What to use in Upper/Lower K Lakes

[BiggDirty]

I went up there on Saturday with my fly rod. When we rolled up in the morning, there was a small chunk of open water by the dam, however all the bulls that we saw were under the thin piece of ice a bit further out. So we threw stones for about 5 minutes and broke up the ice where the bulls were sitting. We took off for a couple hours to let the bulls come back after the rock shower we gave them. We headed up to the upper K and fished the inflow. Saw some rainbows cruising but not many. I even got to see a lynx up there, which was pretty awesome!

We went back down to the lower and by that time, the ice had broken up enough for us to toss streamers in. I ended up landing a bull (25-27 inches), and my buddy hooked but didn't land pretty much every other bull in there that we could see. There is a bit of open water, however in our case we just had to work a bit harder for it. Hope that helps, white streamers were the ticket.

[chubbdarter]

Originally Posted by BiggDirty

I went up there on Saturday with my fly rod. When we rolled up in the morning, there was a small chunk of open water by the dam, however all the bulls that we saw were under the thin piece of ice a bit further out. So we through stones for about 5 minutes and broke up the ice where the bulls were sitting. We took off for a couple hours to let the bulls come back after the rock shower we gave them. We headed up to the upper K and fished the inflow. Saw some rainbows cruising but not many. We went back down to the lower and by that time, the ice had broken up enough for us to toss streamers in. I ended up landed a bull (25-27 inches), and my buddy *****ed pretty much every other bull in there that we could see. There is a bit of open water, however in our case we just had to work a bit harder for it. Hope that helps, white streamers were the ticket.

thanks very much....i haven been there in many years...all tips appreciated

[Dust1n]

Originally Posted by BiggDirty

I went up there on Saturday with my fly rod. When we rolled up in the morning, there was a small chunk of open water by the dam, however all the bulls that we saw were under the thin piece of ice a bit further out. So we threw stones for about 5 minutes and broke up the ice where the bulls were sitting. We took off for a couple hours to let the bulls come back after the rock shower we gave them. We headed up to the upper K and fished the inflow. Saw some rainbows cruising but not many. I even got to see a lynx up there, which was pretty awesome!

We went back down to the lower and by that time, the ice had broken up enough for us to toss streamers in. I ended up landing a bull (25-27 inches), and my buddy hooked but didn't land pretty much every other bull in there that we could see. There is a bit of open water, however in our case we just had to work a bit harder for it. Hope that helps, white streamers were the ticket.

how big was the bow? its most likly a cutty im sure the bows are in the river systems by now.

[chubbdarter]

gonna try thru the ice...any tips on a few must have hooks i can pick up at the Hole tomorrow

[Dust1n]

PM sent

[BiggDirty]

Originally Posted by Fish Hunter7

how big was the bow? its most likly a cutty im sure the bows are in the river systems by now.

Well considering the fellow that was there caught a 4lb bow earlier, yes I'm sure it was a bow that I saw.

[Dust1n]

alright im not saying u didnt therye kinda rare there now. but you still see the odd one.

[chubbdarter]

Originally Posted by Fish Hunter7

PM sent

thanks Dustin

[icefisher11]

Originally Posted by Fish Hunter7

alright im not saying u didnt therye kinda rare there now. but you still see the odd one.

i catch bows there all the time during the summer.
How do you figure they are rare there??

[critter]

Originally Posted by icefisher11

i catch bows there all the time during the summer.
How do you figure they are rare there??

Stocking of rainbows came to a halt in 2002. They havent stocked it in nearly 10 years, and rainbows are basically non-existant in the Upper Lake. I havent caught or seen any in the last 4 years, nor have i heard of anyone catching any. There may still be the odd one. A few guys from this forum said they caught some nice bows this year, then sent me pics only to find out they were cutty's. Alberta is trying to turn this into a primary bulltrout lake with a healthy population of cuthroat as well. I have attached a poster of the gillnetting and stocking in Upper K, cheers

critter

[TyreeUM]

just as a side note, we caught an 7lb bow in the channel of upper K lake last spring, and saw a couple more...there was a guy flyfishing there as well from basspro and he caught about a 9 lb bow in the same spot....and I do know the difference between a bow and a cut

[icefisher11]

Originally Posted by critter

Stocking of rainbows came to a halt in 2002. They havent stocked it in nearly 10 years, and rainbows are basically non-existant in the Upper Lake. I havent caught or seen any in the last 4 years, nor have i heard of anyone catching any. There may still be the odd one. A few guys from this forum said they caught some nice bows this year, then sent me pics only to find out they were cutty's. Alberta is trying to turn this into a primary bulltrout lake with a healthy population of cuthroat as well. I have attached a poster of the gillnetting and stocking in Upper K, cheers

critter

i caught about 30 rainbow in the upper lake last summer. seems like there around.
and yes i know the difference between a bow and a cutty.

