West arm kootenay lake

[Fish face]

Going out to the kootenays may long weekend. lived out there for 15 years.
Know the area and lakes well but haven't spent much time on kootenay lake since i was a kid with gramps in crawford bay. Was wondering about kokanee tactics for the west arm. were only bringing a small aluminum so we can hand bomb it into erie and duck lake with oars. dont want to go much past balfour with a small boat and a 6 horse motor. do i bother with a pink lady and troll for big ones? Jug for burbs? Kokanee with a wedding band? Any tips would be great, its been a while.

[fish gunner]

Originally Posted by Fish face

Going out to the kootenays may long weekend. lived out there for 15 years.
Know the area and lakes well but haven't spent much time on kootenay lake since i was a kid with gramps in crawford bay. Was wondering about kokanee tactics for the west arm. were only bringing a small aluminum so we can hand bomb it into erie and duck lake with oars. dont want to go much past balfour with a small boat and a 6 horse motor. do i bother with a pink lady and troll for big ones? Jug for burbs? Kokanee with a wedding band? Any tips would be great, its been a while.

Burbs are all but extinct , bulls just past the light at the mouth of the arm. Regs are strict so read up kokanee could be closed. Ill pm a few other spots .

[EZM]

Agreed on regs - they may have a rotational open/closures ......

A couple decent spots, in addition to the mouth of the arm mentioned by fish gunner are -

1) the "island" right before the first channel passage where the faster water, meets to slower back current - clear bobber, long leader and a fly .......

2) By the "big boat" which is permanently moored - troll right in around there.

These are both virtually right in Balfour on the opposite bank of the arm.

[Pixel Shooter]

I fish the arm very different then the big lake. As others said, there is a quota for kokanee, once it is filled in the arm, they close it. I would look at the regs as well if you plan on doing any fly fishing in the west arm if memory serves me correct. For kokanee, I still luv my spin n glo with a maggot. Make sure you use a rubber snubber or it will be tough to get kokanee in the boat lol. My personal best with a dinky spin n glo with a single maggot was a 17lb rainbow on a 5 1/2 ft ultra light. Fished the main lake hard for like 12 hours washing every lure I had and had enough witout a single bite. 5 minutes with a my ultra light gear, voila, makes no sense, lol In the arm, I luv using rapalas or fly fishing, regular black and silver rapalas, work close to bottom, work the currents, lots of creeks coming in and around breaks. tin boat you should be fine moving up and down, just float it, and burn back up and do it again. The mouth of the west arm between the triangles is a great place going back and fourth in the mouth, good for dollies, kokanee and rainbows.

[Fish face]

Thanks for the info and the PM. Been awhile for kootenay lake. looking forward to it. much appreciated.