STUMP LAKE
fishing reports
Stump Lake is producing kokanee in the one to two pound range as well as some big rainbow trout. Read more about Stump Lake
REPORTS FROM READERS
October 23, 2024
I met Don and Laurie out on the water when I was at Stump Lake on the 23rd. Glad to see you hooked into some beauties- thank you for sharing your fishing report!
Don and Laurie write: "Just read your fishing report for Oct 23, we were the 2 old guys you bumped into at the end of day. Really appreciate the lures, bait and tips - worked well! We ended up landing 4 nice ones just under 2 lbs, lost one and released one. Rainbow was just shy of 3 lbs. We fished where you mentioned and they were a bit tough to see on the finder, so I tried using the side-scan mode and worked much better (maybe due to them not holding too deep). Chilly start to the day but nice to get some afternoon sun and flat water! Appreciate all the great info on your site and your open promotion of the sport. I have purchased some gear off your site before, prices are very good and the gear is well targeted for this area."
Thanks for the report, Don and Laurie! I'm always happy to help a fellow fisher out on the water. Hope you enjoy those nice chrome fish.
October 23, 2024
Today was the final outing for the boat before winter storage. Fortunately, Stump Lake was calm, but it was also quite chilly—I had to remove some ice from the back of the boat before heading out. I arrived around 9:30 a.m. and set off north from the highway launch to a spot where I had success earlier this month.
I equipped my rods with a chrome slim swing tail dodger and a gold wiggle hoochie on the first rod, and a pink holo bendable dodger with a pink wiggle hoochie on the second.
When I arrived at my target location, I began marking fish in the 15 to 25 foot range. I put my gear down to 20 feet with a 75 foot setback and set the bow mount to 1.2 mph. It was a little slow to begin with but finally a nice kokanee took the gold wiggle hoochie. I reset my line and reeled in the second rod to swap out the pink wiggle hoochie for a pink Chrome's single spinner tipped with pink scented shoepeg and Berkley's synthetic maggots.
Shortly after getting the spinner down it enticed kokanee number two! I then changed out the gold wiggle hoochie for a pink Chrome's double spinner. Once I was running spinners with bait the action picked up! Over the next hour I caught four more kokanee and got a few more bites on the spinners. I was able to release one of them, a small 7 incher.
While on the water, I chatted with a couple fellow kokanee anglers who hadn’t had any luck yet. I hooked them up with a couple Chrome’s single spinners and some shoepeg corn. I hope you guys managed to catch some!
Throughout the morning I tried a few different depths and trolling speeds. Twenty feet deep at 1.2 mph seemed best. When I was loading up my boat I casted some floating power bait in so that it was 2.5 feet off the bottom and put the rod into a shore holder. Twice I had to run over to the rod while I was packing up. I landed two nice rainbows, one about 3.5 pounds and the other 4.5 pounds! It was a great way to end the day!
the Strategy
rod one: A slim swing tail dodger with 14 inches of leader to a Chrome's pink single spinner
rod two: A pink holo bendable dodger with 14 inches of leader to a Chrome's pink double spinner
The bait: pink scented shoe peg and pink Berkley sythetic maggots
THE CATCH
It was all about the Chrome's pink spinners today and shoepeg corn.
kokanee: 5
rainbows: 2
PHOTO GALLERY
click to enlarge
October 3, 2024
Finally! After a long break from kokanee fishing due to a hand injury, I finally felt recovered enough to get back out on the water. How I've missed it!
I had a hunch that the fishing would still be solid for some chrome kokanee at Stump Lake, especially since most of the adult fish there are triploids—and I was right!
When I arrived I made my way directly from the highway launch and began scanning for signs of fish on the Garmin. After five minutes without a single mark, I decided to venture out to a spot where I’ve been landing plenty of kokanee this year.
I began marking the occasional fish at around 20 feet. I trolled in a northward direction, equipping my rods with slim swing tail dodgers—one with an orange wiggle hoochie and the other with a pink wiggle hoochie. I set the pink hoochie to 22 feet and the orange to 5 feet, hoping that the sparse marks were simply due to the fish being near the surface. I got my first bite on the pink wiggle hoochie about 15 minutes later, but it was just that—a bite.
It was pretty slow going and nothing was happing on the surface rod so I put it down to 20 feet as well. I had trolled a fair way down the lake when I finally started marking more fish in the 20 to 30 foot range. Shortly after marking the fish I caught a nice kokanee on the orange wiggle hoochie. I decided to stay in this general area, but I was only marking lots of fish and not landing any.
I switched out the pink wiggle hoochie for a gold one, which proved to be a smart move. Just five minutes after sending it down, I caught another beautiful kokanee, followed closely by a nice rainbow!
Since the gold hoochie was working so well, I switched out the orange hoochie on my second rod for a gold one. As I was putting the line out I hooked another kokanee on the first rod. With both rods now running gold wiggle hoochies, the action picked up considerably. I kept the rods at 22 feet and quickly filled my limit of kokanee, also catching and releasing three more rainbows along the way.
One of the kokanees I caught today had a very yellow tinted belly and yellow fins, as seen in the photo gallery. I’ve never seen one like that before. If you have any insights on why this might be, send me a message!
It seemed like the fish were concentrated in a relatively small area today. The spot where I was catching them can be found in the photo gallery. I was using a 75-foot setback and trolling at speeds between 1.2 and 1.4 MPH
the Strategy
rod one: A slim swing tail dodger with 14 inches of leader to a Chrome's gold wiggle hoochie
rod two: Same as rod one
THE CATCH
Another great day for the gold wiggle hoochie!
kokanee: 5
rainbows: 4
PHOTO GALLERY
click to enlarge
August 20, 2024
I have been looking forward to getting back out on Stump Lake, and today a friend was able to join me!
We got a bit of a late start but we were determined to find some kokanee anyways. When we arrived the first thing I noticed was that the spot that had been producing for me had the most boats close to it, and the water clarity was not as good as my last time out.
We first scanned an area that had produced for me in the past but there were very few marks, so we headed over to the same spot I was catching last time. We were marking quite a few fish in the 30 to 45 foot range. After a quick tutorial on the electric downrigger my friend got his line down to 35 feet using a custom bendable dodger and a pink wiggle hoochie. I geared up with a slim swing tail dodger and an orange wiggle hoochie.
It didn't take too long to get our first kokanee on the orange wiggle hoochie, a small 10 inch kokanee. I was unable to release this fish so it went into the cooler on ice. The second fish (a better-sized fish) also came in on my orange wiggle hoochie. My friend, not to be outdone, changed to an orange wiggle hoochie and over the next 30 minutes he put two much bigger kokanee in the boat. The fishing was pretty steady from about 9:45 a.m. until 10:45 a.m., and then there was a long lull in the action. I tried a gold wiggle hoochie but that didn't seem to work. I then switched a Chrome's double spinner with shoepeg and managed to bring in a kokanee at around 11:45, and my friend got another good one on the orange hoochie. I had one more on the hook that I lost by the boat which was good because it was another 10 incher. At 12:30 p.m. we pulled up the gear and headed for home.
Today we were using 15 to 25 foot setbacks and fishing around 35 feet in the same spot I had so much success last time (see the previous report). The usual 1.2 to 1.4 MPH seemed to work well. We also had a handful of bites between catches.
It was a good day! A total of six kokanee caught between the two of us, a few lost and a few bites in 2 hours and 45 minutes. The orange wiggle hoochie was getting it done again today.
the Strategy
rod one: A slim swing tail dodger with 14 inches of leader to a Chrome's orange wiggle hoochie
rod two: A 4.5 inch bendable dodger with 14 inches of leader to a Chrome's pink wiggle hoochie
THE CATCH
Another great day for the orange wiggle hoochie!
kokanee: 6
rainbows: 0
PHOTO GALLERY
click to enlarge
August 6, 2024
The kokanee fishing at Stump Lake has been nothing short of awesome as of late and today was no different.
I arrived at Stump Lake at around 8:30 a.m. and headed over a little north of the highway launch. I was just south of where I was my last time out.
When I turned the fish finder on there were big schools right below me at about 45 feet. My first rod was set up with a 4.5 inch Chromes bendable dodger with an orange wiggle hoochie, and the other rod with a custom slim swing tail dodger and a pink wiggle hoochie. (See gear in the photo gallery.)
I put the gear down to 45 feet and was trolling by about 9 a.m. It was only a matter of minutes before I got into the first kokanee of the day on the orange wiggle hoochie. Shortly after resetting, the orange wiggle hoochie caught kokanee number 2. While I was reeling it in the pink wiggle hoochie also got a hit.
As I trolled north the marks seemed to become less so I doubled back. I changed out the pink wiggle hoochie for a pink and purple hoochie. Almost immediately after getting down to 45 feet I got a bite on the pink and purple, followed by a few more. Something didn't seem right- there were too many small bites without getting the fish hooked. I reeled it up and sure enough, a tiny 5 inch kokanee was on the end. Luckily I was able to set it free while keeping it in the water and it took off quickly. I put the pink and purple wiggle hoochie back down and again was getting tiny, barely noticeable tugs every so often. I reeled it in again and this time I had a tiny 5 inch rainbow trout on the end. I was able to release it as well without taking it out of the water. I took the pink and purple hoochie off because it seemed to attract the tiny fish and put the pink wiggle hoochie back on.
