2

Ge,
t
\

eet inca’ : aes ae Sey is
of F Stores, : . i Sapte

pacuew : ;

TOUR DAM. . . Large groups can ‘precarrange tours of B Hydro's HughKeen: 5 fs : z ‘i ae : : Beet ss i Peano : i : cesieeOen ee: ens : :
leyside Dam, 8 km upstream from Castlegar on the Colu bla River. The dam: rf Oy 7 let Zi 5 r is i Aes x eae ea 3 . a S : Sos ‘ Save St i eee : ue
has a navigation tock for river traffic and controls the river's fl b ‘ ants x fea tain el g ate ue 2 eke = ao cas : ie i fuse WEG * ae. Baerga 3

ad "Fishing one ‘of the
= = world’s best lakes

Running the Jength ‘of in recent years, it is more .

Kootenay Country are-two
splendid mountain ranges,
the Selkirks and Purcells,

And in between these two’

is Kootenay. Lake. This is
the only .lake .in British.
Columbia — a~ province
with many lakes indeed —

that. has ‘received : Special’.

Lake status from the prov-
incial government.

than likely. that record can
be eclipsed.
The Rainbow are where

the excitement is as far as

Kootenay Lake. is con-
cerned, although there is

‘lots: of fishing “for other

species.on the lake also,
‘But the'challenge and thrill
of landing “the big one that
didn’t get away” is what

It is a very special lake brings most people out. -
indeed because it is one of . onto the water.

the best lakes in which to:. _ The-Rainbow spawn in

" fish in the world. Surpris- . May, and ‘then lay low

ing or not, the best time to throughout the summer

fish Kootenay Lake fs win- months, recuperating from,

ter. the ordeals of the spawn, in

Kootenay Lake runs 97° which: a 20-pound fish ©

miles long, and is narrow, might lose as much as four
yet does not freeze over in or five pounds.

the winter months, No- They remain about 85 to
vember through March. 100 feet below the surface
More important than: the - and are not fished for dur-
fact the surface does not. ing this time. But as the
freeze, is what is under- fall arrives and the amount
neath the waves. The lake of oxygen that far below
is the home of the Kam- the surface decreases, the

loops ‘Rainbow, a mighty
big fish when full grown.

The world record for the
Rainbow is 87
caught at Pend d'Oreille,
Washington.. The Kam-
loops Rainbow has’ been

pounds,

rainbow move up quite
close to the surface.’

The fishing begins. The
rainbow can be found 10 to
12 feet below the surface
from October through
March, They are lured

transplanted” into lakes with plugs and spoons, col-

“young, and only in the two

‘to five pound size, they are
fished for with dry flies. °°

-When ‘very young, the
rainbow move in schools, a
little older and they live in
pairs, and once they ‘are.
full. grown,* they become
independent and: remain
- alone.: Bach ‘one’ stakes: its“:
personal area of the lake.
That area is their's to de-”
fend and that is what they
are.doing when they take -
the hook.

Al Mackareth, a fishing
guide on Kootenay Lake,
explains the catch this
way: “He doesn't bite it”
because he is hungry, he
bites it because he is mad.” :

“Nine times out of- 10,

‘when you catch a rainbow
‘on a. plug, you've’ gone
through his area and he's
mad as hell. That is why he’.
does after it.” ~

‘Regardless of why the
mighty rainbow is taking
the book is the fact that in
Kootenay .Lake, the rain-:.
bow does so. in'fine -num-
bers. Ore of the centres for
fishing, and-especially for

winter fishing, in Kootenay _
Lake is Kaslo, midway up
the northern half of the

throughout-the world, but .ored green, blues and sil- . lake.

Kootenay Lake: is their ver. Plugs like Witch doc-
original home, and has: . tors, J-plugs, Rebels, Rap-
produced-a 35 pounder, ellas and the Max Squid
which is the current record: produce the best ‘results,
for Kootenay Lake. _ ~ .': Namely, big fish.
Current is used, because “Very interestingly, no

And in Kaslo, it is the
Jones Boys Marine. that:
has-. introduced” the “20-
Pounder Club,”: whichis 4
little bit.of recognition for
the’ trophy fisherman. th

with the number of big fish « bait is used. In fact, when lake.and the rainbow: pro-
till z

of the lake ‘the - rainbow are

1
F