boating, but I sure like hunting from a truck or just on a pair of boots. Nasty weather is uncomfortable in a well-established camp, it is terrifying in a boat or an airplane because place to hide are few and far between. You know what they say: "It is better be on land wishing you were in the sky or on the sea than in the sky or on the sea wishing you were on land.".

So Wed my wife and I were on Quesnel lake fishing. The boat usually does 28mph. The wind came up as we were leaving the mouth of the north arm and it knock the speed back to 22mph. As others have said it came out of no-where. Rough almost all the way back to Plato island then it flattened out to glass again.
Not sure if anyone has mentioned it yet but you need a back up motor(kicker) and a marine radio that is monitored on channel 6 for Quesnel lake. A hand held will do. Flares are a good investment too. Sat phone is nice if affordable.
Your plane have floats? Fly into the dock at the end of the north arm..... Actually their used to be a runway at the north arm camp.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by tigrr

So Wed my wife and I were on Quesnel lake fishing. The boat usually does 28mph. The wind came up as we were leaving the mouth of the north arm and it knock the speed back to 22mph. As others have said it came out of no-where. Rough almost all the way back to Plato island then it flattened out to glass again.
Not sure if anyone has mentioned it yet but you need a back up motor(kicker) and a marine radio that is monitored on channel 6 for Quesnel lake. A hand held will do. Flares are a good investment too. Sat phone is nice if affordable.
Your plane have floats? Fly into the dock at the end of the north arm..... Actually their used to be a runway at the north arm camp.

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No idea if they are usable at the moment, but both Penfold and the East Arm camp at Silvertip had airstrips.

I concur with Chris, Steven and the others who have lots of experience on Quesnel Lake on the cause and conditions frequently found, as I have hit all the same conditions. The topography, number of arms, orientation, side valleys all contribute to significant local influence on the weather conditions found, and the variability in different areas.

Also agree on why your hull choice isn’t good for the conditions you may face. The preferred hull choice is as deep a v hull as you can find and afford, with many being over 20’ long, and even that isn’t enough when it gets rough. Anything smaller, shallower hull and lower powered needs to heed conditions even more carefully and get off the water when it blows up, which isn’t really viable when travelling any distance, as the conditions vary so much across the lake at a given time.

But damn the fishing can be absolutely unbelievable. .fantastic..had a couple days like this..just something about being at 120 feet on a Scott downriver. .the line gets violently separated from the clip and the rod is bent over thrashing and line is disappearing at an alarming rate,
and this went on fish after fish after fish..I was shown by a older guy at the Rolins Roost..Ross Rolins
and in the meantime seeing moose, grizzly..even Cariboo. .wolves..it can be magic..
Cheers
Steven

Hi Mutineer,

Congrats on the draw, easy to get but harder to fulfill. My group of 4 has the same draw and we’re planning on being in there the last 10 days of the month. A lot of good info from the guys that have helped me in the past, this will be our 3rd time getting the draw, taken one bull from the last two trips. Listen to the warnings about the lake and g-bears, there are lots in there and the beaches and rivers will be filled with spawning salmon at that time. I agree with the general consensus that’s the wrong boat for the lake, we’re using a 17’ with a 90hp and i would’nt want to get smaller then that running the north arm. Alysia does have rentals but they’re not that big for when the lake kicks up, and it will, so even taking the rental all the way down to the mitchell would be iffy in my opinion. However, if the rental is an option i’d think about looking around the wasko lakes area accessed from the docks at the “coral” or hiking in up wasko creek, which is the first bay up from the junction, but not an easy hike by any means. It’s not that far up the north arm from alysia. That’s where we took the bull from the first year, but last year it was quite when we went in. It’s a long hike in there from the coral too, we’ve barged in quads each time to access the area. We’re not sure yet how we’re getting the quads in there this year though, so if anyone knows of a barge or something that can be rented to move a couple quads i’m interested. We’ll be doing some scouting and fishing up there at the end of the month and be deciding if were hunting in wasko lakes or all the way down into penfolds at the end of the north arm this year. As it seems we’ll be in the area at the same time we’ll keep in touch

AlBravo2: I'm more comfortable on the water, than in the air. Just have a basic PPL, share a Cherokee with a guy in Edmonton. I thought it would be useful for hunting, but its no super cub and the weather is often overcast during hunting season on the island. Do you do much flying these days?

Tigrr: unfortunately no floats and I don't think that will be in the cards for quite some time. I've been eyeing up that airstrip, but besides the fact that my plane has tricycle gear, I think my insurance won't cover me on any strips that are uncertified which means its just Quesnel lake airport which doesn't look very useful.

I've scrapped the inflatable plan, based on the feedback FYI. At this point I'm thinking I'll use a truck for some hunting from the road, and if there are one or two nice days I'll consider driving down to Elysia and doing a day trip or two, possibly Wasko. Try some calling, and maybe catch a fish or two.

Trks: Sounds good. I expect to make it up there on the 18th, possibly 19th. Should be able to stay up there until close unless I get really discouraged. Lets keep in touch for sure. I'm gonna try and pass through the area around the first of August so I get can an accurate mental picture and check some things out. Do you guys just have one tag?

Srupp: Thanks for all the pointers, I wrote everything down and put vinegar on my list.

The wealth of knowledge on this forum never ceases to amaze me, it is invaluable.. I hope everyone appreciates it and reciprocates when and however they can !


Op, you have got amazing advice and are in good hands.. I feel like there is a moose in your future if you get your boots on the ground. 2020 will be your year !