It was a cold one today. Pete Erickson, Loren Williams, Bret Bishop, Mike Sexton and I left our Airbnb around 8 am in about 49° and drizzle. We met up with lake fly fishing legend Brian Chan by 9 and soon Brians main boat was loaded with Pete, Loren and Mike and they towed Bret and I across Heffley Lake in the Brians extra boat. Brian wanted to fish about a mile from the boat launch and the trolling motor can’t handle such distance. It was practice Day 2 for the 2023 World Masters Fly Fishing Championships here in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada.
Though cold and drizzly there was hardly an ounce of wind. We were lucky to have the calm conditions because we were a little tight in Brians extra boat. It could be a bit tipsy you might say. Nevertheless, Bret, Loren and I went to work – three of us casting at the same time in very tight quarters. Pete and Mike were in the big boat with Brian.
The fishing waters for the competition are closed to all competitors for 60 days prior to the Championships. We can look at the lakes and rivers but we can’t fish them. Brian chose Heffley today because its similar to Sullivan Lake (Knouff Lake) that we all will fish for three hours at some point during the tournament. Knouff is big, clear and deep and full of the hard fighting Pennask strain of rainbow trout and so is Heffley. About ten minutes into our fishing day Bret went tight with a stout one.
Pete, who has fished the Kamloops area since he was a kid, bragged about these Pennask rainbows for weeks before we got here. He claimed they are some of the hardest fighting trout he’s ever met and expressed how beautiful they are too. Pete was right. This fish was a battle, but after a couple minutes Bret’s first of the day was ready for release. The vibrant pink and unique spot pattern on this fish did not disappoint.
Despite Bret catching a quick fish, we by no means kept catching them. There were a few here and there but there were a lot of fly changes, testing of different sinking lines and trying variations of strips. Slowly we figured things out and pulled more and more fish from the greenish looking waters of Heffley.
It was another great day hanging with my fellow teammates here in Kamloops BC. After nearly eight hours on the water we have this lake type somewhat figured out. By the end we were definitely catching numerous hefty Pennasks. We were also freezing our butts off!
Practice for this year’s World Masters is going well so far here in Kamloops. We just finished another great dinner at the Mittz Kitchen but now its time for sleep. We’ll be right back after it tomorrow morning.