STUMP LAKE
2020 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 here
July 18, 2020
Derby day has finally arrived! I have been looking forward to this for sometime now. The derby rules forbid releasing kokanee, so all I can do is hope that one of my five fish are as big as last Monday.
The derby started a 6 am. I arrived at the lake at 4:45am, launched on the highway side then proceeded across the lake to the rec site where the derby was set up to await the horn blast that signaled the derby start. It was great to see so many eager fishers, all hoping for the big one!
From there, I headed back to the northeast end of the lake where I had caught my 3lb 2oz kokanee last Monday. I repeated my technique by trolling at 1.3 mph and at 35 feet deep, dragging Dogtail Dodgers with 12 inches of leader to a pink and chrome Chrome's single spinner. In the first hour I caught one small rainbow that I was able to quickly release. I changed one of my pink Chrome's spinners out for a pink Chrome's wiggle hoochie and over the next two hours I caught one kokanee on the wiggle hoochie and lost one on the pink spinner. I changed my other Chrome's spinner for a pink and glow Chrome's spinner with a pink scale blade and caught a nice kokanee almost immediately. That was the key!
I switched the wiggle hoochie to the same, and in the next 2.5 hours I caught four decent kokanee and lost three others. Some of the kokanee are starting to turn to their spawning colours, as you can see in the photos, but still tasted delicious! By 12 pm I had my limit of kokanee and just relaxed on my boat until the 3 pm weigh in time.
The derby was a success, it was a great time! My biggest kokanee was 2.63 pounds falling a little short of the prizes. The first place kokanee weighed in at 2.83 pounds and the first place rainbow was a whopping 8.77 pounds!
A huge thank you to Kokanee Kings for hosting the derby!
the Strategy
Rod one: A Gibbs Dogtail Dodger 12 inches of leader and a pink and glow Chrome's spinner with a pink scale blade tipped with shoepeg corn scented with garlic and anise oil
Rod two: A Gibbs Dogtail Dodger 12 inches of leader and a variety of Chrome's custom lures tipped with shoepeg corn scented with garlic and anise oil.
PHOTO GALLERY
THE CATCH
Fun was had by all at the derby! The pink and glow Chrome's spinner with a pink scale blade worked best for me today.
kokanee: 5
rainbows: 1
click to enlarge
July 13, 2020
Today was the final preparation day for the Kokanee Kings fishing derby on Stump Lake. I went out with a friend today to try and get everything dialed in.
We arrived at the lake at about 9:30am and proceeded to the northeast side of the lake. From there, we started marking kokanee in a fairly small area and if we trolled off that mark too far, the fish finder would not mark any fish.
Over the course of four hours we caught six very large kokanee between us by circling the small area where the fish seemed to be packed in. The biggest kokanee exceeded 3 lbs and is my personal best! We trolled at 1.3 mph and at 35 feet deep dragging Dogtail Dodgers with 12 inches of leader to a pink and chrome Chrome's single spinner.
the Strategy
Rod one: A Gibbs Dogtail Dodger 12 inches of leader and a pink Chrome's spinner tipped with shoepeg corn scented with garlic and anise oil
Rod two: A Gibbs Dogtail Dodger 12 inches of leader and a pink Chrome's spinner tipped with shoepeg corn scented with garlic and anise oil.
THE CATCH
What a day! We caught a personal best kokanee weighing in at 3 lbs 2.2 ounces
kokanee: 6
rainbows: 0
PHOTO GALLERY
click to enlarge
July 10, 2020
I arrived at Stump Lake at about 9:30 a.m. and found that it would be another windy day on the water, white caps and all- but getting out today was worth the effort! I headed towards the north end of the lake and fished along the east side. There was one boat fishing the area when I arrived, but seven boats by the time I left.
I started off with my line down at 25 feet and began setting up my second rod when I happened to notice that the fish finder was marking fish at 35 to 40 feet. I dropped what I was doing and dropped the first rod to 35 feet- and landed my first kokanee of the day within 30 seconds. It was a hog!