As I neared the location where I had started fishing I got kokanee number 3 on the pink wiggle hoochie and before I could get the gear back down kokanee number 4 took the orange wiggle hoochie. With how busy it was, I decided I would run only one rod for my limit fish. I put away the orange hoochie and ran just the pink one. It didn't take too long to finish up the limit but not before losing a nice one by the boat. All five kokanee were caught in less than an hour!
All the action today was from 40 to 50 feet deep, and a slow troll worked best. Many times the inside rod was getting action while turning. I was fishing just south of where I fished last time and a little closer to the middle. Some of the fish in the lake are just starting to show their spawning colours, but all the ones I caught today were chrome. It may have been a coincidence, but the orange wiggle hoochie caught the three biggest fish while the pink caught the 4th and 5th largest and the pink and purple caught those two tiny little fish that I released.
the Strategy
rod one: A slim swing tail dodger with 14 inches of leader to a Chrome's pink wiggle hoochie
rod two: A 4.5 inch bendable dodger with 14 inches of leader to a Chrome's orange wiggle hoochie
THE CATCH
A quick limit today and released two tiny 5 inchers.
kokanee: 6
rainbows: 1
PHOTO GALLERY
click to enlarge
July 23, 2024
I found myself with another day off work today and decided to make the best of it! I was finally able to co-ordinate with a friend who I have been trying to take fishing for some time now.
We arrived at Stump Lake at about 7:40 a.m. and were at the fishing grounds right around 8 a.m.
The fishing ground that we chose was the same place I had done well my last time out. See the overhead picture of Stump Lake below to see the precise location (circled in green) where we were marking lots of fish and catching lots too!
I had my rods rigged up with Chrome's slim swing tail custom dodgers with 14 inches of leader to pink wiggle hoochies (set-ups can be seen in the photo gallery). These hoochies were on fire!
We got into our first kokanee of the day within minutes, at about 40 feet deep. It was smaller than the ones I had caught previously at Stump, and proved be the smallest of the day, but still a nice clean 1lb kokanee. Moments later we caught another, this time much bigger.
We trolled a little ways north but it proved to be a little slower out that direction, and we went 30 minutes with only one bite. As we returned to our starting location we got right back into them, pulling two more kokanee into the boat one right after the other with no time to reset rods in between. We stayed close to this area and the rods just kept going off! By 9:50 a.m. we had our 10 kokanee in the boat! We landed 10 of 11 fish that we had on, one of the better landing ratios I have had!
We were marking lots of fish from 30 to 50 feet today. We trolled from 1.2 to 1.5 MPH and got hits at all speeds. Our depth was 35 to 45 feet with most of the fish hitting at 45 feet, even though we were seeing more marks at 35 feet. The fish size ranged from 1 pound to 2.6 pounds.
Many anglers find the kokanee out of Stump Lake to be muddy tasting this time of year. I found they tasted amazing and were some of the most mild tasting kokanee I have caught this year.
the Strategy
rod one: A slim swing tail dodger with 14 inches of leader to a Chrome's pink wiggle hoochie
rod two: A slim swing tail dodger with 14 inches of leader to a Chrome's pink wiggle hoochie
THE CATCH
Two limits in 1hour and 50 minutes! What a great day!
kokanee: 10
rainbows: 0
PHOTO GALLERY
click to enlarge
July 19, 2024
I got home from work in the early a.m. and my boat looked so lonely in the driveway I figured I'd better just hook it up and head out fishing. It doesn't take much to twist my rubber arm.
I arrived at Stump Lake at 8 a.m. and there were 8 boats out in the deepest part of the lake in front of the highway launch. I watched them as I was getting the boat unloaded but wasn't seeing anyone go for their net.
I also saw two boats a little to the north where I had done well last time I was out, but I opted for the less busy area and was rewarded!
I first went out towards the busier area just to scan the water for marks. There were a few marks at 25 feet but not many. I then headed north to the location I wanted to fish. Here there were far more fish marking. Some at 25 to 30 feet, but most were at 45 to 50 feet.
I set up with my slim swing tail dodgers and wiggle hoochies- one gold and one pink.
I sent the gear down to 45 feet and within seconds I got a bite on the pink wiggle hoochie. A short while later I landed a nice kokanee and lost another, both on the pink wiggle hoochie. I decided it was time to change up the gold hoochie and put on a pink Chrome's double spinner tipped with scented shoepeg corn. I managed to get one bite on it, but not before catching another on the pink wiggle hoochie along with two more bites. The next thing I tried was a pink and purple spinner hoochie but with no success. Finally I broke down and geared up both rods with pink wiggle hoochies. The next 45 minutes were busy: I caught three and lost three. A couple of times I was netting a fish as the other rod was bouncing.
I trolled at 1.2 mph, and because I was fishing fairly deep (45 to 50 feet) I used a short 25 foot set back. All in all I caught my limit of five fish, lost four others, and had a few bites all on the pink wiggle hoochie, with the exception of one bite that came on the double spinner with shoepeg. The gold wiggle hoochie has been working so well for me recently but not today! I fished kokanee from 8:30 a.m. to 10: 30 a.m. and once my limit of kokanee was filled I tried jigging chironomids in 30 feet of water for rainbows. They chased it lots, but I only managed one small one along with two bites.
the Strategy
rod one: A slim swing tail dodger with 14 inches of leader to a Chrome's pink wiggle hoochie
rod two: A slim swing tail dodger with 14 inches of leader to a Chrome's gold wiggle hoochie
THE CATCH
Pink wiggle hoochies getting it done. 5 laned, 4 lost and a few bites.
kokanee: 5
rainbows: 1
PHOTO GALLERY
click to enlarge
July 3, 2024
I arrived at Stump Lake just before 10 a.m. and headed straight out from the highway boat launch.
After going to Monte Lake yesterday I wanted to start off with jigging today. I sent down the chironomid gear as I was setting up the downriggers. I could get the kokanee to chase the gear from 35 feet up to around 20 feet but I couldn't get them to bite.
I switched to the pink wiggle hoochie and Chrome's double spinner tipped with scented shoepeg corn. Both were paired with Chrome's custom 4.5 inch bendable dodgers. I trolled in front of the boat launch for about an hour where I was marking fish at depths of 25 and 45 feet. I couldn't seem to get a bite! I then cruised over just north of the campground on the east side of the lake. Here I marked more fish than I had been near the boat launch. Most of the marks were at 25 feet with the odd mark near the bottom. I put my gear down to 25 feet and began trolling. It didn't take very long for the double Chrome's spinner to catch the first kokanee of the day, and a second shortly after that!
I still hadn't caught anything on the pink wiggle hoochie so I changed it out to a pink Chrome's single spinner. Still, though, the double spinner was getting all the action. I had another bite and lost two on the double spinner before it caught my third kokanee of the day. A short while later I lost two kokanee by the boat on the double spinner, caught one kokanee on the Chrome's single spinner, and a good sized rainbow that I released. Just after that, the double spinner finally caught the limit kokanee.
the Strategy
rod one: A custom bendable 4-inch flasher with 14 inches of leader to a pink wiggle hoochie
rod two: A custom bendable 4-inch flasher with 14 inches of leader to a pink double Chrome's spinner tipped with scented shoepeg
THE CATCH
It was a fun day! Double Chrome's spinner for the win!
kokanee: 5
rainbows: 1
PHOTO GALLERY
click to enlarge
A slow 1.1 mph trolling speed seemed to work best. All kokanee were caught at 25 feet deep.
June 5, 2024
The kokanee fishing is finally on!
I was out a couple times in mid-May and the fishing was very slow for kokanee. With these cooler temperatures, the fishing is taking longer to get good. There's an old wives' tale that kokanee fishing gets good when the lilacs are blooming but that time had already come and gone with no major success on the lakes.
I arrived at Stump Lake at about 9 a.m. and headed over to the houses on Planet Mine road.
I wasn't marking much but this was no surprise because I expected the fish would be near the surface. I began trolling in a northward direction using a custom flasher and pink wiggle hoochie on one rod and a custom flasher with a pink smile spinner tipped with shoepeg on the other. I set both lines to ten feet deep and used 100 foot setbacks.
I trolled along the houses with no bites but when I got to where I could almost see the campsites the rod with the wiggle hoochie started dancing! I caught a nice kokanee that weighed about 1.5 lbs.
As I unhooked the fish my second rod started bouncing and I reeled in an almost identical kokanee on the smile spinner. I quickly got the rods back out and shortly after I had another kokanee on the wiggle hoochie, which I lost. This was followed by two more bites on the wiggle hoochie. Since the wiggle hoochie seemed more productive then the smile spinner, I changed out the smile spinner for a pink kokanee wobbler and almost immediately caught a nice kokanee. A short while later I lost one on the wobbler but then caught kokanee number four on it. Kokanee number five took a little while (as the limit fish so often does) but the wiggle hoochie got the job done to fill my limit by 11 a.m.
Most of the bites and fish were caught in the middle of the lake between the highway launch and the campsites trolling at 1.3 MPH and 10 feet deep.
