Cowichan Lake??

[Reel Knotty]

How's fishing in Cowichan Lake these days? Any tips? Thanks in advance!

 

[Lipripper]

Was at Shaw shore fishing a couple weeks back and hit a bunch of the usuals (10-14) on whatever fly I threw at them. Many tanks swam by but wouldnt take.
Fun day with the family none the less [8D]

 

[Kildonan]

Going to check it out within the next month or so myself. And there are some tanks in there, aren't there? I saw one in particular last Spring that would make your hair stand on end. Spooky as hell though, couldn't get him to bite.

 

[kngfsh7]

Yes, the strain of wild cutthroat that inhabit Cowichan (and the other large lakes on the island and mainland coast) are unique and do get to a good size. The biggest I've seen weighed was 7.5 lbs, but historically they have been recorded up to 12 and 14lbs. However, these fish are relatively scarce and take a long time to achieve that large a size. Given the kind of fishing pressure (and tactics) that the Cowichan cutthroat are subject to, I think it's amazing there are any fish left. It's nice to see fisheries in Nanaimo doing some work with the local F&G club to get some catch information. MoE needs to support biologists trying to do some real fisheries management with our precious wild stocks, as opposed to dumping millions of dollars into hatcheries and farm fish.

 

[KCW]

Used to fish cowichan lk. alot . Some of the big fish are steelhead (spring) and coho (fall). Spring salmon used to spawn in some of the creeks (shaw,robertson) i was told, but that was a long time ago.

 

[nitnat_junkie]

fishing here is not the greatest way to hot out and we need some rain

 

[Sea Ranger]

Going to Cowichan Lake middle of next month and was wondering where you would fish this lake at this time of year. I will be camped at the south end of the lake but don't mind running to the far end if thats where the fish will be. Normally I would run a plug 12 to 15 feet down on the downrigger and fish the creek mouths. I did that last year in November and really didn't do so well. I was using medium size spin casting gear but found it to always get line twist even when running swivels. So this year I bought a very small left handed fly reel and put in on a medium size spinning rod (that way it will fit in a rod holder where a fly rod won't). Just for fun I bought a small green hot spot flasher and I'm going to run a small Baitrex minnow and fish as if I was rigged for Salmon.
Will the cutthroats be out in the middle of the lake down deep this time of year or would I be better off fishing near the creek mouths? Any suggestions would be great as I don't do a lot of lake fishing. (Hence the Salmon set up) I was also thinking worm and gang troll but thats more for Rainbows and I'm going only for Cutts..... Thanks, Steve.

And remember....Keep your tip up!!!

 

[nitnat_junkie]

with this little bit of rain we have been having its just enough to get the creeks going, I would fish all those creeks at the heather end of the lake , Big shaw forsure and Nixon , trout will be hanging out at the mouths waiting for the salmon to drop there eggs, I usually troll the white tomics or gangtroll and flatfish, but have heard that those baitrix are effective , and with this cooler weather we have been having the fish should be coming up, Ive also had good luck trolling right in front of heather campsite there is a couple good little creeks in front there

 

[Sea Ranger]

Thanks NJ, I'll be sure to give the white plug a try.... I think I have a couple of them. How deep would you be trolling the plug at? 12 to 15 feet maybe even 20.

quote:with this cooler weather we have been having the fish should be coming up

No need to go much deeper I guess if the fish will be coming up this time of year.
I don't know if this would make a difference but would you rather run a bit of weight and fish 40 to 80 pulls behind the boat or would you rather be on the downrigger only 15 to 20 feet behind the boat.

And remember....Keep your tip up!!!

 

[nitnat_junkie]

I would try shallow and deep , I don't have riggers so I just run weight,i usually go about 30 to 40 pulls and troll right along the drop offs, bait fishing off shore has been good to

 

[Sea Ranger]

Power bait fished just off the bottom might also be a good bet but can cover a lot more ground trolling.

And remember....Keep your tip up!!!

 

[Whole in the Water]

Does anyone know anything about fishing the narrows between the large part of the lake and the Honeymoon Bay/Bear Lake end?

The fish are always moving looking for food you think that you could catch some trolling through there even though it is quite deep.

Anyone ever tried this with success?

Long live wild salmon!!!

 

[nitnat_junkie]

I have fished it a few times and had good luck, the opposite side of gordon bay campsite, there are apparently underground springs that come out of there, you can get in nice and tight in spots

 

[Whole in the Water]

Thanks for the info Nitnat. I have usually just fished the Honeymoon Bay end and that is getting boring so I am looking for a few other places to try other than the usual creek mouths, etc.

Long live wild salmon!!!

 

[alley cat]

Check the reef that runs off Goat Island .

AL

 

[highlights]

 

[Sea Ranger]

Thanks alley cat, I'll be sure to give there a try, also I'll be running plugs I think I run too slow for good action on the plugs. Whats the best speed to run 3 and 4 inch plugs when fishing for Cutts...... a little on the fast side? Another thing I'd like to try are some small Tom Mack spoons or Cripplied K in brass and chrome but sadly I don't get too many chances to fish Cowichan Lake so I'm not sure whats best gear wise or speed wise.

And remember....Keep your tip up!!!

 

[nitnat_junkie]

troll your plugs quick so there is lots of movement, and i would try the Krippled K in chrome behind a gangtroll had good luck with it on quamichan lake

 

[Sea Ranger]

Hey N_J thanks for the tip. Would you say about 18 inch leader with that spoon and would you tip it with a worm?

And remember....Keep your tip up!!!

 

[nitnat_junkie]

no problem ranger, I would just go straight Krippled K , I tried using a worm with it before but had no luck I think you loose alot of the action with the extra weight on there.