18' Boat - Lakes to Fish/Water Sports On Vancouver Island

[chriswh86]

Just woundering if there is still a lot of lakes on the island an 18' fiberglass boat can navigate with no underwater hazards to worry about?

Theres a lot of lakes around where i live, Northern end of the island, but i have no clue on there depths etc, is there somewhere i can find info on lake depths and such? I am worried about old stumps etc.

On top of doing water sports on vancouver island i want to try some fresh water fishing in an 18' boat aswell......


All info is appreciated!

 

[Cuba Libre]

Good place to start................. http://www.gofishbc.com/guides.htm
Just remember that BC Hhdro controlled lakes like Comox, Upper and lower Campbell etc are full of stumps and at low water can be nasty

 

[chriswh86]

Wow,

That is awesome information. Im guessing fish.depth finders will do a good job of discouvering stumps?

Theres just so many smaller lakes around here that im sure wont have info on them like the link up top. But it would be nice to find some information on them for depths and so on.

Chris,

 

[Cuba Libre]

Just remember that the smaller lakes are not suited to watersports and wakeboarding and skiing , While a sounder is very useful for finding fish structure, it wont do you a bit of good at wakeboard speeds.

But here is more data that will help steer you to fishing lakes and larger waterbodies that can handle more powerful boats without pissing off other recreational users.

http://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/fidq/bathyMapQuery.do#top

 

[chriswh86]

Hey thanks Cuba Libre,

Thats exactly what im looking for. For a lot of the these lakes, where can i find motor/boat restrictions? I see the first link you sent was good, most of those lakes are all electric motor though.

Also, can you clarify what Mean depth means?

Thanks again

 

[Cuba Libre]

Motor restrictions are in the Fresh Water fishing regulations--- they are online too. Mean depth is the average depth .. taking in to account seasonal ups and downs

 

[chriswh86]

Thanks Cuba, I see where you are talking about. Thanks. I do plan to just go out and have fun fishing, i am always worried what is under me though. I guess my best bet is to just get a depth/fishy finder and take it easy until i understand and know the lake...

 

[Bassblaster]

Grab a copy of the Vancouver Island Fishing Map Book. It has most of the lakes on the island shown in topographical format. At least you'll be aware in advance where the shallow areas are which is the areas most likely to have hazards. Stick to the deeper locations and you should be good.

 

[chriswh86]

Ive got the normal map book for VI, Fishing one sounds better. Does the fishing map book offer anything else other than a topographical format on the lakes?