As I was packing up I chatted with a fellow fisher who was loading up his boat. He is a fly fisher but was trying to get into kokanee fishing. I tossed him some gear that was working for me and gave him some info on what I was doing and where. He will be out giving it a try tomorrow. Good luck Mickey!
the Strategy
rod one: A custom bendable 4inch flasher with 16 inches of leader to a pink wiggle hoochie
rod two: A custom bendable 4inch flasher with 16 inches of leader to a pink smile spinner tipped with scented shoepeg
THE CATCH
Five caught, a few lost, and several bites! It was a great day.
kokanee: 5
rainbows: 0
PHOTO GALLERY
click to enlarge
SHORT REPORT
April 12, 2024
It was a beautiful day out on Stump Lake today, perfectly calm! Unfortunately the fish were not as excited to bite as I was to be out on the water. I marked only singles and doubles all day at 20 feet and at 60 feet . I started in front of the boat launch and trolled my way northward but nothing was taking my lures. Finally I tried pulling my pink wobbler to the surface to about 5 feet deep and shortly after I caught a small 13 inch kokanee! I thought the surface was going to be the ticket to success, but I was wrong. Over the next two hours I got one more bite and that's it. I tried jigging for the last hour in front of the boat launch where I was marking fish but again no success. I could get them to chase my gear but no takers.
ICE OFF UPDATE
March 27, 2024
I went out to Stump today after checking out Monte Lake to scope out the ice situation. The northern end is opening up nicely and one person was out in a small car topper boat. The southern end has about 150 to 200 feet of open water, and a random spot in the middle has a good sized open area. I tried a few casts off shore in the open area but caught no fish, just ticks :/
worst case
ICE OFF UPDATE
March 21, 2024
I took a drive out to Stump to check out the ice situation and also to try to jig up some rainbows from the rec site fishing dock. The lake is still 99% ice covered (see note below). The northern and southern ends have some open water, as well as a few feet of open water around the edges of the lake. It won't be long now!
However- the ice would definitely not hold a person's weight today. It was thick but very soft and in some places it was breaking up vertically in crystal-like shards ("candle ice")- check out the videos. It was so soft in spots around the dock I could push my ice auger right through it without drilling.
Fishing off the dock in the morning was pretty awesome! I caught 9 rainbows and lost 3 others. Nothing too big today, but it was super fun. They were taking pink-dyed cured shrimp, and also an orange grub tail. They were quite aggressive, I think most baits would have worked.
March 8, 2024
It was a nice warm day on Stump Lake today and I was happy to find close to nine inches of ice where I set up.
I set up about 200 yards off the highway boat launch and a little north of it. The water depth was 80 feet. There were many fishers on the ice today including someone who was set up close to me who had forgotten his rod. Luckily I bring several rods with me so I was able to lend him a rod for the day.
I set up my camera just above 40 feet deep, mostly because any deeper was getting a little dark and hard to see.
I began marking fish in ones, twos, and threes and at all depths. It took a little trial and error to figure out that the fish seemed to like a meal worm jigged horizontally best. Once I figured this out I put two kokanee on the ice pretty quickly, both coaxed up from 50 feet into view of my camera where they took the bait. Unfortunately I had a little trouble keeping the fish on today. I would have had my limit by 10:30 a.m. if I didn't lose three kokanee in a row, two of them right by the hole.
The fish that were coming in a 20 feet and shallower seemed to have no interest in my jigs, but the deeper marks would occasionally chase my gear. Over the next two hours I got a few bites, put one more kokanee on the ice and lost another three. Between 12:30 p.m. and 2:45 p.m. the bite seemed to drop right off. I couldn't get anything to even look at my bait.
Finally I put kokanee number four on the ice just before 3 p.m. and lost another. At 3:30 p.m. I finally put my limit fish on the ice! In case you weren't counting that was seven kokanee lost, five caught and a few bites. It was fun chatting and sharing fishing knowledge with some of the fishers on the ice today.
the Strategy
Ice rod: A blue and silver Williams wobbler with 12 inches of leader to a tungsten weighted chironomid (size 10) tipped with meal worms.
The bait: meal worms for the win today!
THE CATCH
It was hard to keep them on. seven kokanee lost and five caught.
kokanee: 5
rainbows: 0
PHOTO GALLERY
click to enlarge
REPORTS FROM READERS
March 2, 2024
Randy writes, "Another great day on Stump, Sunday, March 2nd. Ice was a solid 5 inches and no slush or water. Fish schools were slow and mostly singles. I easily caught my 5 and my partner caught two. Missed many. My depth was 40 feet. I was in 76 feet of water west of the parking area. It was amazing to see schools of kokanee 2 feet below the ice from 2:30 p.m. to 4:00. Pink CC flies with chartreuse head and a white wing was my killer."
Thanks for the report, Randy! Hope you enjoy those beauties.
Randy got a free pack of lures from the Chrome Catchers' shop for sharing his report from Stump Lake!
February 23, 2024
It was a beauty of a day to be out on the ice this morning! I arrived at Stump Lake around 9:10 a.m. and was all set up about 200 yards offshore by 9:30.
There was about 7 inches of ice and lots of fishers out chasing some great tasting kokanee.
I was set up over 82 feet of water and the fish were marking fairly consistently at 45 to 65 feet. I tried jigging with my pink tungsten jigs with shoepeg and was able to generate a few bites, but the fish were only mildly interested.
At 10:30 a.m. I tried a tungsten weighted chrome and red striped chironomid, but to no avail. I then slid a meal worm over the body of the chironomid and this was clearly the way to go: I began getting bites right away, and I quickly put a kokanee on the ice. I followed this up with two rainbows caught and released.
At around 11:30 a.m. a big school came in at 55 feet. I got my meal worm in the middle and quickly hooked a really nice kokanee. Unfortunately I watched this massive kokanee get off the hook at the top of the hole. I quickly lunged to pull it out but all I got was soaked as I watched the fish swim away. Imagine my frustration when this happened two more times in a row with two more kokanee! At 12:30 p.m. another school came through and this time I managed to put two on the ice before the school disappeared.
At around 1:30 p.m. I got another good kokanee, and like all the rest it was caught at 55 feet. Only one to go to fill the limit- but it never happened. I had several bites and lost two more, but just couldn't get the last one. Throughout the day a few schools came in at 20 feet but I couldn't get them to bite. The vast majority of fish came in at depth, about 45 to 65 feet.
the Strategy
Ice rod: A blue and silver Williams wobbler with 12 inches of leader to a tungsten weighted hook (size 10).
The bait: meal worms for the win today!
THE CATCH
It was a great day catching kokanee at 55 feet deep!
kokanee: 4
rainbows: 2
PHOTO GALLERY
click to enlarge
February 15, 2024
You've got to love a blue bird day out on the ice, and today was exactly that! I arrived at the lake at 9:15 a.m. and there were already 22 other tents on the ice. You can't blame them- fishing on Stump has been good! Today was also good but I had to work for my limit. With the cold weather and the 22 tents I wasn't as concerned about testing the ice, but I still wore a PFD and carried ice picks out because it's easy enough to do and you never know who might have chainsawed a surprise hole in the ice.
I went straight out from the Highway boat launch about 125 yards and set up where I wasn't too close to the other fishers. I did this mostly because fish finders will run interference with one another if they are running too close together.
It was 70 feet deep where I set up and not much was marking on the finder, but eventually the fish showed up at 12 feet deep.
The bad news is that they showed up only every 20 to 30 minutes and only a few at a time. The good news is that they were very interested in my pink big head tungsten jig. Every time they came in they would at least take a strike at my jig. I put a fish on the ice about every 30 minutes or so. I also lost a couple and had a few bites as well. By 11:30 a.m. I had four nice kokanee on the ice.
I figured I was going to get my limit soon and get home early to write this report, but I was wrong. Once again that limit fish was ridiculously hard to catch.
At noon the fish were coming in less often, and when they did they had lost interest for the most part, although I did get a couple of light bites. At 2:30 p.m. four fish came in that were much more aggressive. I got a solid bite followed by a beauty kokanee that stayed on to fill my limit.
I used a small piece of scented shoepeg on my jigs. I don't always use bait, but when they are coming in so infrequently I like to increase my odds.
I caught the first four at 12 feet deep, but by afternoon they were coming in at 22 feet which is where I caught my limit fish. I also marked fish in the 40 to 60 feet range today, but while chasing the deep marks, I only coaxed one of fish a depth to bite at my jig.
I had a friendly visit from the CO today. This was my third time being checked this year. Remember to have your fishing license and ID on you when fishing. It sounded like someone on the ice today had forgotten to bring their license, which is not a position you want to be in.
I met some great people on the ice today and was able to give them some tips and a couple of jigs that were working for me. Best of luck to you boys next time out!
the Strategy
Ice rod: A gold and silver 4 inch wobbler with 14 inches of leader to a hand tied big head pink tungsten jig fly (size 10).
The bait: Scented shoepeg corn
THE CATCH
It took three hours to find the limit fish, but I found it!
kokanee: 5
rainbows: 0
PHOTO GALLERY
click to enlarge
February 7, 2024
I got what I thought was an early start today, but when I arrived at the lake and saw 13 tents already set up it didn't feel so early.
I headed out to the same spot as last time, about 75 to 100 yards off shore and just south of the highway launch. The water was 75 feet deep and I planned on focusing my jigging in the top 20 feet of water.
I caught one kokanee at 15 feet shortly after starting to jig, but then things seemed to slow. I saw very little on the finder over the next two hours, only singles and doubles. Most of the fish were around 10 to 20 feet with the odd one at a depth of 40+ feet. I lost two over the two hours but no other bites.
