PETER HOPE LAKE
Fishing Reports
Less than an hour outside of Kamloops, Peter Hope Lake is one of my favourite lakes- and not just for fishing! Beautiful cabins and hidden arms of the lake make this a great lake to explore. Read more about Peter Hope Lake
November 4, 2021
This will be my last fishing trip to Peter Hope Lake for the year. There was no one else on the water which was not surprising for November.
I put on full winter gear and went for it, and I am glad I suited up because it was cold!
I set up with my pink and glow Chrome's dodger with 18 inches of leader to a pink kokanee wobbler. On the other rod I used a chrome and pink Chrome's dodger with 14 inches of leader to a pink wiggle hoochie.
The fish were marking in distinct zones. They were between 30 to 40 feet and then from 60 feet to the bottom. Trolling was slow: over the course of two hours, I caught one rainbow on the wiggle hoochie and lost one fish on the kokanee wobbler.
It was time for a new approach. I reeled in my lines and set up my rod for jigging with one of my new tungsten jigs with a single barbless hook. This proved to be a good move. I caught three kokanee and two rainbows, all from between 60 feet and the bottom.
One of the three kokanee I caught today was a big spawning male. This I found very strange since Peter Hope Lake has only been stocked with all female triploid kokanee. I imagine that once in a while a few slip through.
Set up one: A Chrome's pink and glow dodger with 18 inches of leader to a pink kokanee wobbler.
Set up two: A Chrome's pink and chrome dodger with 14 inches of leader to a pink wiggle hoochie
Jigging setup: A yellow and orange tungsten jig
the Strategy
THE CATCH
PHOTO GALLERY
click to enlarge
It was strange to catch a big spawning male kokanee today since they are supposed to be all female.
kokanee: 3
rainbows: 3
october 18, 2021
When the weather co-operates, fall fishing can be super relaxing. Today was one of those days. It was calm and about 12 C.
The kokanee were hard to come by, but the rainbows were hitting steady. The fish were mostly scattered through the lake with only the odd small school. There was one exception to that: I found one large school of rainbows near the sunken island in about 45 feet of water.
I set up with my pink and glow Chrome's dodger with 18 inches of leader to a pink and yellow kokanee wobbler. On the other rod I used a chrome and pink Chrome's dodger with 14 inches of leader to a pink kokanee wobbler.
Both setups worked equally well today. The fishing started off quick- I caught a nice kokanee only a few minutes after putting my gear down to 50 feet. Over the next hour, I lost two kokanee near the boat and released two rainbows.
It was all rainbows for the rest of the day. I caught and released two more while trolling, and then caught and released four while jigging my ice flasher and a green and red tungsten jig.
Set up one: A Chrome's pink and glow dodger with 18 inches of leader to a pink and yellow kokanee wobbler.
Set up two: A Chrome's pink and chrome dodger with 14 inches of leader to a pink kokanee wobbler
the Strategy
THE CATCH
PHOTO GALLERY
click to enlarge
Lots of rainbows caught and released today, but only one kokanee.
kokanee: 1
rainbows: 8
September 23, 2021
For many kokanee lakes, the kokanee season is ending. The mature fish turn red and green, spawn in creeks or shorelines and then die off.
This is not the case for many stocked lakes. Many lakes like Peter Hope have been stocked with all female triploid fish. These female fish will usually live well beyond a typical kokanee life cycle and will stay chrome.
I arrived at Peter Hope at around 9:30 and went out past the drop off and turned on my fish finder. I was marking lots of fish down at 50 - 60 feet and several at 25 feet. This was true of every spot on the lake that I went today- the fish were seemingly everywhere.
I used my pink and glow Chrome's dodger with 12 inches of leader to a pink kokanee wobbler. On the other rod I used a chrome and pink Chrome's dodger with 14 inches of leader to a small pink and purple spoon.
THE SETUP
I started out fishing at 25 feet and I quickly caught two rainbows- one on each rod. When I reset, I went to 50 feet and after about an hour I caught a nice kokanee on the pink wobbler. I took a break from trolling and jigged for an hour using a Gibbs gold and silver flasher with the pink and purple spoon. I got one bite and landed another nice kokanee. I went back to trolling and caught one more nice kokanee on the pink wobbler and lost one on the pink and purple spoon.
Some of the kokanee in this lake have gotten quite large! My biggest, almost 3 pounds, gave me a good fight.
Set up one: A Chrome's pink and glow dodger with 12 inches of leader to a pink kokanee wobbler.
Set up two: A Chrome's pink and chrome dodger with 14 inches of leader to a small pink and purple spoon
the Strategy
THE CATCH
PHOTO GALLERY
click to enlarge
The kokanee are looking nice and healthy. My biggest today is just under 3 pounds!
kokanee: 3
rainbows: 2
July 27, 2021
I got a nice early start today. I wasn't planning on leaving until 6:00 a.m., but when I woke up before my alarm all I could think about was fishing. So I left even earlier and was on the water at 6:00 a.m.
