Kinbasket Lake
 

Has anyone ever fished Kinbasket Lake near the Valemount side? Just wondering how good the lake is and whether or not it is worth a visit as a side-trip to Jasper? I never hear people talking about this lake but it looks like it could hold some serious fish?

with a boat?

There are bulls in there, but i know this time of year, they start going into the creeks in the area to move to the headwaters to spawn. I remember driving through to the coast with my dad when i was young and always catching a couple good sized fish out of those creeks.

Do a search on this forum. We have some fellow AO members that fish Kinbasket Lake... with boats.

One thing about Kinbasket Lake. The storms that can blow in are absolutely brutal.

Yes, with a boat.

it has lots of kokanee as well. i think you can only keep them until aug. 1 or something like that. lots of nice rainbow as well. also watch out for dead heads. they flooded the valley years ago and lots of lumber floats up every year. i havn't fished it since i was a kid but a buddy of mine has done quite well there. i have wanted to make it back up.

The water in kinbasket is very high this year... There is miles of debris and yes you need a pretty solid boat and some gear to get u down 20-30 ft deep at least to start hooking into bigger stuff. Lots of small kokanee, white fish and rainbows.. large bulls and dollies.. medium sized ling

Dont forget your tent and shotgun as it takes awhile to get to some of the best free camping sites...the road is now closed at the 38km (east side)

The Valemount marina is good place to start and they do a small town fishing derby every year ( This years is sept 1st 2nd)

Here are some pics of the lake last week on my 60km trek down to foster arm protected area

Free Camping Sites in South-End As Well?
 

Hi Billycap,

Do you know if there are free camping sites in the south as well? Is this mostly crown land?

Never camped where there are grizzlies... is this something i need to worry about over there? I keep a clean camp and follow strict bear rules and never had a black bear show up...

thanks,
mike

I've been ther mid October and we caught good size rainbows near surface, this time of year you likely (not fished this time of year but have Kootenay) should be down 100 ft or so.

wow... good thing i started asking questions!

i just moved here from Ontario and never fished this area at all... didn't realize they'd be that deep.

Do i need down riggers or will dipsy divers do?

mike poulin

Hey mike, Yes there is nothing but crown land around the lake... Its not the matter of being private/crown that makes the difference but finding a flat enough area to pitch a tent that can take hours. As for not bringing a gun with you.... bad idea! Not that the bears here are overly aggressive.... Most have never had any human contact and dont have any fear of you at all. The berries are in full production right now so chances are you wont have any bears raiding your food. The biggest problem with the lake is the water... not only is it full of dead heads and floating bark but if the wind kicks up you better have found a super sheltered bay... If you park your boat on shore in a bad spot and a night storm blows, you will wake up to a boat smashed to pieces. Also on the north end the human aspect of things stops abruptly around the 40km waterfall... I spent 4 days/nights and never saw a single person. That being said if you get hurt back there or have engine trouble on your boat you will be literally up !@$# creek without a paddle. I run a 40 horse merc but always bring my 6 horse kicker for just in case.

Hope this helps n be careful out on the basket as its one of the more dangerous lakes ive been on. A small price to pay for unlimited fishing hiking and camping. You wanna enjoy pure solitude and a "real" bush experiance than this is the place for you.

Ps: Dipsey divers work well here

hi Billycap,

Great advice and info, thank you so much!

So, very slow does it then, extra engine, sat phone, SPOT device.

Being from Ontario until just a few weeks ago, never had a need for a gun due to bears.... But those were only small bears (not grizzlies) so with a clean camp and bear bangers, i never had to worry.

North of 40km waterfall would be my destination as i surely do prefer the real bush experience so this place sounds perfect for me...

But, not this first time around... seems like i need to slowly work my way up... maybe i'll stay at the resort on the south end and explorer northwards from there... maybe even do a few over-nighters (after a scouting run) to start building some experience.

Is there a smaller lake in the area that you might suggest which still has back country camping but not as dangerous of water?

thanks a bunch!
mike

Where are you driving from and what kind of boat?

calgary, with jimmy 4x4, towing 17.5' princecraft 115 optimax and a good amount of gear.

6-7 hours max'ish..

mike

That sounds like u have all you will need.. I dont want to mislead you as im sure the southern half is just as wild as the northern... There are 3 main boat launches (Valemount marina), (Mica dam) and down by golden area. Get 20-30 km away from any of these and im sure you will find what your lookin for. When i refer to the 40km waterfall thats 40km south of valemount. Seems alot closer to drive to the southern end of the lake for you... I hear bush arm is awesome! The locals tell me if u follow the shoreline and do a complete loop of the lake its well over 700km round trip..

Dont forget to bring a your goldpan!

For anyone interested in a little derby/camping action next weekend
Here is the link:

http://www.visitvalemount.ca/Events/...hingDerby.html

Kinbasket
 

I haven't fished it for several years but it was a good fishery and probably still is. Greylynx is right - be very careful to keep an eye on the weather. I got caught in a storm and ran out of gas fighting swells to get back to the dock -nearly swamped the boat. The wind funnels down the valley and kicks things up very quickly

How much spare gas are you packing for that kind of trip?

I have 45L and 25L boat tanks. I also pack 2-25L jerry cans and a 10L small tank hooked up to my 6 horse hose/ball. The trip from the valemount marina to foster arm takes me about 6 hours(one way) + several days fishing and exploring and my total fuel usage was just shy of 75L. Im only averaging around 9-11kph between all the dead heads and having a full boat. Heading out tomorrow on the lake prospecting with my brother for a couple days, Ill try and take a few hours to catch some fish as well.

Had a great weekend out on the lake. Managed to get a few buckets threw the pan and still had enough time to catch some fish. Good adventures all around

eh great pics and fish. looks like a cool place to do some exploring

its that time
 

My planning is complete, we will be leaving on july 28th at noon from Valemont
and hopefully arriving at the camp ground close to golden in 5 days. i will take lots of pictures to share.

Please do. This lake haunts me. Would love to conquer it one day when my boys grow up

Any tips on fishing near golden this time of year thanks

I have fished it a couple of times and would advise using the same as Kootenay - Apex, Lyman, Croc spoons etc. Later in the fall bucktails and side planers are the way to go. You might set your VHS radio on 68, most guys use that channel.

I was out there a couple weeks ago around the bush arm. My boat was having issues so I spent most my time there getting it running but fishing was slow did manage to catch one little rainbow the day we fished

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I'm heading there for two weeks to the Valemount side for fishing and camping. Is there a place to buy gas on the water ?? I have a 19 ft bay liner. Heading down end of July. Thanks

Its an hour round trip to get gas in town. The marina does not sell anything but memberships as far as i know.

Thanks for the info. So best to pack a bunch of jerry cans.

Any recent reports for the lake - I'm thinking of getting out there in a couple weeks to try a new lake out ( launching at Valemount ).

Any reports or pointer to good shorelines to troll (or areas to try) would be appreciated !!!!

Thanks in Advance.