I changed up my lure to a small pink spoon with a small hook tied with pink marabou. This got them fairly excited, but they seemed to be hitting every part of my lure except the hook. I ended up putting my usual kokanee ice setup back on.
It was about noon when I decided to make a move out towards the center of the lake. This proved to be a bit of a time waster. I spent an hour at this location and marked even fewer fish than I had before. At around 1:30 p.m. I headed back to my original location with plans to give it one more hour. I still marked only the the odd fish at 10 to 20 feet but finally I caught my second kokanee. I followed this up with two straight losses, but then I caught the biggest one of the day down at 40 feet. It took me 6 hours to put three kokanee on the ice! I would have had my limit if I hadn't lost four, but hey- that's fishing! Most of the ice fishers I talked to were experiencing the same kind of slow fishing, however I heard a few had left with their limits. Hats off to those guys!
the Strategy
Ice rod: A blue and silver Williams wobbler with 10 inches of leader to a hand tied chrome and pink tungsten jig fly with a chartreuse collor (size 10).
The bait: scented shoepeg corn.
THE CATCH
A bit of a slow day but I still managed three nice kokanee!
kokanee: 3
rainbows: 0
PHOTO GALLERY
click to enlarge
January 29 & 30, 2024
I had the opportunity to go out fishing on two back-to-back days.
My time was quite limited on the first day, but I knew I had to get out anyway. I'm not sure how many ice fishing days we have left!
There were quite a few ice fishers when I arrived at 11:30 a.m. on the 29th, and I figured this meant that fishing was likely good- and it was! I had a late start and only had until 2 p.m. to stay out on the ice so I didn't waste any time getting out there.
As always I put on my PFD and carried my ice picks as I ventured out. I would like to see this become more of a trend for ice fishers. On the way out I encountered two good-sized unmarked holes that were big enough for a child to go through. Please mark your large holes, or better yet, don't make any!
I set up about 100 yards offshore, just a little south from the highway launch. The ice was about 6 inches thick with 3-ish inches of slush and water on top. I chose a high spot where I wouldn't be walking in slush. The depth was 75 feet and right away I marked a few at 60 feet. I tried going down to 60 feet with the chironomid but I couldn't coax a bite.
I put the camera down to 20 feet and began jigging my pink tungsten fly jig 10 inches below a Williams wobbler. It took a while to get into a kokanee. I was marking very little when two fish came in at 40 feet. I sent my gear down and the marks on the finder began to rise to meet my gear. I was still sending it down when my first kokanee of the day took the jig. It was a nice one too! It weighed in at 1.8 pounds. After this I began marking fish about every 20 minutes at 20 to 25 feet but only one or two at a time. The good news is that when they did come in they were interested. I caught two more around 12:30 p.m. and now I was feeling pretty good about a potential limit before go time at 2:00. Unfortunately this was followed by a 45 minute lull with zero marks on the finder, but hey, that's fishing. Over the next hour and a half I caught one more kokanee followed by a rainbow. At 1:45 I had (what would have been) my limit kokanee on the hook but it came off right by the hole. Oh well- still a great day catching four kokanee and one rainbow in a fairly short amount of time!
I was eager to get out there again the following day, and the fishing was still good. Again I went 100 yards out from the highway launch but today I headed straight out. I went back to jigging the same set up as the previous day, at 20 feet. I spent 45 minutes at this location and only marked one fish at the bottom. I decided to hike over to the same hole that I had made the previous day, and this was a good move!
I concentrated my efforts at 20 feet. Just like the day before, the fish were not coming in often and were mostly in ones and twos. But like yesterday they were interested in my jig! Over the first 30 minutes I marked only two fish at 25 feet but I put them both on the ice! After that, another big lull, where a full hour passed with only a couple of deeper marks that were not interested. At noon things got much better. A bigger school of about 15 came in and I was able to land one and get my gear down in time to get another before the school left. A few minutes later another school of about 5 came in. I lost one, but still got my limit fish on the ice right after!
All of the fish I caught today were at 20 feet. Most times they came in at 25 feet and I lured them up to 20 feet. I find that they are more likely to bite if you can get them to chase your gear up a few feet. This would also bring them into view of my underwater camera, which adds to the entertainment!
On both days, I got to chat with some fishers at the boat launch and share some laughs and some fishing tips for hooking into some good kokanee. I was able to give away a few new kokanee jigs to each one of them. I hope it worked out for you!
the Strategy
Ice rod: A blue and silver Williams wobbler with 10 inches of leader to a hand tied pink tungsten jig fly (size 10).
The bait: none required the jigs got it done!
THE CATCH
Two back to back days of fishing! It had it's slow moments, but good fish are worth putting in some effort to catch!
kokanee: 9
rainbows: 1
PHOTO GALLERY
click to enlarge
January 17, 2024
I was unsure if I would be able to get after some kokanee on Stump Lake today, especially because there were no other tents on the lake that I could see. As always I wore my PFD, grabbed my ice picks and started testing the ice. After 10 augered holes I confirmed that there was more than enough ice about 120 yards off the boat launch to get after them! The ice was close to 6 inches thick!
I got a later start than usual today, and between arriving late and spending 30 minutes testing the ice I wasn't set up until 10:45 a.m. I set up over 60 feet of water and began marking fish near the bottom almost right away. I chased the marks at the bottom with my glow head tungsten jig but had no takers. I put my camera down to 20 feet and began jigging at that depth. I had quite a few kokanee come in but they were only mildly interested. I tried meal worms, scented shoepeg and even shrimp, and after some time I finally got one to take a bait-less glow head tungsten jig. It was a decent-sized one, too!
I switched up to a customized ruby red wobbler with 10 inches of leader to a hand-tied chrome and red tungsten chironomid. This worked the best! Just like jigging kokanee in the spring when they are actively feeding on chironomids, the slow rising chironomid proved much more effective. I caught two more kokanee around the 20 foot range and lost two.
It was harder than usual to get the kokanee interested today. Generally you can get them into a bit of a frenzy with some well-timed jigs, but not today. The jigging would bring them in but not keep them around. It seemed like the only thing that would make them start to chase my gear was the slow rising chironomid.
It seems strange that they like chironomid so much when they are not feeding on them, but they do work!
This is likely going to be a short ice season. It is supposed to warm up next week and the good ice that we have now might not last. As always, be sure to test ice thickness for yourself. It is time to get out and get some kokanee!!!
the Strategy
Plan A: First, a Chrome's glow sided willow flasher with 10 inches of leader to a glow head and pink tungsten jig
Plan B: a custom rubyeye wobbler with 10 inches of leader to a chrome and red tungsten chironomid
The bait: tried lots but oddly enough bait-less was best
THE CATCH
It was a little tricky to get 'em, but I caught three kokanee and lost two
kokanee: 3
rainbows: 0
PHOTO GALLERY
click to enlarge
September 28, 2023
I was trying to decide on which lake to kokanee fish today. I looked back at my reports and noticed that I hadn't been to Stump since June. That sealed the deal and my mind was made up! Off to Stump Lake.
The forecast was not great for fishing with wind and rain but I have to take advantage of what days I can.
When I arrived at around 9 a.m., the water had about a one foot chop that got progressively worse towards the afternoon.
I started by scanning a few areas right in front of the highway launch, searching for marks. I was not finding too many. The ones I found were mostly around 35 feet deep. I found that most of the few marks I was finding were toward the middle of the lake. I put out my custom matching kokanee lures to 35 feet (which I had just made up), starting with a swing tail dodger with 14 inches of leader to a matching Chrome's single spinner with scented shoepeg.
Before I could get my second rod out I heard my drag screaming! A very healthy good-sized rainbow was dancing on the end! Happily, the hooks popped out in the net and I was able to put this 5-ish pounder back in the water very quickly. It was an exciting start, but it was followed by a lull. I trolled downwind to the north in hopes of marking more fish. I began marking the odd fish at about 20 feet and the odd fish at 40 feet. Finally when I got about halfway between the north end and the highway launch the marks at 20 feet started to ramp up. Shortly after I got into my first kokanee of the day! This turned into a double header but I lost the second one. It was in this area, towards the east side of the lake in about 45 to 60 feet of water just off a small rocky point, where I was having the most success for kokanee. I tried towards the north end and I got one more nice rainbow but not marking many. When I went back to the rock point the fishing got better! It took a little while but I caught my limit of kokanee in that spot while losing a few as well.
I had most of my success while trolling at 1.4 mph and fishing at 20 feet deep. I tried 35 feet as I was marking some fish there but they were not taking often. My spinner hoochie seemed to work best today but the single spinner was also working just not quite as often.
the Strategy
Rod one: First, a Chrome's Swing tail dodger with 14 inches of leader to a matching Chrome's spinner.
Rod two: a Chrome's custom bendable dodger with 14 inches of leader to a Chrome's matching spinner hoochie
The bait: scented shoepeg corn.
THE CATCH
A windy day on Stump but after some searching I found a limit of kokanee!
kokanee: 5
rainbows: 2
PHOTO GALLERY
click to enlarge
June 8, 2023
I have been anticipating this day for a while now. Stump Lake is always a fun lake to be on, and today was a very fun day!
I arrived at around 9 a.m. and my first observation was how clear the water was! There was about 20 feet of visibility. Second, I noticed all of the rather large chironomid shucks that were floating on the water. This got me excited!
