The Kamloops District--Kamloops as Headquarters--May Floods and
Fishing in Shuswap Lake--Silver-bodied Flies--Streams Running into
the Lake--The Eagle River--Advantages of a Steam Launch--A Big
Catch--Possibilities of the Prawn--A July Spectacle--Fishing at
Tranquille--Kamloops Lake--Savona's Ferry--Great Sport in
June--Dolly Varden Trout--A Fifteen-Pounder--Falling-off of Sport
when Salmon are Running--The "Salmon Fly"--Size of Catches on the
Thompson--August a Bad Month.
The Thompson district may be described for fishing purposes as beginning
at Sicamous junction and ending a little below Spence's Bridge,
including the Shuswap and Okanagan lakes, Kamloops, Nicola, and Mammit
lakes, and the mountain lakes in the neighbourhood, all of which are
more or less part of the Thompson watershed. Of this country the town of
Kamloops is the centre, situated at the junction of the north and south
branches of the river, and seven miles above Kamloops Lake, its name
meaning, in the Thompson language, "the meeting of the waters." By
virtue of its position it is an excellent headquarters for anyone
wishing to fish in the district, for by rail, stage, or horseback every
portion of it can be reached from there, and there are good stores to
outfit from, and good hotels--for British Columbia. Fishing in this
district cannot be said really to begin till May is well advanced. It is
when the snow begins to melt in earnest and the rivers and creeks come
down in flood that real sport commences, and this usually happens
towards the end of May. No sport can be obtained in the Thompson River
below Kamloops Lake at this time, as the water is discoloured by the
North Thompson flowing in at Kamloops, which makes fishing useless, and
it is only in the South Thompson and the Shuswap Lake that good sport
can be obtained.
As the rivers begin to come down in high flood the trout congregate at
the places where the streams flow into the Shuswap Lake, doubtless for
the food which is brought down, and after two or three hot days, when
these small mountain streams rise rapidly, fishing is always good. The
fish may be seen leaping and splashing in great numbers at the place
where the turbid waters of the stream mingle with the clear water of the
lake. Small fry are the object of their pursuit, and if a silver-bodied
fly is thrown over a moving fish he takes it with a rush almost without
fail. It is a most exciting form of fishing, for the fly must be thrown
quickly from a boat or canoe over the fish as he breaks the water in his
rush for the minnows, and if he fails to see it further casting is often
useless, till another fish repeats the same manoeuvre. It would seem as
if the trout were lying in wait till a small school of young salmon or
trout became entangled in the strong eddies of the stream, darting out
upon them when thus comparatively helpless. An occasional fish may be
got by casting here and there over the water, but it is only when the
trout are moving on the surface that really good sport can be obtained.
All the Shuswap mountain creeks and rivers during late May and in June
and July give opportunities for good fishing of this kind. The Eagle
River, about a quarter of a mile from Sicamous, is a good example; and
there are numerous other streams at various points in the Shuswap Lake
(some probably almost unknown) which can be fished at this time of the
year. I remember a bag of 80lb. of fish taken on the fly at the mouth of
Eagle River some few years ago in three hours' fishing; but it has not
been equalled lately, though there is no reason why it should not be, in
favourable circumstances. The time to look for is when the first flood
comes down the Eagle River after two or three hot days, and there must
not be any wind to speak of on the lake. The fish may be seen leaping,
from the hotel windows, and it is then that the fisherman must row his
fastest to the mouth of the river, and if they are still moving when he
gets there his success is assured. The best way to enjoy sport on the
Shuswap Lake is to hire a steam launch and cruise round to the mouths of
the various streams and try them in turn. Anasty Arm, Scotch, and Adam's
Creek are the best known. A canoe or boat must be taken to fish from,
and unless sleeping accommodation can be got on the boat, it is
necessary to camp on the shore. If a steam launch is beyond the
fisherman's means, the only other way is to hire a boat, with an Indian
or other guide, and carry a tent and provisions. Wood and water are
plentiful, and there is only one objection to the plan, that the
mosquito is often very numerous and troublesome on the Shuswap, and
Sicamous is by no means exempt. If, however, the sportsman can sleep on
a steam launch, this nuisance is got rid of, as it is only on the shore
that the mosquito is plentiful. No more pleasant or sporting trip could
well be undertaken than one in the Shuswap Lake from Sicamous in June,
with a suitable steamer or launch, for great fishing, both with fly and
troll, would be certain at the mouths of all the creeks and rivers; and
if a rifle were taken, bear, both black and grizzly, are by no means
uncommon.
There is also another place, hitherto little fished except by the
Indians, which is well worthy of a trial. It is in the centre of the
lake, where the four arms meet, a place well known to the men who log on
the lake. It takes the form of a channel less than half a mile wide,
connecting the four arms of the Shuswap Lake. Here in 1903, in early
August, two men camped, going up on a logging steamer from Kamloops.
