Where to find Cutthroat in Cowichan Lake

[Sea Ranger]

Every year we make a trip up to Cowichan lake to try and catch some cutthroat trout and in the past have caught lots but there are years where I come back empty handed. We normally troll plugs at the creek mouths but in other lake I seem to get cutthroat using worm and gang trolls. What kind of rigs do other people use to catch cuttroat in Cowichan? Will I be wasting my time trying to use worm and gang trolls for cutties? Where else is a good spot to fish? the Narrows? trolling deep? Maybe down 30 or 40 feet out in the middle? Only there for the weekend and won't have a lot of time to run around looking for them. Like to get other peoples feedback cause I don't trout fish much .... maybe I should run baitrix and a flasher..... I don't know. Any help would be great..... Steve.

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

 

[adrianna3]

Go see Gord at Cowichan Fly & Tackle. He's up on the hot plugs, and where they're working best.

One guy I used to work with fished the lake about 40 or 50 days per year. He ran one rod right on top and the other at about 50 to 70 feet. He got a lot of fish on both rigs, year round.

 

[Little Hawk]

Haven't fished the Cowichan much but I do know that when Cutties' and Rainbows occupy the same waters the Cutthroat will come to dominate the inshore fishery, pushing the Rainbows out into deeper waters. Least that's what I was told.

Three or four years back I trolled (downriggers) some different coloured Apex patterns back & forth in front of Pine Pt. and the old Mill site. It wasn't till I went out deeper - fishing in 4 or 5-hundred ft of water - that I finally nailed one at about 20/fathoms.

Nearly 3-lb Cutty with strange (freaky) lesions all over it.
Old mill-effluent? Don't know.

Love that lake!

"Some could care less if there's any fish left for our kids!"

 

[Lipripper]

quote:Originally posted by Little Hawk


Nearly 3-lb Cutty with strange (freaky) lesions all over it.
Old mill-effluent? Don't know.

Lampreys

 

[bigsbee]

Sea Ranger, troll your plugs with 100-150 ft. of line out and use no weight or downrigger this time of year as the cutthroat will be in the top 10 ft of water. Go at a fast troll. In front of the Honeymoon Bay campsite is good as the creeks are running and Goat Island although fished lots can be productive.

 

[Sea Ranger]

Thanks guys, this is all good info. I think I might be trolling a bit too slow. Normally use the downrigger but I like the idea of getting the plug away from the boat. Didn't think the fish would be down 20 fathoms(120 ft.) but I guess you can find them at lots of different depths. I like to try fishing with lots of different lures so I will let you know how I made out, will be back after the long weekend in the middle of November.

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

 

[Little Hawk]

There are Lampreys in the Cowichan?

"Some could care less if there's any fish left for our kids!"

 

[Lipripper]

Thats how I spot the cutty's in the creek mouths. The trout are hard to see unless they have a lamprey stuck to their side []
And yeah there are lots of them

 

[highlights]

The Lamprey is a protected species in both Cowichan and Mesachie lake. The specific strain is the only known population on earth.




For cutthroat at any time of the year pull plugs either at the river mouths shallow ( top ten feet ) or off the marl ledges down to 70'

Plugs can vary successfully from 2"- 6" with my favourite being the 4". Standard trolling rigs work with either a flasher or without.

Good luck

 

[Little Hawk]

Highlights: what's a "...marl ledge"?

"Some could care less if there's any fish left for our kids!"

 

[Little Hawk]

Highlights: what's a "...marl ledge"?

"Some could care less if there's any fish left for our kids!"

 

[browneye]

Try between bear lake and cowichan. You should not have any problems hooking fish there. Make sure it is open. 15 ft.

 

[browneye]

Try between bear lake and cowichan. You should not have any problems hooking fish there. Make sure it is open. 15 ft.

 

[highlights]

Marl or marlstone is a calcium carbonate or lime-rich mud or mudstone which contains variable amounts of clays and aragonite. Marl was originally an old term loosely applied to a variety of materials, most of which occur as loose, earthy deposits consisting chiefly of an intimate mixture of clay and calcium carbonate, formed under freshwater conditions; specifically an earthy substance containing 35-65% clay and 65-35% carbonate.[1] The term is today often used to describe indurated marine deposits and lacustrine (lake) sediments which more accurately should be named marlstone. Marlstone is an indurated rock of about the same composition as marl, more correctly called an earthy or impure argillaceous limestone. It has a blocky subconchoidal fracture, and is less fissile than shale

 

[highlights]

Marl or marlstone is a calcium carbonate or lime-rich mud or mudstone which contains variable amounts of clays and aragonite. Marl was originally an old term loosely applied to a variety of materials, most of which occur as loose, earthy deposits consisting chiefly of an intimate mixture of clay and calcium carbonate, formed under freshwater conditions; specifically an earthy substance containing 35-65% clay and 65-35% carbonate.[1] The term is today often used to describe indurated marine deposits and lacustrine (lake) sediments which more accurately should be named marlstone. Marlstone is an indurated rock of about the same composition as marl, more correctly called an earthy or impure argillaceous limestone. It has a blocky subconchoidal fracture, and is less fissile than shale

 

[Little Hawk]

OMG! Now I'm really messed up. Thanks Dude!

"Some could care less if there's any fish left for our kids!"

 

[Little Hawk]

OMG! Now I'm really messed up. Thanks Dude!

"Some could care less if there's any fish left for our kids!"

 

[Sea Ranger]

quote:Originally posted by highlights

Marl or marlstone is a calcium carbonate or lime-rich mud or mudstone which contains variable amounts of clays and aragonite. Marl was originally an old term loosely applied to a variety of materials, most of which occur as loose, earthy deposits consisting chiefly of an intimate mixture of clay and calcium carbonate, formed under freshwater conditions; specifically an earthy substance containing 35-65% clay and 65-35% carbonate.[1] The term is today often used to describe indurated marine deposits and lacustrine (lake) sediments which more accurately should be named marlstone. Marlstone is an indurated rock of about the same composition as marl, more correctly called an earthy or impure argillaceous limestone. It has a blocky subconchoidal fracture, and is less fissile than shale

Thanks Highlights, I think I followed most of that.... Where exactly would I find this place?

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

 

[Sea Ranger]

quote:Originally posted by highlights

Marl or marlstone is a calcium carbonate or lime-rich mud or mudstone which contains variable amounts of clays and aragonite. Marl was originally an old term loosely applied to a variety of materials, most of which occur as loose, earthy deposits consisting chiefly of an intimate mixture of clay and calcium carbonate, formed under freshwater conditions; specifically an earthy substance containing 35-65% clay and 65-35% carbonate.[1] The term is today often used to describe indurated marine deposits and lacustrine (lake) sediments which more accurately should be named marlstone. Marlstone is an indurated rock of about the same composition as marl, more correctly called an earthy or impure argillaceous limestone. It has a blocky subconchoidal fracture, and is less fissile than shale

Thanks Highlights, I think I followed most of that.... Where exactly would I find this place?

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

 

[highlights]

I definitely have my favourites that are consistent producers, however those are proprietary. LOLOL

Put on a pair of grey polarized sunglasses ( on a bright day ) and look for whitish looking banks tapering off into the dark emerald depths of the lake. You will see these shoals in areas that are not neccesarily at the base of rocky outcroppings or steep cliff like areas. Drop offs along the shorelines and at river mouths are fine but marl banks are the ticket for consistently catching fish in these types of lakes. Fish at the depth where the white clay blends with the emeral green water. These areas are fish magnets!