I cruised across the lake from the highway launch and stayed right of the campground area, close to the residences on the lake. I had my lines out by 9:30 a.m. I wasn't marking much, so I stayed shallow with long setbacks. This was successful- I caught two kokanee quite quickly, one on a Chrome's pink spinner hoochie and the other on a pink wiggle hoochie. I was fishing just out in front of the first residence in about 60 feet of water and this is where I found the only big school of fish on the finder for the day. I marked about 20 fish around 30 feet deep. I put my rod with the wiggle hoochie down to 30 feet and left the other rod at 8 feet. As soon as my wiggle hoochie approached the school I caught kokanee number three!
It took a little while to find my 4th and 5th kokanee, but when I did it was one after another on the pink spinner hoochie! Both were caught shallow at around 8 feet deep. To my surprise the spinner hoochie out-fished the wiggle hoochie by a narrow margin of 3 to 2. I used a 75 foot setback and trolled from 1.2 to 1.4 mph.
It was only 11 a.m. and I didn't feel ready to pack it in for the day. I decided to see if I could get some rainbows on chironomids. I cruised into the campground bay but far left of the campground. There were a few fish rising and plenty of chironomid shucks on the water. I slowly scanned the area with my finder where I found lots of big marks near the bottom in 32 feet of water. I sent down my Peter Hope Lake special, the flasher and tungsten weighted chironomid. It was truly amazing! Just a few jigs and the marks would appear on the finder. I found that dead sticking (leaving the chironomid motionless) after attracting the fish was the best way to get them to take it. I caught six chunky rainbows and lost four others. One of the ones I lost right beside the boat was a good size kokanee. It is just as well, that way I did not need to handle it. I took a throat sample from one of the large rainbows and it was stuffed with very large silver and red striped chironomids.
the Strategy
Rod one: First, a Chrome's chrome and pink bendable dodger with 14 inches of leader to a pink Chrome's wiggle hoochie
Rod two: a Chrome's pink and green bendable dodger with 14 inches of leader to a Chrome's pink spinner hoochie
The bait: scented shoepeg corn.
THE CATCH
Kokanee caught trolling and the bows on chironomids!
kokanee: 5
rainbows: 6
PHOTO GALLERY
click to enlarge
MAY 10, 2023
I haven't heard of many kokanee being caught in Stump Lake since ice off. I have been out a couple of times and have done well with catching rainbows but have had a tough time getting the kokanee to take the hook.
The forecast was for light winds all morning and was to pick up in the afternoon and that is exactly what happened. It was almost glass until 2 pm when the winds came in and made instant white caps.
It appears as though the lake has finished turning over and the water clarity was quite good! I starting trolling in front of the boat launch and made a few circles. I was marking little to no fish which made me think the fish were likely close to the surface, but after 45 minutes of nothing I reeled up and headed for the north end. I marked a lot of fish on the north end in about 25 feet of water. I caught two decent rainbows and had a strike on the pink wiggle hoochie that I was trolling near the surface. I figured that most of the fish I was marking were likely rainbows so I moved on in search of kokanee.
I searched several places by scanning with my fish finder but I found very little. Finally while searching with the finder I noticed an area that had lots of floating grass and vegetation. I thought I saw some fish surface through the middle of it. I headed over with 100 foot setback and went only two feet deep on the downrigger. Often when I am going after surface fish I would use a long line as opposed to the downrigger, but with so much floating vegetation the downrigger was the way to go. This way the floating vegetation gets snagged by the downrigger cable and doesn't end up on your flasher. As soon as I got near the spot I caught my first kokanee, and then another shortly after. This was followed by a few bites, three rainbows and a kokanee lost beside the boat. Most of the action was on the pink wiggle hoochie, while the pink wedding band with scented corn caught one rainbow and had two bites.
I wish I would have found this spot earlier in the day. If I had, I think I would have caught my limit of kokanee. This spot was across the lake from the highway boat launch just left of houses on the lake.
The kokanee are much smaller this year than the kokanee from the past couple of years. That being said, there was a ton of daphnia in the water, so maybe they will grow quickly!
the Strategy
Rod one: a Chrome's pink and chrome bendable dodger and 14 inches of leader to a pink wiggle hoochie
Rod two: a pink and green bendable dodger with 14 inches of leader to a Chrome's pink single spinner tipped with scented shoe peg corn
THE CATCH
It took a good part of the day to find them, but I found them... well, a couple of them at least!
kokanee: 2
rainbows: 0
PHOTO GALLERY
click to enlarge
ICE OFF UPDATE
April 11, 2023
Stump Lake is ice free with the exception of a small patch of ice in front of the campsites. I was looking forward to a day on the water but my boat battery had other plans. It was painful not getting out in the boat but I still managed to catch four nice rainbows right off the boat launch!
ICE OFF UPDATE
April 5, 2023
Stump is still 99% ice covered but the northern and southern ends do have some open water. It won't be long now!
I took a drive to the campsites to check out the new road that was built. It's really good! They also fixed up the boat launch. While I was there I decided to chip a hole in the ice at the end of the dock and give it a try. The fishing was awesome for rainbows. I caught 8 rainbows and lost a few including one that broke me off after a long battle. They were hitting meal worms.
March 13, 2023
The season is winding down with these warmer temperatures, but it is not quite over yet.
Some of the edges of the ice are showing signs of melt especially the north end of the lake. I wore my PFD and carried ice picks as I ventured out from the paved highway launch. There was not a single person on the lake besides one gentleman who was unloading his gear on the launch.
It is often this time of year when ice fishers get into trouble thinking there is plenty of ice, but the ice is often soft and won't bare weight.
It turns out that the ice was still good. There was 2" of soft ice on top of 10" of hard ice.
I started fishing about 150 yards out from the launch in 80 feet of water. The new lithium auger made quick work of my three holes and I was marking fish at 20 feet and from 60 feet down to the bottom. The water was very murky and at four feet deep I lost site of my flasher. I put my camera and gear down to 20 feet and the fish were coming in fairly steady but they were not that interested. It was so murky that I could only see little flashes from my flasher and the odd fish that came close enough.
I changed out the tungsten jig I was using to a 1.5 inch pink and glow swim jig. Finally I caught one at 20 feet. I was consistently marking far more fish at 60+ feet than I was at 20 feet so I sent the camera and the gear down deeper and to my surprise the water cleared right up at around 50 feet deep. I could now see everything on the camera, although it didn't seem to help much- most of the fish would chase the jig but not bite at it. I did manage to get two more kokanee at about 65 feet on the swim jig and had two bites over three hours of steady, no-nonsense jigging.
I tried all the baits I had with me: real pink maggots, Berkley gulp maggots in pink and chartreuse, and scented shoepeg corn. The scented shoepeg corn got all the action, except one of the bites was on the chartreuse maggot.
the Strategy
Plan A: a 4 inch brass and copper wobbler with 12 inches of leader to a pink tungsten jig fly
Plan B: a 4 inch brass and copper wobbler with 12 inches of leader to a 1.5 inch pink and glow swim jig
The bait: Scented shoepeg corn
THE CATCH
I had to work for them today, but I still put three fish on the ice in the end.
kokanee: 3
rainbows: 0
PHOTO GALLERY
click to enlarge
February 23, 2023
Stump Lake has been producing fairly consistent kokanee this ice season and today was no different!
I set up in the same location as my last two outings, just out front of the highway launch, since it was very productive both times. It was minus 17 C and the wind was blowing snow up from the ice.
Experience has taught me if you don't want to go chasing your tent, put an anchor in the ice first, before you attempt to set up your tent in the wind. Once I had the hut set up I got my transducer in the water and began marking fish at 30 to 50 feet. I immediately sent my gear down to 40 feet using the same hole that I drilled for the transducer and about two minutes later I had an absolutely beautifully coloured 5-ish pound rainbow on the ice. What a start!!! I was still marking fish so I went right back down and pulled up two more rainbows from 40 feet. I had been fishing for less than 15 minutes and was having a blast!
I decided to finish my set up before I put the line back down. I got my camera hole drilled and the camera set up at 35 feet. It did not take long for the kokanee to start showing up. They were a little less aggressive than the rainbows but they were still biting. Over the next 30 minutes I caught two kokanee and one more rainbow at 35 feet.
I wanted to try something different. I have these jigs that seemed too big to use for kokanee but they are smaller than a buzz bomb, and some people use those, so I decided to try them out. I had used powder paint to coat them with pink and chartreuse glow. I tipped one with meal worm and sent it down with no flasher. To my surprise this jig made the kokanee crazy! They attacked it far more aggressively than the pink tungsten jig tipped with meal worm that I had been using. Using this jig made quick work of my limit. I had five kokanee on the ice by 10:30 a.m. I was marking fish from 30 feet all the way to the bottom (80 feet) with the majority at about 40 feet. I wasn't ready to go yet, so I put the line back down and strategically pulled my jig away from the kokanee in hopes of catching another big rainbow. I never got another big one but I did catch four more very decent rainbows. The water today appeared very murky when you looked down the hole, but when I got my camera past 20 feet the water became quite clear!
the Strategy
Plan A: a 4 inch brass and copper wobbler with 12 inches of leader to a pink tungsten jig fly
Plan B: a 1.5 inch pink and chartreuse glow swim jig
The bait: Meal worms, shoepeg corn
THE CATCH
Wow! What a day. I started pulling my gear away from kokanee in hopes of big bows!
kokanee: 5
rainbows: 7
PHOTO GALLERY
click to enlarge
February 10, 2023
I set out today hoping to redeem myself after striking out on kokanee a couple of days ago at Pillar Lake. It was nice a sunny day, still windy but much less windy than my visit to Stump Lake on the 6th.
