Fishing around Cranbrook

[Swath]

Gents,

Will be hauling the boat out to Wasa Lake Provincial Campground at the end of July for two weeks. Its a 17 footer. Any recommendations of good fishing lakes and what species are there. Was thinking Premier Lake. Any suggestions?

[DaveS]

I've caught largemouth bass in Wasa and my buddy got an 8 pounder there as well. There are also tons of perch and "pikeminnows" (not pike but a large minnow/carp like fish).

Premier Lake is a beautiful spot and you should have no trouble getting your boat in. Not sure about the fishing but it is stocked with rainbows and has brookies to I believe. There are also some lakes you can hike into from the parking lot at premier that have lots if small stocked rainbows.

[Swath]

Thanks for the info Dave. Wasnt too sure if Wasa or Premier would be any good.

Gonna have to fish early at Wasa as the boat traffic there gets crazy due to its small size.

Thanks again

[jaystev]

Premier lake is well worth the trip. Wasa was ok for us, but by the time we got to fishing it was evening both times and didnt put much effort into it. Theres a smaller lake i think its called lazy lake go south and take first left its not too far up. We had a blast up there Theres Big turtles in that lake and some pretty nice cliffs to jump from. Fishing it was awesome and imho easier and quieter than premier. There's nothing like having a mountain lake to yourself and one trout after another to the point where I was pulling the fly away from the smaller ones. Biggest was just over 20 inches. Your headed to some beautiful country, take some pics!

[trapshooter]

You could also try Jimsmith or Moyie. I fished both last week and had a blast. Moyie has tons of Kokanee and rainbows that range in size from 8"-16". Jimsmith has bass. Pretty easy fishing lake.

[Woolly Bugger]

My brother and sister-in-law own a home at Wasa so I am out there often. I was last out July 5th. Wasa flooded again this year and the Lake was partially opened (north end) on July 4th to powered boats. We predominately ski at Wasa as do many others, gets real busy with ski/wake boats so be prepared. Some big Large Mouth Bass (S/SW corner is best) and ton's of Perch & Pumpkinseed. There are some big Perch but you will catch 75 stunted 4" fish before you get a gooder. There are also some big Squawfish which are great fun on a fly rod. Lazy Lake is an excellent bet as mentioned above, no motors however. I also highly recommend heading up to Skookumchuck to fish Premier Lake. One of the most beautiful settings one can have in a boat. Blackwater Rainbows that are fairly easy to catch, some over 20". We skied there a couple weeks ago as Wasa was closed, very much worth the 25 minute trip. There are many other options in that area, nice problem to have. Gotta' love the East Kootenay's :)

[Swath]

Thanks all for the comments. Please clarify if you could.....

Are you allowed motors on JimSmith?