Okanagan highway threatens worlds richest trout stream
- Thread starter Rockfish
- Start date
Englishman
Well-Known Member
Article brought back memories of fishing Pennask about 10 years ago. It is correct in that you have to get in over a very rough 4x4 track to the Park campsite (no facilities). Very unusual for a Provincial Park and I am sure it is kept that way deliberately. (On the far side of the lake is the famous abut exclusive Pennask Lake Game Fishing club lodge which is a fascinating story in itself). We met some Americans in the Park who incredibly towed in a small boat on a trailer. They said they had been coming to the lake for nearly 20 years. We tried the fishing and it certainly was amazing. We trolled and cast flies to fish that were constantly jumping and swirling everywhere - non-stop. As stated in the article, the fish we caught were not large. Averaged about a 1lb, but there were amazing numbers of them. I believe they were small not because of the lack of productivity but because of the vast trout population. The lake teemed with bug life, fly hatches and leeches which is why the trout were so visible all the time. But all that food had to be shared among a lot of fish and I guess the season is short because the lake is at around 4000'.
Anyway the story is yet another about the unintended consequences of development and how there is always a price to pay that is beyond $$. So sad to damage or lose such a precious resource.....
Anyway the story is yet another about the unintended consequences of development and how there is always a price to pay that is beyond $$. So sad to damage or lose such a precious resource.....
Jencourt
Well-Known Member
Article brought back memories of fishing Pennask about 10 years ago. It is correct in that you have to get in over a very rough 4x4 track to the Park campsite (no facilities). Very unusual for a Provincial Park and I am sure it is kept that way deliberately. (On the far side of the lake is the famous abut exclusive Pennask Lake Game Fishing club lodge which is a fascinating story in itself). We met some Americans in the Park who incredibly towed in a small boat on a trailer. They said they had been coming to the lake for nearly 20 years. We tried the fishing and it certainly was amazing. We trolled and cast flies to fish that were constantly jumping and swirling everywhere - non-stop. As stated in the article, the fish we caught were not large. Averaged about a 1lb, but there were amazing numbers of them. I believe they were small not because of the lack of productivity but because of the vast trout population. The lake teemed with bug life, fly hatches and leeches which is why the trout were so visible all the time. But all that food had to be shared among a lot of fish and I guess the season is short because the lake is at around 4000'.
Anyway the story is yet another about the unintended consequences of development and how there is always a price to pay that is beyond $$. So sad to damage or lose such a precious resource.....
Yup fished that lake for many years. Going back to long before the connector (97c) was put in. That road has been the same for all of them. Bin down it in everything including my old Pinto wagon. That 7 k takes as long as getting to it from Westbank. Was back about 4 years ago. Fishing was still awesome by any standard but nothing like the 100 plus fish days from before a few years back. There are out houses up the bank across from the launch.
Anyway: I sure hope they keep working toward protecting that system. Many a lake would be hurting without it and not to mention those little Pennask trout pull bigger than there size. Side note is I used that system for all those years and sadly this is the first I heard of this problem. Goes to show the users and lovers of these resources need to get educated in order to protect them.
Similar threads
