Short Version (for those that just like photos): 5-1/2 days of hard fishing for wild rainbows (no triploids) in the Thompson-Nicola area of BC. 7 lakes fished. My boys and I brought 119 rainbows to net, 5 of them over 20", and kept 10 fish. Largest fish was 22" long, 13" girth, and weighed 5lb-3oz. Best flies were Chan's Stillwater Caddis Pupa, Halfback, Rotton Pumpkinhead, Semi-Seal Leech, and Red Spratley on sink-tip and intermediate lines. Primary food sources observed were caddis, scuds, and leeches. 10 second rule exercised on all fish released.
Full Report:
July 5th: Departed Tacoma early and arrived in camp by mid-afternoon. Hit the ground running with a few hours on "Favorite Lake" before and after dinner. Dad caught a 23" fish with 11" girth...he wasn't sure it was over 4lbs (about 50-50 chance), so he let it go since it was the first day...turns out that was his biggest fish of the trip and he regretted not getting a photo since it might have been the first wallfish (4lb+) of the season. Me and my younger son caught 11 including this beauty and lost one that was in the 4-5lb range.
July 6th: Fished "Favorite Lake" from dawn to dusk with breaks for breakfast and dinner. I got there for the beautiful sunrise and had some decent fishing with a leech under the indicator before breakfast. The breakfast to dinner session was outstanding and after dinner was just as good. This was a historically good day for me with 24 fish on that stingy lake including the 20" beauty that my oldest holds below and my football shaped 5lb-3oz beast that was the first "wallfish" of the year.
July 7th: Fished "Road Trip Lake" located the furthest away in the chain. This was our favorite lake for many years, but it had been a decade since I caught anything over 20" and I hadn't bothered making the trip out there since 2022. This session returned the lake to must-fish status. We caught and released the 19" football pictured below and a 21" length, 11.5" girth fish that I estimated at 3lb-12oz along with many other good-sized fish. We also saw two bears on the drive back to camp including the one pictured below who watched us from behind a stand of small aspen. This was the only day that we had wildfire smoke in the area and it made for a scenic backdrop with the terrain on "Favorite Lake" in the evening.
July 8th: This was a designated adventure day. I started with exploring "High-Water Lake" near the camp before breakfast where the beavers have been very active. Rob the camp operator has been keeping them busy with removing the dam every time it gets out of hand. There is also a lodge on the lake that was new last year and I went to the back of the lake to get a good look at it. The fish were also active that morning and I caught 3 in the 30 minutes I spent fishing. After breakfast we headed out to "Muddy Boat Launch" lake and caught 10 mid-sized fish by 1pm. Then we hiked 5 minutes through the trees to the back end of "Mountain Lake" where we met my brother and traded lakes. We caught another 10 fish on Mountain Lake where they were a little bit bigger on average and my youngest caught a 19" fish that was the biggest of the day.
July 9th: I fished Favorite Lake before breakfast and went 0 for 7 under the indicator...I'm still trying to dial in the early morning bite. My oldest and I went to a pair of lakes that are the only 2 in the chain that get stocked (diploid rainbows). We fished the deeper of the lakes first and had great success with many fish in the 16"-18" range. We then fished the shallow lake where I had experienced an epic chironomid hatch back in May...not so active this time with only 3 fish caught during lunch. My oldest also explored an island on the lake during lunch and found evidence of past campouts. We returned to the deeper lake and fished until about 2:30 netting 16 fish total. Then I dropped my son off at camp and ran out to Favorite Lake for happy hour. I was able to net another 9 quality rainbows in the 2 hours before dinner. We got the only rain of the trip that evening, but still managed a few more decent fish after dinner.
July 10th: Last day of fishing called for a full day on Favorite Lake. Unfortunately, it also happened to be the windiest day which makes for a challenge on a big lake. I managed 10 fish, but nothing over 16" between breakfast and dinner. The wind calmed down after dinner and I was able to bring in a few more rainbows including a 21" fish that I saved for our traditional family dinner. We packed up our gear at the lake for the final time and hiked back to camp where my fish weighed in at 3lb-11oz.