I battled the wind for the next two hours but managed two more nice kokanee and one small one. The pink Chrome's spinner with shoepeg corn is definitely my go-to on this lake. I caught three of the four kokanee on it.
the Strategy
Rod one: A Gibbs Dogtail Dodger 12 inches of leader and a pink Chrome's spinner tipped with shoepeg corn scented with garlic and anise oil
Rod two: A Gibbs Dogtail Dodger 12 inches of leader and a pink Chrome's spinner hoochie. tipped with shoepeg corn scented with garlic and anise oil.
THE CATCH
The pink Chrome's spinner for the win AGAIN today.
kokanee: 4
rainbows: 0
PHOTO GALLERY
click to enlarge
July 8, 2020
Today was a little more challenging than most fishing days. The wind was gusting on the lake and the algae was thick enough near the surface that I felt the need to reel up at least every 20 minutes to clear my line of algae so that it wouldn't clog my fishing rod eyes and potentially cause me to lose fish.
I got on the lake at 9:00am and started marking fish mostly near the surface only 15 feet deep, with the odd fish down at 40 to 50 feet. I setup my first rod with a Dog Tail Dodger with 12 inches of leader to a Pink Chrome's spinner tipped with shoepeg corn scented with anise oil and garlic- this gear has been most productive for me. I then let out 75 feet of line before clipping to my quick release and lowering the downrigger to 12 feet. In the first hour I caught a beauty kokanee, lost two others, and got two bites. One was lost due to algae getting caught up in my fishing rod eye, and the fish got away while i was trying to clear it.
On the second hour of fishing (10:00 to 11:00) I trolled in front of the houses and cabins on the south end of the lake. I marked very few fish but I did land one nice clean-looking rainbow about 3 pounds. By 11:00 am the fish seemed to be going deeper. I was marking quite a few fish in front of the main boat launch from 25 feet down to 50 feet. I caught one small kokanee at 37 feet that I was able to wiggle free by the boat without having to handle it, and got two other bites at the same depth. Unfortunately, three hours was all I had to fish today.
On my second rod I tried running a few other lures at a variety of depths from 15 to 50 feet. I used a pink, orange and yellow hoochie with a Wiggle Bill, and a pink Spin N Glo tipped with my scented shoepeg corn. These setups were not successful- all of my bites and fish came on my first rod.
the Strategy
Rod one: A Gibbs Dogtail Dodger 12 inches of leader and a pink Chrome's spinner tipped with shoepeg corn scented with garlic and anise oil
Rod two: A Gibbs Dogtail Dodger 12 inches of leader and a variety of kokanee lures.
THE CATCH
The pink Chrome's spinner for the win today, catching all the fish and getting all the bites. This is becoming a trend.
kokanee: 2
rainbows: 1
PHOTO GALLERY
click to enlarge
June 25, 2020
I had more than just fishing on the agenda today. First, I wanted to see if I could pull my boat and trailer down the back roads to the recreation site. Second, today would be the first day of testing shoepeg corn vs peaches and cream corn. That will be a future article!
I made it to the recreation site but it was a slow crawl, taking me 30 minutes from the highway coming from the Kamloops end. Although I did make it in, I did have some challenges. At one point I was crawling through a cross ditch and my leg had 3 inches of clearance. I squeaked through, just scraping the dirt a bit with the trailer frame. But it's nice to know it can be done!
As for fishing, the lake has slowed a little but it is still pretty good. The fish seemed deeper than last time I was out, now residing at about 35 feet. I landed five kokanee and lost another two by the boat and had one other bite. I had most of the action on my pink Chrome's spinner with shoepeg corn.
the Strategy
Rod one: A Gibbs Dogtail Dodger 12 inches of leader and a pink Chrome's spinner tipped with shoepeg corn scented with garlic and anise oil
Rod two: A Gibbs Dogtail Dodger 12 inches of leader and a Chrome's pink
hoochie with a Wiggle Hoochie Bill tipped with shoepeg corn scented with garlic and anise oil
THE CATCH
The pink Chrome's spinner for the win today.
kokanee: 5
rainbows: 0
PHOTO GALLERY
click to enlarge
June 18, 2020
I have heard several reports of good fishing on Stump Lake, and I finally had the chance to go. When I arrived at 9:15 a.m. the boat launches were packed! It took a while to get launched and then find parking. By the time I got my kicker on and my downriggers clamped to my waketower, it was 10:30 a.m.