I arrived at the main highway launch at about 9 a.m. There was only one other tent on the ice about 200 yards out. I headed out to the same spot I was on a few days ago since it had been good.
I set up my tent and drilled my transducer hole. I like to get the fish finder going first to find out where the the fish are. I drilled my second hole that I fish out of and sent my gear down to 20 feet. I was about to drill my third hole that I use for my camera but fish started marking at 30 feet so I grabbed my rod and sent the gear down. I was able to get the fish to chase it to about 15 feet where I could see them down the hole. I wasn't even fully set up yet and I put two kokanee on the ice. I put my rod in the built-in holders in my ice tent so I could drill the camera hole.
I grabbed my auger but as I did my rod bent over. Kokanee number three on the ice. I could see the marks on my fish finder indicating that the fish had also swam up from 30 feet to take my jig that was sitting stationary at 20 feet. Finally I got my hole drilled and my camera set up at 20 feet. The next fish I caught chased my gear up from 45 feet deep. It had only been 45 minutes since I arrived at the parking area and I was only one fish short of my limit. Why is it that finishing off your limit often takes a long time??? For the next 30 minutes I was able to get the fish to chase my gear but the action slowly tapered off. There were many schools swimming by at 40 to 60 feet deep and the odd one or two that were near the surface, but they almost completely stopped chasing my gear. Finally at 11:45 a.m. a single fish showed up on the finder at 15 feet. I madly reeled up from 50 feet and he took my jig without hesitation.
By the time I was packing up there were two more tents on the ice. On my way out, I stopped to talk to the two anglers who were in the tent that was on the ice when I arrived. They were leaving, too. They had also done well with six kokanee between the two of them and they had lost a few more.
the Strategy
Rod one: a 4 inch brass and copper wobbler with 12 inches of leader to a pink tungsten jig fly
Plan B: a chrome and pink/chartreuse 3.5 inch flasher with 12 inches of leader to a #12 pink tungsten jig fly
The bait: Meal worms, shoepeg corn and also baitless
THE CATCH
I love making them chase it! That was my go-to today!
kokanee: 5
rainbows: 0
PHOTO GALLERY
click to enlarge
February 6, 2023
My night shift at work ended earlier than expected, so of course I jumped on that opportunity to get out on the ice. I was super excited!
I arrived at the lake at 8:45 a.m. Most anglers that were there had walked southeast of the main highway boat launch towards the far side of the lake. As I was wandering out I found two fairly fresh holes, likely from yesterday, and there was some blood on the ice. This was a good enough indicator to me that there was likely some fish around.
I set up over the pre-drilled holes and I started marking fish near the top right away. I pulled out my underwater camera only to find a dead battery. I grabbed my back up camera and it also had a dead battery. I had played with the settings at home a few days earlier and it turns out I left the battery switch on for both of the cameras.
I haven't been ice fishing without an underwater camera since 2008 and let me tell you: I missed it.
I started jigging at 20 feet and was able to put a kokanee on the ice almost immediately. I fished a bit more at 8 to 10 feet and I lured in a few fish but they all took off when they got close. I am quite sure they were spooked because of how loud it was in my tent. The wind was howling- even with 8 ice anchors my tent was rocking and the tiedowns were vibrating. It sounded like a running motor.
I was marking a few single fish down around 45 to 60 feet so I decided to chase them since I was convinced that the noise of my tent was not going to allow me to catch fish at the surface. It was fairly easy to get and keep the fish's attention but they didn't want to bite. When this happens I like to see if I can get them to chase my jig towards the surface. This often tends to provoke a strike. As I brought my gear up slowly I could see the marks on the fish finder chasing it. I paused a few times to see if they would bite. Once I got to 20 feet I could see them down the hole. This seemed to be the magic depth to get them to bite. Five times I was able to get the fish to chase the jig from 60 feet up to 20 feet and at 20 feet each one took my jig. I caught 3 out of the 5 and lost the other 2. By this time it was 10 a.m. and I already had four kokanee on the ice.
After 10 a.m. the marks on the finder slowed down drastically. There seemed to be a lull in the wind so I tried fishing near the surface again, at about 5 feet deep. Within a minute two kokanee were dancing around my jig, but just like that, a big wind gust came in and rocked my tent around, and both fish dove straight down. They went all the way to 30 feet on my fish finder and then swam off. I struggled to get the final fish to fill my limit. Finally at 1 p.m. I marked a fish at 40 feet and when I brought my gear up to it, the fish took my jig right away.
the Strategy
Rod one: a 4 inch brass and copper wobbler with 12 inches of leader to a pink tungsten jig fly
Plan B: a chrome and pink/chartreuse 3.5 inch flasher with 12 inches of leader to a #12 pink tungsten jig fly
The bait: Three caught with no bait and two caught with scented shoepeg corn
THE CATCH
I think most of the fish were near the surface today, but the noise in my tent from the wind kept them away.
kokanee: 5
rainbows: 0
PHOTO GALLERY
click to enlarge
JAnuary 18, 2023
At this time last year the kokanee fishing was pretty good everywhere. Unfortunately, the past couple of weeks this year have seen kokanee fishing slow to a crawl.
I was defeated at Paul Lake a couple of days ago and I hoped that the north end of Stump Lake would prove be to better.
The water on the north end of the lake is pretty consistently 50 to 55 feet deep except close to shore and one small sunken island. I have had very good success on the north end in the past and with that in mind I parked at the north end of the lake near the highway and ventured out about 400 feet off shore. I was pleased to find no surface water- the ice wasn't slippery, and it was still 8 inches thick. I drilled one hole to run a test. I put my sonar in and began jigging. I will often do a test run before setting up all of my gear, especially when fishing has been slow. The test usually lasts for about 10-15 minutes.
The results of the test were not good: zero fish marked. I went further and ran the same test in the middle with the same results. Again I pushed on further and tested closer to the houses on the other side of the lake across from the hwy. The results were almost the same but I did mark one fish at 40 feet.
Since I am always fishing on limited time I decided not to keep testing and to set up where I was, in hopes of the kokanee schools finding me. Unfortunately the big schools never did find me. I marked only six fish coming in singles over a three hour span. They were all between 35 to 50 feet deep. The good news is that when I saw those marks on the fish finder I was able to get them interested. As I lowered my gear to the marks the fish would swim towards my gear and I had a few bites. The one kokanee that I did catch was at 40 feet. Another kokanee chased my gear from 40 feet all the way to 15 feet where I had my camera setup. He took a few quick swipes at my jig and then left and didn't return. I jigged at all depths from 5 feet right to the bottom. I think in light of how interested the kokanee were, if you find a spot on Stump with more kokanee you will likely have a good day.
the Strategy
Set up one: A 3 inch chrome/ pink/chartreuse williams wobbler with 12 inches of leader to a pink tunsten ice fly.
Set up two: A 3.5 chrome and pink flasher with 14 inches of leader to a pink tungsten fly jig.
The bait: scented shoepeg corn, meal worms.
THE CATCH
Only one kokanee today, but it was still an interesting and fun day. Also one small sculpin off the bottom
kokanee:1
rainbows: 0
PHOTO GALLERY
click to enlarge
JAnuary 11, 2023
It has been far too long since I have been out on the ice, but sometimes life gets too busy.
When I left Kamloops it was all clouds, but the road to Stump Lake rose above the clouds and found the sunshine. I love when that happens! I arrived at the lake at about 9:30 and by 10 a.m. I was set up over 70 feet of water just in front of the main boat launch amidst 6 or 7 other tents.
I overheard many of the other fishers asking one another if they were marking fish. The answer was always something like, "not many." I started fishing at 12 feet in depth and my experience was much the same: over the course of an hour I only saw one kokanee on my underwater camera and marked the odd fish at 50 and 60 feet. I chased the fish down deeper but I couldn't trigger a bite.
At 11 a.m. I decided to take a trek across the lake. It took 30 minutes to pack up and then get re-set on the the east side of the lake. It seemed as though my efforts were not worth it. Over the next two hours I only saw two more kokanee, one of which I lost right by the hole and the other just swam by. Finally at 1 p.m. a school came in and I caught my first kokanee of the day. The action was fast and furious over the next 20 minutes and I had four fish on the ice by 1:20 p.m.
With four kokanee on the ice I was beginning to think that getting my limit was a sure thing, but I lost two more before the action slowed to a crawl with only the odd fish coming in.
All the kokanee were in the top 15 feet of water. I caught two of the fish on shoepeg, one on a meal worm, and one on a baitless hand-tied pink tungsten fly.
the Strategy
Rod one: A 3 inch chrome/ pink/chartreuse williams wobbler with 12 inches of leader to a pink/purple tunsten jig.
Rod two: A 3.5 chrome and pink flasher with 14 inches of leader to a pink tungsten fly jig.
The bait: scented shoepeg corn, meal worms.