I started marking several fish at 40 feet directly in front of the first boat launch where the water drops off to 45 feet.
I was planning on trolling but since there were so many fish in this one spot I decided to jig a Williams wobbler with an orange and yellow tungsten jig. This was a good idea. I caught a 19 inch kokanee within seconds of getting my line down to 40 feet. I jigged for another 20 minutes and had one more hit.
I pulled out the trolling rods and that were equipped with Chrome's dodgers, with an orange and pink wiggle hoochie on one and a pink wobbler on the other.
Trolling proved to be somewhat slow. Over the course of 3 hours I caught two rainbows on the wiggle hoochie, both considerably bigger than the rainbows that I normally catch in Peter Hope. One was about 2.5 lbs and the other was a solid 3.5 lbs. On the pink wobbler I lost two kokanee right beside the boat.
The biggest excitement of the day came when I lost a kokanee to an eagle! I had a beautiful kokanee tired out about 15 feet from the boat. I looked over my shoulder to reach for my net and I heard a loud swish sound. I looked back to see a large bald eagle clutch the 2lb kokanee with one talon and take off. For a very short time my gear was airborne but thankfully the hook popped out.
I went back to jigging for the last hour of my day. I had three more fish on using the orange and yellow tungsten jig but I wasn't able to get them close enough to tell what they were.
Set up one: A Chrome's dodger with 16 inches of leader to a pink kokanee wobbler.
Set up two: A Chrome's dodger with 16 inches of leader to a pink and orange wiggle hoochie.
The Jigging Setup: A Williams Wobbler with 12 inches of leader to a orange and yellow tungsten jig.
the Strategy
THE CATCH
PHOTO GALLERY
click to enlarge
I lost more than I caught today. Usually it is the other way around but between the eagle stealing a kokanee and the single barbless hooks it was a little more challenging to keep them on today.
kokanee: 1
rainbows: 2
June 08, 2021
I believe June is by far the best kokanee fishing month of the year. This June has been no different!
It was hard to pass by Stump Lake today because it has been hot lately, but Peter Hope has been producing big fish as well.
I started fishing right in front of the first boat launch just past the drop off. I began marking fish on the bottom at 60 feet and a few at 30 feet.
I put on my new Chrome's bendable dodgers, using a pink and chrome dodger with 16 inches of leader to a pink kokanee fly. On the other rod I used a UV pink dodger with 18 inches of leader to a pink kokanee wobbler.
I used a 50' set back and put both lines down to 30'. The pink kokanee wobbler dominated today. Over the course of two hours I caught five kokanee on the wobbler, lost two, and had a few bites. On the pink kokanee fly I managed only two bites over the same time period.
I noticed today that the kokanee have stopped foraging on chironomids at the bottom, and are feeding exclusively on zoo plankton at 25 to 35 feet deep. The fish were all over the lake today with only a couple schools of any size. Most marks on the fish finder were 3 or less fish in one place.
After I packed up the boat I noticed several rainbows jumping in the shallows near the dock. I put one of my new black and pink striped wobblers on my casting rod and made some casts off the dock. The action on the wobbler was awesome and the fish thought so too! I spent 30 minutes making casts off the dock, catching four rainbows and losing two.
the Strategy
Set up one: A Chrome's UV pink dodger with 18 inches of leader to a pink kokanee wobbler.
Set up two: A Chrome's chrome and pink dodger with 16 inches of leader to a pink kokanee fly.
THE CATCH
June fining at its finest! It was all about the wobblers today.
kokanee: 5
rainbows: 4
PHOTO GALLERY
click to enlarge
May 13, 2021
I could hardly wait to get back to Peter Hope Lake. My last outing was at Stump Lake, where I caught two rainbow trout and one tiny 7 inch kokanee. Not the best of fishing days since I was targeting kokanee.
It took trying some different techniques to catch kokanee today, but Peter Hope Lake did not let me down.
I started fishing the south end of the lake in 50 to 90 feet of water. The vast majority of fish were marking within 10 feet of the bottom regardless of what depth of water I was in. I trolled a Chromes spinner hoochie and a Chromes wiggle hoochie. Over the course of three hours of constantly adjusting my downriggers to stay near the bottom without dragging, I caught one nice kokanee and lost another beside the boat.