I started fishing at about 20 feet down. When I am fishing this shallow with my downrigger, I like to let out about 50 feet of line first to get my lures well behind the boat. I believe that when you are fishing that shallow the boat can scare some fish away. We let out 50 feet of line and clipped the line to the quick release. We then lowered the downrigger to 15 feet. I am guessing that the lures were right around 20 feet deep.
The reports were true: Stump Lake is HOT!!! I got my first rod set, and before I could finish setting up my second rod, a kokanee that turned out to be just over 2 pounds was tugging on the first rod. We fished for just two hours between 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and caught six kokanee, one rainbow, and lost four others. All fish were between two and 2.3 pounds. The real story might be about the big one that got away. We were hooked into a fish that I'm sure was over four, maybe five pounds. I got a look at it from a distance and I think it was a kokanee but it may have been a rainbow.
the Strategy
Rod one: A Gibbs Dogtail Dodger 12 inches of leader and a pink Chrome's spinner tipped with shoe peg corn scented with garlic and anise oil
Rod two: A Gibbs Dogtail Dodger 12 inches of leader and a Chrome's pink and purple hoochie tipped with shoe peg corn scented with garlic and anise oil
THE CATCH
The pink Chrome's spinner for the win today, catching all but one fish!
kokanee: 6
rainbows: 1
PHOTO GALLERY
click to enlarge
May 4, 2020
Stump Lake is living up to its name, leaving me stumped on how to find those kokanee. I talked to five other fishers and no one was catching kokanee today. We tried several locations, depths, lures and baits. I had a chance to try out my new Berkley Lightning 8' 6" medium action rods paired with my Abu Garcia Ambassadeur level wind reels. I loved the setup! Maybe next time I will get to reel in a fish.
PHOTO GALLERY
click to enlarge
April 21, 2020
I have been itching to get out to Stump Lake for weeks (fishing is a great social distancing activity!) but also was worried about driving all the way out there to find patchy ice. I didn't have to worry. Stump Lake is now ice free!
I had a short window of time in the evening, from 5 pm to 7 pm. The weather forecast wasn't promising, but I decided to take my chances anyway- even if only to do a reconnaissance mission to see if there was any ice. The lake was full of white caps, and very windy, which made it challenging to launch the boat.
All of the fish that I marked were hanging out in the top 30 feet of water. I tried fishing between 20 - 30 feet, with success at about 22 feet in depth. Although the choppy water cut my evening short, I was rewarded with a healthy rainbow. Unfortunately no kokanee.
THE CATCH
the Strategy
My first setup: A # 5 F.S.T with 14 inches of leader to a chromes hoochie tipped with pink gulp maggots.
My second setupsetup: A two leaf Ford Fender followed by 18 inches of leader and a chromes custom spinner tipped with earth worm.
The one fish that I caught was at 22 feet. It was caught on my first setup (chromes hoochie)
kokanee: 0
rainbows: 1
PHOTO GALLERY
click to enlarge
february 27, 2020
REPORTS FROM READERS
Thank you, JH, for submitting a fishing report!
After reading the Chrome Catchers report on using a gang troll while ice jigging, JH went out to Stump Lake and used a 4 leaf gang troll with 14 inches of leader and a red glow hook with corn soaked in orange Pro cure. He was rewarded with a nice kokanee which is a success, because Stump Lake has been cooling off. JH was jigging at 35 feet deep and reported getting several bites while the bite was on.
Hope you enjoy that kokanee, JH!
Have a report you would like to share? Submit your fishing report here!