July 11th: Packed up and departed before 9am. Stopped for lunch at the food truck in Britton Creek. Back home in Tacoma a few minutes after 5pm and we enjoyed a grilled trout dinner to celebrate another great trip to Meadow Lakes.
Full Report:
July 5th: Departed Tacoma early and arrived in camp by mid-afternoon. Hit the ground running with a few hours on "Favorite Lake" before and after dinner. Dad caught a 23" fish with 11" girth...he wasn't sure it was over 4lbs (about 50-50 chance), so he let it go since it was the first day...turns out that was his biggest fish of the trip and he regretted not getting a photo since it might have been the first wallfish (4lb+) of the season. Me and my younger son caught 11 including this beauty and lost one that was in the 4-5lb range.
July 6th: Fished "Favorite Lake" from dawn to dusk with breaks for breakfast and dinner. I got there for the beautiful sunrise and had some decent fishing with a leech under the indicator before breakfast. The breakfast to dinner session was outstanding and after dinner was just as good. This was a historically good day for me with 24 fish on that stingy lake including the 20" beauty that my oldest holds below and my football shaped 5lb-3oz beast that was the first "wallfish" of the year.
July 7th: Fished "Road Trip Lake" located the furthest away in the chain. This was our favorite lake for many years, but it had been a decade since I caught anything over 20" and I hadn't bothered making the trip out there since 2022. This session returned the lake to must-fish status. We caught and released the 19" football pictured below and a 21" length, 11.5" girth fish that I estimated at 3lb-12oz along with many other good-sized fish. We also saw two bears on the drive back to camp including the one pictured below who watched us from behind a stand of small aspen. This was the only day that we had wildfire smoke in the area and it made for a scenic backdrop with the terrain on "Favorite Lake" in the evening.
July 8th: This was a designated adventure day. I started with exploring "High-Water Lake" near the camp before breakfast where the beavers have been very active. Rob the camp operator has been keeping them busy with removing the dam every time it gets out of hand. There is also a lodge on the lake that was new last year and I went to the back of the lake to get a good look at it. The fish were also active that morning and I caught 3 in the 30 minutes I spent fishing. After breakfast we headed out to "Muddy Boat Launch" lake and caught 10 mid-sized fish by 1pm. Then we hiked 5 minutes through the trees to the back end of "Mountain Lake" where we met my brother and traded lakes. We caught another 10 fish on Mountain Lake where they were a little bit bigger on average and my youngest caught a 19" fish that was the biggest of the day.
July 9th: I fished Favorite Lake before breakfast and went 0 for 7 under the indicator...I'm still trying to dial in the early morning bite. My oldest and I went to a pair of lakes that are the only 2 in the chain that get stocked (diploid rainbows). We fished the deeper of the lakes first and had great success with many fish in the 16"-18" range. We then fished the shallow lake where I had experienced an epic chironomid hatch back in May...not so active this time with only 3 fish caught during lunch. My oldest also explored an island on the lake during lunch and found evidence of past campouts. We returned to the deeper lake and fished until about 2:30 netting 16 fish total. Then I dropped my son off at camp and ran out to Favorite Lake for happy hour. I was able to net another 9 quality rainbows in the 2 hours before dinner. We got the only rain of the trip that evening, but still managed a few more decent fish after dinner.
July 10th: Last day of fishing called for a full day on Favorite Lake. Unfortunately, it also happened to be the windiest day which makes for a challenge on a big lake. I managed 10 fish, but nothing over 16" between breakfast and dinner. The wind calmed down after dinner and I was able to bring in a few more rainbows including a 21" fish that I saved for our traditional family dinner. We packed up our gear at the lake for the final time and hiked back to camp where my fish weighed in at 3lb-11oz.
July 11th: Packed up and departed before 9am. Stopped for lunch at the food truck in Britton Creek. Back home in Tacoma a few minutes after 5pm and we enjoyed a grilled trout dinner to celebrate another great trip to Meadow Lakes.
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