[Daceminnow]

Originally Posted by critter

Stocking of rainbows came to a halt in 2002. They havent stocked it in nearly 10 years, and rainbows are basically non-existant in the Upper Lake. I havent caught or seen any in the last 4 years, nor have i heard of anyone catching any. There may still be the odd one. A few guys from this forum said they caught some nice bows this year, then sent me pics only to find out they were cutty's. Alberta is trying to turn this into a primary bulltrout lake with a healthy population of cuthroat as well. I have attached a poster of the gillnetting and stocking in Upper K, cheers

critter

i take it the rainbow stocking has ceased only on the upper lake to your knowledge? as my family had a few good days up at the lower lake last summer catching 8-10 inch rainbows that i was certain to be freshly stocked fish.thanks.

Dace

[critter]

TyreeUM-thats great news, i figured the bows that were left would be hogs!
icefisher11- 30 rainbows eh, thats pretty unheard of, must of had a good spot...
Daceminnow- i believe thats correct. All i know about the lower lake is that the population is rather healthy. Still few and far between to catch a rainbow in there but they are usually good sized.

[icefisher11]

Originally Posted by critter

TyreeUM-thats great news, i figured the bows that were left would be hogs!
icefisher11- 30 rainbows eh, thats pretty unheard of, must of had a good spot...
Daceminnow- i believe thats correct. All i know about the lower lake is that the population is rather healthy. Still few and far between to catch a rainbow in there but they are usually good sized.

i didnt say it was one day. i caught 30 rainbow throughout the summer there. and also caught lots of cuttys and bulls.

[chubbdarter]

now that i think about this.
1- ive caught many bullies in bc up to 27lbs
2- ive caught many cutties in both ab and bc up to 7lbs

but ive never caught either thru the ice....ever in my long life.......thanks everyone for the pm bulltrout tips........now how do i catch a cutt thru the ice......please and thank you

[critter]

small marabou jigs, rubber can work, no more than an inch or two long, white, pink, or orange. Shallow, early. for cutts in upper k...

[TyreeUM]

the rainbows were starting to spawn as well, spewing eggs all over the place

[chubbdarter]

Originally Posted by critter

small marabou jigs, rubber can work, no more than an inch or two long, white, pink, or orange. Shallow, early. for cutts in upper k...

thank you kind sir..i will tie some up

i'll tie some with PB too and give that try....if they work i'll send you some for all your tips..thanks

[critter]

dont worry bout it, focus on sharp dropoffs near shore, fish between 5-15 feet of water, and inflowing creek mouths are the best by far. There are multiple creeks that flow into upper k, one or two within walking range.... gluck.

[chubbdarter]

Originally Posted by critter

dont worry bout it, focus on sharp dropoffs near shore, fish between 5-15 feet of water, and inflowing creek mouths are the best by far. There are multiple creeks that flow into upper k, one or two within walking range.... gluck.

geebusss they are like a walleye...lol

would you recomeed tying in some flash with the bou or the hair?

i have white, silver, gold, orange, black and yellow/chartreuse jig heads i'll tie them on

[critter]

I would keep them all relatively the same colour. Meaning i wouldnt have a different colour head than the body. White head, white hair, orange head, orange hair. And yea i would tie alittle flash in there, one or two strands at most. Also dont be afraid to keep it subtle and use a small black leech pattern.

[chubbdarter]

Originally Posted by critter

I would keep them all relatively the same colour. Meaning i wouldnt have a different colour head than the body. White head, white hair, orange head, orange hair. And yea i would tie alittle flash in there, one or two strands at most. Also dont be afraid to keep it subtle and use a small black leech pattern.

gotcha!!!!
thanks very much, youve been most helpful

[chubbdarter]

has anyone experimented with jigging Rapalas or Chubby Darters?

[TyreeUM]

yup, they work great - I also like using the jigging minnow made by storm - I have slammed some big trout on those little minnow jigs...after a few trout though, the jig looses the rubber tail and they are no where near as effective at that point...

[chubbdarter]

Originally Posted by TyreeUM

yup, they work great - I also like using the jigging minnow made by storm - I have slammed some big trout on those little minnow jigs...after a few trout though, the jig looses the rubber tail and they are no where near as effective at that point...

the Wildeye?
thanks

[TyreeUM]

nope, it's called the jigging minnow...the eye is in the top middle of the jig, but I just looked on the storm website and I didn't see it there...you can buy them at Canadian tire though - I just bought some about a month ago

[chubbdarter]

Originally Posted by TyreeUM

nope, it's called the jigging minnow...the eye is in the top middle of the jig, but I just looked on the storm website and I didn't see it there...you can buy them at Canadian tire though - I just bought some about a month ago

thanks i'll pick some up...and particular color?

[TyreeUM]

I have only seen yellow and blue available...pick up both, the yellow is my go to but the blue sometimes works when they don't wanna bite yellow

[Dust1n]

cutts are wayy easler to catch then the bullies
1st go to upper K cause they have a better catch rate.
2nd use pink lures. early in the morning will be best bite and stay shallower then bullies. jig mid water colom.
ill upload the pic later