February 20, 2020
I was so excited to go to Stump Lake today- my first time ice fishing on Stump Lake this year. I have been neglecting to go there because I did not think the ice would be good with the kind of weather we have been having. When I was at Monte, we were looking at a little over five inches of ice and I thought Stump Lake would have less. To my surprise, Stump Lake had 10 inches of solid ice!
On my way out on the ice I talked to a couple of gentlemen who had just given up on kokanee and were heading closer to shore to try for some rainbow trout. They told me that they had been there for four hours and had only marked five fish on the finder at 35 feet and had one on that they lost. They were using Gibbs Ice Gators and pink maggots.
I ended up walking almost clear across the lake to where I had good success last fall. Unfortunately, the gentlemen I talked to were right: the fishing was slow. I stayed for four hours, between 11 a.m. and 3:00 p.m.- that was all the time I had for the day. For the first hour I tried a Gibbs Gator spoon with a small glow jig tipped with pink gulp maggots, I saw only one kokanee on the underwater camera. For the next two and a half hours I used a moon jelly Dog Tail Dodger with the same glow jig tipped with real pink maggots. I saw three kokanee and managed to catch one. For the last half an hour I decided to try something I thought was crazy and very overkill, but it worked! I put on a four leaf Ford Fender in hopes that with all that flashing something would come in. To my surprise, a kokanee came in immediately, and then again every five minutes after that. I caught one more and lost one in that last half an hour!
THE CATCH
the Strategy
Jigging at 35 feet I saw only four kokanee in the first three and a half hours. Then in the last half hour hour I saw several kokanee -catching one and losing one.
My setup: A Gibbs Dog Tail Dodger with 14 inches of leader to a small glow jig head tipped pink maggots.
Unconventional setup: A four leaf Ford Fender followed by 14 inches of leader and a small glow jig head tipped pink maggots.
Most of the action was from jigging a gang troll. Who would have thought?
kokanee: 2
rainbows: 0
PHOTO GALLERY
click to enlarge
Sept 5, 2019
The strategy:
Downrigging at 37ft in depth was, like yesterday, the magic depth. Today I was fishing with a dodge tail dodger followed by 18 inches of leader and a chromes single pink and glow spinner with tandem hooks tipped with pink gulp maggots. My friend was fishing with a dodge tail dodger followed by 12 inches of leader and a chromes pink hoochie with tandem hooks tipped with shoe peg corn soaked in pink pro cure and tuna oil and garlic. Changing up the trolling speed and making lots of turns seemed to entice the bites today.
The take:
We caught 9 chrome kokanee, 2 spawning kokanee which were both around 1.5lbs. One beauty rainbow trout probably a couple of pounds. It was a gem of a day on the water and nice to share it with a friend!
Sept 4, 2019
The strategy:
Downrigging at 37ft in depth and only 37ft proved very successful- anything else did not seem to work. Today I was fishing with a Dodge Tail Dodger followed by 12 inches of leader and a chromes pink hootchie with tandem hooks tipped with pink gulp maggots. I also tried a glow chromes single spinner with no luck. The chromes hoochies are all they wanted today.
The take:
I got on the water at 9:30 am and fished until 2:00 pm. Most of the action was in the first couple of hours. I caught 5 chrome kokanee, 2 spawners, and 3 rainbow trout. All the fish caught today were under a pound. I couldn't seem to find the bigger ones today. All in all a beauty day on the water!
Tight lines!
July 24, 2019
The strategy:
Downrigging anywhere from 30ft to 55ft in depth proved very successful! Today I was fishing with a Dodge tail dodger followed by 12 inches of leader and a small pink hootchie with tandem macks glow hooks. On my kids rod was a Dodge tail dodger followed by 18 inches of leader and a orange and yellow wedding band tipped with pink power bait maggot.
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The take:
In less than 2 hours we lost a few fish, had several bites, and landed 11 fish! 10 kokanee, and one small rainbow trout. The kokanee ranged from about .75lb to 1.75lbs.
Tight Lines!