They trolled across and across the channel, and caught in about ten days
some thirty large silver fish, the biggest being about 15lb. Many were
lost including one monster supposed to be about 25lb. The best day's
sport was about eight large fish. I do not know whether this place has
ever been fished since, but it certainly deserves a trial. At the mouths
of the various creeks I have never heard definitely of anything over
7lb. being caught but the fish are always in splendid condition and give
a great display of fight. The best flies are those with silver bodies,
such as the Silver Doctor, Silver Grey, and Wilkinson. A dead bait on an
archer spinner is very deadly, and the abylone spoon; a half-red spoon
is to be avoided, or a half-gold. A large species of char may be caught
by deep trolling with a weight and spoon; but it is a poor kind of
sport, and the fish is not game. The prawn has never been tried on the
Shuswap Lake; it might be worth a trial. Large trout have been taken on
the prawn in the coast rivers; but it is possible that they were
sea-trout and not rainbows.
The upper part of the South Thompson, for a mile or more after it leaves
the Shuswap, is good at the same time of the year in certain pools and
eddies, or riffles as they are called locally. I once, in early July,
saw a wonderful sight on this part of the river, at a place called
Sullivan's Pool. I was passing in a logging steamer on a very hot
morning, and in a back eddy which forms this pool, under a cut bank, the
water was alive with large trout chasing the small fry on the surface.
As each fish drove the little fish upwards a band of about thirty
mergansers attacked them from above. A curious and very lively scene was
the result, such as I have never seen before or since. On returning
about seven in the evening, at my request the steamer was tied up to the
bank, and I put out in a small boat with a boatman, though no fish were
stirring and the mergansers were sitting gorged in a row on the bank.
However, I hooked and landed at the first cast a beautiful 4-1/2lb.
rainbow, which was promptly cooked for dinner. If it had been possible
to fish the pool in the morning a great catch could have been made. At
this time of the year good fishing can be got at Tranquille, where the
river flows into Kamloops Lake and forms a slow-moving eddy. Fishing is
the same here as in the Shuswap; it is only good on hot, calm days, and
wind puts the fish down. It is best when the fish can be seen splashing
on the surface in the early morning or evening, when good catches of
fine fish may be made; but, as wind is by no means uncommon, it is not
always that circumstances are favourable.
Tranquille is seven miles from Kamloops, on the other side of the river,
and comfortable accommodation can be got at Mr. Fortune's ranch. It is a
beautiful place, but mosquitoes are not unknown. Here Capt. Drummond
landed a 12-1/2lb. fish on the fly, and a model cut out in wood was
preserved for a long time, but was burnt in a fire that took place there
some few years ago. This is the largest rainbow caught on the fly that I
have ever heard of. In May and June, before the fish will take the fly,
there is often fair sport to be had with the minnow and spoon in
Kamloops Lake; unless the north branch of the Thompson is in very high
flood and discolours the water too much. The north branch, which joins
the South Thompson at Kamloops, is no good for fishing; its waters are
seldom clear enough, and seem to be fed too much by glaciers, with no
large lake to clear and filter the water. There are several rivers of
the same type in British Columbia, and fishing does not seem to be good
in any of them. At the western end of Kamloops Lake the Thompson flows
out again to join the Fraser at Lytton; the stream is swift and strong,
running when in high flood at the rate of twelve miles an hour. In 1894
there was a very high water, and the stationmaster at Savona's wired to
Ashcroft, a distance of twenty-four miles, to say that the bridge had
just been carried away. A reply came giving the time of its arrival,
which was just two hours afterwards. The _debris_ swept away the
Ashcroft bridge and also the bridge at Lytton.
At Savona's the fishing of the Lower Thompson begins, and at this point,
about a mile from the mouth of the river, there is an excellent hotel,
kept by Mr. Adam Fergusson, one of the "old timers" of British Columbia,
who came into the country with many others in the early days of the gold
diggings on the Fraser River. This is really the only fishing hotel on
the upper mainland of British Columbia, and is an excellent
headquarters from which several lakes can be reached, as also many
places on each side of the Thompson River. This part of the Thompson
River affords good fishing from Savona's to below Spence's bridge,
wherever the water is accessible, and, though a little sport can be
obtained in the latter part of May, chiefly with spoon and minnow, it is
not usually till July that the river is in really good order, when the
excess of snow water has been carried off and the river begins to fall
and get clearer. The hot weather sets in at the beginning of June, and a
quick rise of the river is an immediate result. On a rising water the
trout will not take. Often there is a pronounced fall in the middle of
June, owing to cooler weather setting in, though this does not always
happen. When it does occur excellent fishing can be obtained. I remember
its happening in the middle of June, 1901, and for a week there was
tremendous sport; a trout rose to every cast of the fly; but as soon as
the water began to rise again everything was at an end.