THE CATCH
Just when I though I was getting skunked I put 4 fish on the ice!
kokanee:4
rainbows: 0
PHOTO GALLERY
click to enlarge
December 21, 2022
Today was the coldest day I have been out ice fishing. You know you are a die hard fisher when you're out at -32 C. Or, you simply have an insulated tent and a buddy heater.
I met up with a friend and we headed out right in front of the main boat launch beside the highway. With temps being what they are, I wasn't surprised to find 6 inches of good ice. We set up over 46 feet of water.
We were hoping the kokanee would come to us because moving locations while dragging all our gear along behind us didn't sound very appealing at -32 C.
The day started very slowly, and we only saw a couple rainbows and marked a few fish for the first hour and a half. At 10:45 a large school of kokanee appeared on screen. They were interested but not very aggressive. We had a few bites but didn't manage to put any on the ice.
After that the kokanee started to come in on fairly consistent intervals, sometimes only one or two would come in, and other times it was full schools. We caught our first two fish (one each) between 12 and 1 p.m. We should have had 4 or 5 fish on the ice by this time, but the bite was just so soft that we were missing them.
I changed out my pink tungsten jig to a small #12 jig since the bites were so light. The small jig was the way to go, and the light bites turned into hook sets! Within a one hour span I caught 4 kokanee to fill my limit and my buddy caught 2 more. The kokanee were right up close to the surface today, at 10 feet and up. The ice was nice and clear so we were able to watch them swim by below us.
We tried a few different baits today. The fish seemed most interested in my scented shoepeg corn and pink maggots, although I did catch two of my kokanee with no bait on my small pink tungsten jig. We also tried meal worms but they were not as interested in them.
the Strategy
The set up: First, a 4 inch Mack sling blade flasher with 12 inches of leader to a #10 pink tungsten jig
Second: a chrome and pink 3.5 inch flasher with 12 inches of leader to a #12 pink tungsten jig
The bait: Scented shoepeg corn, pink maggots
THE CATCH
It took a while to started catching them today, but we ended with a bang!
kokanee: 8
rainbows: 0
PHOTO GALLERY
click to enlarge
ICE UPDATE
The north end of Stump Lake is still showing some open water, while the south end has frozen over. It has been reported that the south end has 5 inches of clear ice.
December 6, 2022
Photos courtesy of Dale McAughey
July 19, 2022
The weather is warming up and the fish are going deeper. I decided to try and get an earlier start than my usual 9 or 10 a.m. to attempt to beat the heat.
I arrived at the lake at 8 a.m. and met up with a friend. We scanned around the boat launch looking for schools and found several fish around 40 feet deep.
I started with a pink and glow spinner and my buddy started with a pink and purple spinner. We had a bit of a slow start while marking several fish from 30 to 50 feet and chasing the marks up and down with the downrigger. It took about a half hour but finally I got into a nice kokanee at 40 feet deep. I decided to change up my gear while I had my line in. I put on a small pink micro hoochie with a pink wiggle bill. This combination seemed to work a little better and I caught my second fish and lost another, both at 40 feet.
Halfway through the morning we moved to the northeast side of the lake. This seemed like a great move because we were marking massive schools of fish. We jigged over one of the schools and I quickly caught a small kokanee on a pink home-tied fly jig. My buddy also had a hit but it was small as well. We decided that these large schools may all be smaller fish so we returned to the area in front of the boat launch.
I changed up my wiggle hoochie to my old faithful straight pink spinner with a chrome blade while my buddy put on a pink wiggle hoochie. We had much more action in the late morning out in front of the boat launch. We were able to shake a few small ones free near the boat without handling them and lost a couple of others. We packed up at noon and had three good-sized kokanee and two smaller ones in the cooler. The bigger fish were starting to show signs of the season with a very slight undertone of pink under the chrome scales. It won't be too much longer before the mature fish will be turning full red and green.
the Strategy
Rod one: A Chrome's pink and UV flasher with 14 inches of leader to a Chrome's single pink spinner.
Rod two: A dog tail dodger with 14 inches of leader to a pink wiggle hoochie
The bait: scented shoepeg corn and pink gulp maggots
THE CATCH
PHOTO GALLERY
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5 fish caught, a few released, and a few lost.
kokanee: 5
rainbows: 0
June 20, 2022
Chironomid jigging for kokanee has wrapped up and trolling lures is back in full swing. The kokanee have transitioned their diet from chironomids exclusively to daphnia.
The weather was a little unsettled today but the wind stayed fairly calm.
I got out on the water by 9:30 and started fishing near the houses that are just a little southeast from the main boat launch. This time of the season most of the fish are high in the water column which can make it a little hard to figure out where the bigger schools are because they often don't show up on the fish finder. There are two reasons for this: one, the fish close to the surface are often spooked by the boat; and two, the sonar scans a very narrow area at shallow depths. Luckily for me the area I was in today was pretty good. I used a 75' set back and went down 12'. I trolled between 1.2 mph and 1.6 mph and made several turns. See "the strategy" (below) for my gear setup.
I managed two good-sized chrome kokanee in the first 45 minutes and lost another. There were a few other boats close by that were also doing well. By 12:30 I had my limit and had lost three. All the fish I had on today seemed to put up a good scrappy fight!
While out on the water I ran into a few different groups of fishers, including two who were using Chrome Catchers' lures. The first group were using Chromes' wiggle hoochies, and it seemed like every time I saw them their net was scooping a kokanee. The second group recognized me and they were looking for some info because it was their first time out. Anyone who knows me knows that I love to talk about fishing and so this was the highlight of my day :) !!! I told them what had been working for me and tossed them a couple of Chrome's single spinners, a little bag of scented shoepeg corn and some pink synthetic maggots. About five minutes later they were into their first kokanee of the season. It was an all round great day on the water!
the Strategy
Rod one: A Chrome's pink and UV flasher with 14 inches of leader to a Chrome's single pink spinner.
Rod two: A chrome and pink flasher with 14 inches of leader to a Chrome's single pink spinner
The bait: scented shoepeg corn and pink gulp maggots
THE CATCH
I caught my limit by noon and lost three others.
kokanee: 5
rainbows: 0
PHOTO GALLERY
click to enlarge
May 30, 2022
Today was one of the calmest days this month that I have been able to make it out on to the water.
I was very excited to get out because I had a new lure I wanted to try. But to be honest, I was even more excited to try out my other new toy: a new bow-mount Minn Kota with autopilot. Would you look at that beauty?
Earlier this May I had super good success while trolling through a wind storm on the north end of the lake. Today I headed straight back to that spot.
I geared up with my Chrome's dodger and the new lure: a pink spin n'glo with a pink grub tail. On my other rod I used Chrome's dodger and a pink smile spinner. Unfortunately I forgot my scented shoepeg corn at home, so I went with pink gulp synthetic maggots.
I put my gear down to 15 and 30 feet and trolled from the north west to the north east. The new electric motor was amazing! It didn't take long to figure out how to use it and once the boat was set on a course the motor maintained it automatically! This gave me lots of time to tend to my rods and adjust the depths of the downriggers. It also gave me time to put my feet up and enjoy my coffee. As I got closer to the north east side I was marking more and more fish and soon I landed two kokanee, one on each lure, at 25 feet deep. Soon after resetting, my rod came unclipped from the downrigger release and the line went screaming out. I think it was a monster rainbow. As I was battling the monster my second rod was bouncing in the rod holder. Unfortunately I lost both fish before I could see them. I reset and got right into another fish that I also lost. All the action was within 45 minutes and then the kokanee closed their mouths. They were marking everywhere but I couldn't entice a bite.
After a couple hours of trolling with no bites, I reeled my lines in and tested out another feature on the new bow mount: spot lock or anchor mode. The motor uses GPS to keep you anchored in one spot. This is an absolute game changer when it comes to jigging kokanee in the open water. Although it was a calm day when I started out, by afternoon the wind was starting to pick up a bit. Jigging in the wind in deep water can be difficult, because you get blown off track and end up spending more time adjusting the motor than jigging. But the bow mount kept me right on anchor with no additional input from me.
I found an area on the north east side of the lake in 55 feet of water where I was consistently marking several fish from 30 feet down to the bottom. The first two kokanee revealed throats full of chironomids. I used a williams wobbler and 8 inches of leader to a chironomid that somewhat matched the hatch. I put my line down to 50 feet and made a few quick jigs to bring in the fish. When the marks showed up on the finder I simply raised my gear very slowly. This proved to be amazing: 3 kokanee caught and 3 fish lost in 30 minutes! I wanted to fish more but I had my 5 kokanee already so I packed up.
the Strategy
Rod one: A Chrome's pink and glow flasher with 12 inches of leader to a pink spin n'glo with a pink grub tail
Rod two: A chrome and pink flasher with 14 inches of leader to a pink Chrome's smile spinner
Jigging setup: a williams wobbler with 8 inches of leader to a home-tied chironomid.
THE CATCH
A nice calm day on the water! 2 kokanee trolling and 3 jigging.
kokanee: 5
rainbows: 0
PHOTO GALLERY
click to enlarge
May 11, 2022
When I arrived at Stump Lake today, the wind was blowing hard and the waves were big, but that didn't stop an incredible amount of freshly hatched chironomids from flying all around the boat launch. Seeing this got me very excited! This often means that the fish are feeding heavily.
