which is the best large lake in bc?

[ROEBUCK]

planning a fishing trip in the spring.whats the best big lake for fishing in bc? babine ,stuart,shuswap or maybe atlin! whats your favorite?

[BCRiverBoater]

Williston Lake is a big as they get and excellent fishing for those that know where to go to and where to fish for the different species. I have not personally fished there in about 12+ years but I know the guys at the Yacht Club still catch a ton of fish.

The lake is very big and can be very dangerous in bad weather so most regulars have large fishing boats but lots of river boaters do go for shorter trips. You just have to be prepared for staying put in the bays for hours or days until the storms pass.

The lake has everything. Rainbow, Dolly, Grayling, Lakers, Whitefish, Kokanee and the list goes on.

[7mag700]

Tough call - grew up fishing Babine and love it, but have also caught monster fish, especially char, on Stuart. Hard to go wrong on either!

I highly recommend Tukii Lodge at Smithers Landing on Babine though. The owners are awesome people, and good hunting guides too. The lodge at the far end of Stuart was great when it was owned by Star Shipping too, but it's changed hands now and I've heard it's gone downhill.

If you do end up at Smithers Landing, head out to McKendrick Island and fish from there to Old Fort and back in about 25' to 40' of water. Great Rainbow country along there.

This is making me nostalgic, I need to get back out there one day soon :grin:

Have fun!

7m7

[scallywag]

it has been awhile but i used to love fish kootenay lake around balford and upper arrow has always produed. I had one of the best fish exiperences on duncan lake north of kootenay.

[Thor Rider 88]

upper arrow lake is awesome to fish, tons of fish there

[ianwuzhere]

i second babine lake- especially in the fall when the sockeye are running. Many bays and inlets to go into. this past summer i tried jigging for lakers and did quite well. only ever fished the north end near granisle. i cant wait till the fly rods and gear comes out of its place...

[warren0427]

you cant beat atlin, fishing is beyond belief and the scenery is second to none, plus the lakes in the area are very goood.

[thunderheart]

i second babine lake- especially in the fall when the sockeye are running.

i may have misunderstood ...so you say you were catching soceye .. they were not red devils by then? i understood they quit eating once they reached fresh water ... i have little experience with them once they leave the salt chuck .. i commercial fished for yrs

wayne

[Stone Sheep Steve]

i may have misunderstood ...so you say you were catching soceye .. they were not red devils by then? i understood they quit eating once they reached fresh water ... i have little experience with them once they leave the salt chuck .. i commercial fished for yrs

wayne

Usually when the sockeye show up the other fisheries pick up....rainbows, char and whatever other species feed on sockeye eggs or flesh8).

SSS

[thunderheart]

SSS .. thank you for the info ....makes sense ..

[jml11]

i may have misunderstood ...so you say you were catching soceye .. they were not red devils by then? i understood they quit eating once they reached fresh water ... i have little experience with them once they leave the salt chuck .. i commercial fished for yrs

wayne

You would expect them to be boots by the time they reach the interior; however, the early runs, at least those into the stuart/nechako, have some fairly clean fish. I'll see if I can find a photo of some of the sockeye we've seen taken by the first nations at the Nautley River in August that shows this. Once they hit the spawning grounds they are 'red devils' as you say.

[ianwuzhere]

ya the early run sockeyes can be very clean. later in the season they turn of course-but only problem is when the fishin is good you can expect many boats. we caught and kept quite a few this summer all in great shape, but was over 80 boats in the area we were fishing...im sure youve heard about "rainbow alley" as well...but is best in the late summer/fall...

[ianwuzhere]

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r141/ianwuzherephotos/009-4.jpg Jigging for lakers was fun. sorry no pix of the sockeye. In the summer babine can be super calm -spring can by pretty windy i think. When were were there it was 30c in sept=almost too hot. we caught quite a few lakers, no burbot, think 1 small trout, but were mostly targeting lakers and sockeye. biggest laker buddy caught was around 10 pounds, no lunkers that trip...This laker i caught i think was my biggest that rip at around 6-7pound..Heres a few pix:

[ianwuzhere]

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r141/ianwuzherephotos/004-3.jpg

[ianwuzhere]

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r141/ianwuzherephotos/023.jpg

[ianwuzhere]

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r141/ianwuzherephotos/015.jpg

[Sasquatch]

My favorite big lakes are Quesnel and Babine. I've had great luck both places when the weather cooperated.

Quesnel Lake is closer, but Babine has Rainbow Alley.

[ianwuzhere]

my fav lake for large rainbow, where my largest came out of is Eutsuk lake-if ever get a chance to get into that lake, the rainbow fishing can be unreal...

[jml11]

You would expect them to be boots by the time they reach the interior; however, the early runs, at least those into the stuart/nechako, have some fairly clean fish. I'll see if I can find a photo of some of the sockeye we've seen taken by the first nations at the Nautley River in August that shows this. Once they hit the spawning grounds they are 'red devils' as you say.

Not trying to hijack just following up on my earlier post.

Nautley River Sockeye From August First Nations Fishery


http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/Photo_8_Adult_Sockeye.JPG (http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=12911)

[codykarey]

I will second Stuart Lake. Mustsay I'm a little bias though, I gre up in Fort St. James and spent a ton of time on the lake. I have famiy members who have caught Rainbow over 15 pounds there. When you know where to fish, the rainbow fishing can be steady with fish in the 2 pound range. Drag a big-assed shiny ruby set or something around at give or take 35 to 40 feet in the right places and there is some pretty awesome Laker fishing to be had. One trip the old man and I caught 3 over 10lbs, the biggest being about 12 1/2. And the country at the north end of the lake is pretty amazing.

CHEERS

[codykarey]

PS, where is Takla on this list?

[Camp Cook]

There are so many good lakes in BC and most have awesome fishing my preference is for remote areas where my group are the only people I see all day.

So I will second Williston Lake there is awesome Bull Trout fishing there and Kokanee has now been introduced to the lake and they are thriving there.

In the early fall the rivers where they were released and even rivers that they found and decided to spawn in are filled with thousands of these beautiful red fish quite the sight to see.

The Omineca/Osilinka and Messilinka Rivers were teaming with them I actually spotted them in the Messilinka before Fisheries found them... :D

[ianwuzhere]

nice lookin sockeye jml, sure are good on the bbq.

[winbuckhunter]

Okanagan lake!! fished it my whole life.. some cranker rainbows to be caught for sure... can sit and jug for those tastey burbot too.. mmmmmmm....

a nice one from okanagan http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/medium/dad_12_lbs_and_4_lbs.JPG