At the end of May, before the water begins to rise, a fair number of
fish can be taken by spinning from the bank with spoon and minnow at the
mouth of the river. But these are another fish, called locally the Dolly
Varden trout, a species of char, a handsome fish with pink spots and
light pink flesh, and good eating. They take the fly later on
occasionally, and run from 3/4lb to 4lb., but are not so lively as the
rainbow, though they are a strong and game fish. I once took fifteen in
a day's fishing with the minnow, and they can also be caught by trolling
from a boat near the mouth of the river, the sport being varied by an
occasional rainbow, often of a larger size than those usually caught
with the fly. In May, 1903, a Dolly Varden of 15lb. was taken. It is a
curious fact that during the fly season in July very few of these fish
are ever taken, either on fly or spoon, or by trolling in the lake.
The fly-fishing season at Savona's really begins about the first of July
and lasts till the salmon first arrive in the beginning of August, when
fishing invariably falls off, probably owing to the fact that the trout
follow the salmon to their spawning beds to prey on the eggs; at least,
such is the local reason given. Whether this is true or not it is
impossible to say, but in any case the fact remains that about this time
fly fishing falls off for a few weeks coincident with the appearance of
the salmon, and generally is poor during the whole of August, at any
rate at Savona's. (It is often as good as ever lower down the river.) If
a grasshopper is used some fish may still be caught, especially if the
bait be allowed to sink. Later on, at the beginning of September, the
fish will again take the fly and continue to do so until the end of the
season, about the middle of October, while I have been told by an ardent
fisherman that he had excellent sport in November during a snowstorm,
regardless of the law of British Columbia. The excellence of sport in
July depends a good deal on the rise of the stone fly, or "salmon fly"
as it is locally called, and it is not until this fly makes its
appearance that fishing becomes really good.
This insect in appearance is the same as the English stone fly, but is
much more plentiful on the Thompson than I have ever seen it elsewhere;
in some seasons every bush on the bank is literally covered with the
flies, and later on the rocks are strewn with their dead bodies. A good
stone fly season is always a good fishing season, for the fish are
clearly very fond of them, and may often be seen sucking them into their
mouths as fast as they fall into the water, or jumping at them as they
dip down to the river's surface to lay their eggs. I have often seen the
salmon fly become suddenly very numerous about mid-day or an hour or so
before that, the hot sun hatching them out, and at once the trout are
on the move, readily taking a fly tied to imitate the natural one, and
continuing to do so as long as the living fly is on the water. At this
time the best hours for fishing are the middle ones of the day, however
hot and bright they may be, for in the earlier and later hours the fly
is not on the water. I have never found, as a rule, that very late or
very early hours are favourable on this river during this month, except
just at the place where the river leaves the lake, which is usually good
in the evening, especially after a very hot day. The best fly at this
time is one tied to resemble as nearly as possible the living salmon
fly; but if the natural fly is not on the water, others may be tried,
such as the Jock Scott, the Silver Doctor, Wilkinson, March Brown and
other well-known flies. Some local men swear by a claret body, others
prefer a yellow or green; but, whatever fly is used, I believe that it
should have plenty of hackle and body, and be of good size (Nos. 4 and
5); small flies are not advisable.
Great bags must not, as a rule, be expected on the Thompson; fifteen to
twenty good fish is an excellent bag on this river. Mr. F.J. Fulton, of
Kamloops, who has fished this river more than anyone else, has never
done better than twenty-four fish; but these twenty-four fish would be
48lb., and ought to include at least a couple of fish about 4lb. apiece.
On the Thompson the angler must carry his own fish, besides climbing up
and down some very steep banks under the glare of a northern sun, whose
heat is increased tenfold by the water and the bare rocks. Such a day's
fishing is no mean trial of endurance, while the fierceness of the
stream will generally account for a good percentage of lost fish. With
regard to the falling off of sport in August, it may be quite possible
that the salmon may really have nothing to do with the poorness of
fishing at this time, but that the real reason may be that the fish are
fat and gorged with the abundance of fly and grasshopper, and lie
lazily, deep in the pools. In other parts of British Columbia fishing is
poor at this time, and in waters the salmon cannot reach. And this
reasoning is rather borne out by the fact that towards the end of August
or beginning of September the fish begin to take again, though the
salmon are still running in vast numbers. One of the best catches I ever
saw taken from the Thompson (thirty-six fish) was got in early October,
and the trout rose up among the travelling masses of salmon and took the
fly.
Every part of the Thompson is fishable to below Spence's Bridge, over
forty miles from Savona's, and the fishing is often irregular, by which
is meant that when sport is good at Ashcroft it is not very good at
Savona's, and _vice versa_. I have known the fish to be entirely off at
the mouth of the river near Savona's, while good bags have been got a
few miles below. This will show that sport on this part of the Thompson
is somewhat variable; but still one point may be emphasised, namely,
that during the two months of July and August there is always good
fishing to be obtained at one point or another along the river, and all
can be easily reached from the Savona's Hotel. The southern bank is
followed by the main line of the Canadian Pacific Railway, and is
therefore easy of access; the northern bank can only be reached on foot
or on horseback, and is therefore not so much fished. To fish this bank
far down it would be necessary to seek hospitality for a night or two
from some rancher.