I zipped over to the bay near the campground to see if I could mark any fish but there was very little to see on the fish finder.
From here I let the wind and waves dictate my next move. I started trolling down the east side of the lake en route to the north end. It is far easier to troll with the wind when it is blowing hard. I had two bites on my way to the north end, even though I didn't mark many fish. When I got to the northeast end in 28 feet of water my fish finder lit up- and so did both of my rods, which were trolling at 15 and 20 feet deep. I caught one kokanee but lost the other. I took a quick throat sample and found that it was completely stuffed with tiny size 18 - 20 green chironomids.
I immediately attempted to set anchor and jig a flasher with a tiny green chironomid, but again the wind dictated that this was not possible with 3-foot waves pushing me off anchor.
I resumed trolling my Chrome's pink dodger with 14 inches of leader to a Chrome's pink and purple spinner.
This time I only fished one rod because it was tough in the wavy conditions to manage two rods on down riggers, especially when the fish were biting. I took a few more passes through the big school of fish with the downrigger set to 17 feet. Within 40 minutes I caught four more and had my limit of kokanee.
the Strategy
Rod one: A Chrome's pink and glow flasher with 14 inches of leader to a pink and purple Chrome's spinner
Rod two: A chrome and pink flasher with 16 inches of leader to a pink Chrome's smile spinner
Bait: scented shoepeg corn. See the recipe here
THE CATCH
Windy but fun! Once I found them ithey were not hard to catch!
kokanee: 5
rainbows: 0
PHOTO GALLERY
click to enlarge
March 3, 2022
What a beauty day to be out ice fishing! It is always nice when you have to unzip the tent a little because it's too warm! On the flip side, the warmer weather also means that the ice is getting thinner and weaker.
The ice right near shore was not great today, but out where I was fishing it was 10 inches thick. The first 5 inches was pretty firm but the last 5 inches was soft and the auger went through it quite quickly.
With the weather starting to warm up, I strongly suggest taking extra precautions if you are planning on going out on the ice. Wear a PFD and carry ice picks. If you fall through there is a very good chance those two pieces of equipment will save your life. The end of the season is often when people will fall through the ice, and it happens every year.
The water I was fishing in was 70 feet deep. I set my camera up at 18 feet and started jigging. The kokanee were coming in singles and pairs, but no big schools. I caught one about 20 minutes after setting up, and a second one right after. Unfortunately, the second fish came through the ice fishing hole, wriggled off the hook, and dove right back down the hole the transducer was in before I could grab it. I noticed the fish seemed to be coming in above my gear, so I reeled up to 10 feet. This seemed to be a good move. The fish were coming in about every 10 to 20 minutes.
It took a little bit of effort, but I managed my limit in 2.5 hours. It would have been a little quicker if I didn't let one slip back down the hole.
the Strategy
The setup: A chrome and pink 3.5 inch flasher with 14 inches of leader to a size 12 pink tungsten jig.
The bait: I caught three without bait and two with the jig tipped with pink maggots
THE CATCH
Six kokanee through the ice fishing hole, but one escaped down the hole before I could grab it.
kokanee: 5
rainbows: 0
PHOTO GALLERY
click to enlarge
February 25, 2022
I have read several good reports about the fishing at Stump Lake recently, and I hoped that they would prove to be accurate!
I arrived at the lake at 9:30 a.m. and counted 22 tents on the lake. I parked at the main launch and set up my tent closer to shore than all the other anglers. I drilled three holes in my tent: one for the camera, one for the transducer, and one for fishing.
The water was 70 feet deep, and I sent my gear down to 18 feet. I was using a chrome and brass 4 inch flasher with 12 inches of leader to a size 12 pink tungsten jig that I had tied up the night before. I always get a little excited to try out new lures and jigs. I didn't add any bait because I wanted to know if the jig would work bait-less.
The first two fish that I saw on the fish finder and camera hammered the new tungsten jig, giving me two fish on the ice in the first 10 minutes. The fish were very aggressive today! I watched my flasher freefall into the side of a kokanee and it turned and attacked the flasher and then my jig. Normally that would scare a fish off, not provoke an attack.
I marked 7 single fish at 20 feet deep over 45 minutes and was able to catch 5 of them. I limited out by 10:15 a.m.
The water was a little cloudy today compared to the last time I fished Stump and I found it odd that the fish were coming in one at a time. As I was packing up I finally marked a very large school of kokanee. I talked to a few other anglers who had caught a couple of fish and they were also catching mostly in the top 20 feet of water.
the Strategy
The setup: A chrome and brass 4 inch flasher with 12 inches of leader to a size 12 pink tungsten jig.
The bait: None required today!
THE CATCH
The kokanee were very aggressive today making them easy to catch!
kokanee: 5
rainbows: 0
PHOTO GALLERY
click to enlarge
January 14, 2022
This time last year I was out on January 12th trolling for kokanee in my boat on Stump Lake. This year I ventured out on 10 to 12 inches of ice to search for kokanee.
I could see several ice fishers set up off the main boat launch far south of me. I decided to try the north end because of how productive it was in early June of last year.
I spent the first hour wandering around the north end drilling holes and scanning them with my fish finder. I finally marked a few fish in 45 feet of water at 20 feet deep. I set up here and immediately had a nice one on, but not for long.
Over the course of 30 minutes, I saw two rainbows rush back and forth past the underwater camera at around 12 feet deep. Both times I had my line reeled up- once to put on new bait, and the other time to fix a tangle.
Finally at 11:30 a.m. at big school of kokanee came in at 12 feet, with one rainbow who appeared to be trying to blend in with the kokanee. I caught one seconds after the school came in and I put my line back down as fast as I could. Several bites later I hooked into my second kokanee. This action lasted only four and a half minutes. I only had a bit of free time today so I couldn't stick around to see if they would come back. It was still a great way to spend a couple of hours in the morning!
the Strategy
The setup: A chrome with pink and chartreuse ice flasher with 12 inches of leader to a small pink jig head with a tiny pink grub tail.
The bait: Scented shoe peg corn. See the recipe here
THE CATCH
A flurry of action at 11:30 a.m. that only lasted four and half minutes. Last time I was out there was only three and half minutes of action at 11:45 a.m.
kokanee: 2
rainbows: 0
PHOTO GALLERY
click to enlarge
January 10, 2022
I have heard several great reports of big rainbows and lots of kokanee in the shallows at Stump Lake. I was very excited to check it out.
I started off left of the boat launch. From there, I drilled test holes and jigged my line while scanning for fish with the fish finder. I did this for about 5 to 10 minutes, moving on if I did not find anything. I ended up spending the first hour just searching for fish. After only marking one fish I gave up searching and decided to set up in a spot 20 feet deep because of the latest reports of the fish being shallow.
It took until 11:45 a.m. until I saw my first fish of the day on the underwater camera. Just like my last outing on Paul Lake, there was a large school of kokanee at 8 feet deep for about three and half minutes! I caught one quite quickly and immediately got my line back down. Unfortunately I seem to have lost my touch, losing three fish before they all disappeared.
Two hours went by without marking a single fish after that flurry of action. I decided to go out to deeper waters and give it a try.
I went out to 75 feet of water and began jigging. I marked a couple of fish down at 60 feet and I sent my gear down to try to entice them but to no avail. I spent a little more time jigging at 8 feet and one single kokanee came in and took the bait. This one didn't get away.
the Strategy
The setup: A chrome with pink and chartreuse ice flasher with 12 inches of leader to a small pink jig head with a tiny pink grub tail.
The bait: Scented shoe peg corn. See the recipe here
THE CATCH
A flurry of action at 11:45 a.m. that only lasted three and half minutes
kokanee: 2
rainbows: 0
PHOTO GALLERY
click to enlarge
January 5, 2022
I stopped near the north end of the lake and set off for the other side. It was a -20 C, and the wind made it feel much colder, but it didn't take long to warm up pulling all my gear across the ice.
My first test hole revealed over 12 inches of ice, most of which was good hard ice. I used a drill with a regular wood cutting bit that was 6 inches long and I tested every 50 feet, or if the ice appeared to change.
At no point did my drill find water so the ice was at least 6 inches thick even in the middle of the lake.
As I got closer to the east side of the lake I began augering holes to scan for fish. The results were not good but I decided to set up anyway because I didn't feel like searching anymore. Fortunately, the spot I was in ended up not being too bad. It was 60 feet deep and and I marked the odd fish at 45 feet and then some at 15 feet.
Shortly after setting up I was watching my camera at 15 feet when a large rainbow nailed my flasher. Immediately after, a much smaller but still over 3 pound rainbow took my jig. I quickly put the gear back down but the huge rainbow didn't return. I caught 5 more rainbows, ranging from pan fryers up to 4 pounds. Near the end of the day a kokanee finally came onto the screen. I gave my line a jig and the pink krill I was using fell off. Luckily, my home-painted glow jig was still enticing enough for the kokanee to take it. I chased some marks at 45 feet and got one bite, but all of the fish I caught today were between 10 to 15 feet deep.
the Strategy
The setup: A Chrome ice flasher with 12 inches of leader to a Chrome's hand painted glow jig.
The bait: Pink krill, meal worms, pink gulp maggots.
THE CATCH
Finding kokanee today was not easy. The rainbows kept me entertained though!
kokanee: 1
rainbows: 6
PHOTO GALLERY
click to enlarge