When it was time to go I decided to try one more thing. I throat sampled the kokanee I had caught and it was full of daphnia, but also had several black chironomids with a few blood worms. I put on a Williams Wobbler with eight inches of leader to a small red fly. It was kind of a cross between a chironomid and a blood worm. I added a small split shot weight four inches above my fly to prevent tangles. I began scanning around to find the bigger schools on the bottom. When I located a decent size school I lowered my new setup to the bottom. I used my electric motor to keep me in one spot so I could jig up and down and see my setup on the fish finder. It took all of two jigs to catch my second kokanee of the day. Over the course of 40 minutes of jigging I caught four kokanee to fill out my limit, and lost two others. Jigging the fly was the way to go! Four of the five kokanee were over 2 pounds
the Strategy
Set up one: A Gibbs Dogtail Dodger 18 inches of leader to a Pink Chromes Spinner Hoochie and no bait.
Set up two: A Macks Sling Blade with 16 inches of leader to a pink wiggle hoochie.
The Jigging Setup: A Williams Wobbler with 8 inches of leader to a small red fly (It looked like a cross between a blood worm and a chironomid)
THE CATCH
PHOTO GALLERY
click to enlarge
Jigging a small red fly was the way to go today! Catching four kokanee in 40 minutes and losing two. Four of the five kokanee were over 2 pounds
kokanee: 5
rainbows: 0
April 28 & 29, 2021
I feel very lucky to have had three straight days where I had time to fish from 10am to 2pm each day. Since I have been looking forward to fishing Peter Hope Lake so much, that I spent all three days trolling its waters.
On the morning of the 28th, I fished the north end of the lake where I had caught a large kokanee the previous day. It was 30 to 40 feet deep and fish were marking through all of the depths. It was extremely productive for rainbows. I caught and released 7 rainbows on the pink kokanee wobbler and lost 4 others.
At noon I decided that I probably wasn't going to find any kokanee on the north end. It was time to go on the hunt again for kokanee schools. I cruised around testing a few spots as I went. I found the biggest schools in 60 to 80 feet of water closer to the south end of the lake and slightly east of the middle of the lake.
I caught two very nice kokanee and lost two kokanee on the mini kokanee wobbler. I was fishing 10 to 15 feet off the bottom depending on the depth of water I encountered. It was a little busy on the downriggers but that is where the fish were.
On the 29th I headed right for the schools of kokanee. I found the schools and put my gear on them about 10 feet off the bottom. This time I changed it up to a pink and purple wiggle hoochie and a pink and glow spinner hoochie. They both worked equally well. I caught three nice kokanee, and lost four others as well as a few bites.
I have been very happy with how well the kokanee population is doing in Peter Hope Lake. They are very strong and healthy, and they put up a good fight. This is the fourth year that kokanee have been stocked in the lake. The size of these kokanee is impressive and they are sure to be bigger by mid to late June.
Peter Hope Lake has a single barbless hook bait ban. This can make catching kokanee a little more challenging. Contrary to popular belief, you can use tandem single hooks in B.C. lakes that are single barbless, providing that they are barbless and both are attached to a single lure.
the Strategy
Set up one: A Gibbs Dogtail Dodger 18 inches of leader to a Pink Chromes Spinner Hoochie and no bait.
Set up two: A Macks Sling Blade with 16 inches of leader to a pink mini kokanee wobbler
Set up three: A Macks Sling Blade and 18 inches of leader to a Pink and purple Chromes wiggle hoochie
THE CATCH
PHOTO GALLERY
click to enlarge
The fish count for the 28th
kokanee: 2
rainbows: 7
The fish count for the 29th
kokanee: 3
rainbows: 0
April 27, 2021
Peter Hope Lake is ice free! I have been very excited to fish Peter Hope Lake. This lake has an ice fishing ban so it has been a while.
Peter Hope Lake has a single barbless hook bait ban. This can make catching kokanee a little more challenging. Contrary to popular belief, you can use tandem single hooks in B.C. lakes that are single barbless, providing that they are barbless and both are attached to a single lure.
The day started off with a bang! I caught three rainbows and one big kokanee right off the bat, on the north end right in front of the boat launch. I was fishing 12 feet deep and pulling a Dog Tail Dodger with 18 inches of leader to a pink Chromes Spinner Hoochie.
I went back on the hunt for kokanee schools and I found them tightly schooled up on the south end of the lake right near the bottom in water that ranged from 50 to 80 feet. This was tricky to fish on a windy day with two rods out. The depth changed quickly and it was hard to keep my gear near the bottom without snagging my downrigger balls.
I caught one more rainbow near the surface as I was letting my downrigger down and lost two that I hooked in the 60 foot range. Both the spinner hoochie and the pink kokanee wobbler were getting the job done.
the Strategy
Set up one: A Gibbs Dogtail Dodger 18 inches of leader to a Pink Chromes Spinner Hoochie and no bait.
Set up two: A customized Ruby Eye Wigger with 18 inches of leader to a pink kokanee wobbler.
THE CATCH
PHOTO GALLERY
click to enlarge
I had a great day catching 5 and losing 2.
kokanee: 1
rainbows: 4
