Outdoors with Don Q: Trout fishing at Mitchell Lake, British Columbia

This is the last in a three-part series about my recent (August 16-23) fly-in, trout fishing trip to remote Mitchell Lake, located in Cariboo Provincial Park in British Columbia, Canada.
The first in the series told you about our trip from Dayton, Nevada to Mitchell Lake via a single engine aircraft (piloted by my cousin’s husband, Bob Scholes) from Carson City and Dayton to Auburn, Washington to Abbotsford, British Columbia to Williams Lake, B.C. Then, at Williams Lake, we switched over to a helicopter to fly to our final destination of Mitchell Lake.
The second article told you about the folks in our seven member fishing party, plus the comfortable accommodations, the meals and the unforgettable environment at the lake.
This article will tell you about my fishing experiences at Mitchell Lake, while trolling with that “dirty rotten scoundrel” Bob.

Special Note:
Bob and I dearly love to constantly tease and harass each other, with the expectation of “one-upmanship” whenever we are around one other.
Sigh, Mitchell Lake was where he really scored on me…big time!

Mitchell Lake and its fish:
By way of background, it is a big lake. It is about 12 miles long, about 1-2 miles wide, 1,000 feet deep at the deepest; and is located at an elevation of 3,065 feet at the foot of towering peaks in the Canadian Rockies.
In doing some research on the Internet, prior to the trip, I found that the lake contains Dolly Varden (up to 26-28 inches in length), plus Bull, Cutthroat, Kamloop and Rainbow Trout (up to 22-24 inches).

Fishing gear:
The trick to catching lots of rainbow trout at Mitchell Lake is to troll with very small (size 0 or size 1) Mepps spinners with red striped blades.
So, I was prepared with two of each size, plus about a half dozen other Mepps (sizes 0-1-2-3) with different colors on the blades.
However, to be on the safe side, if the Mepps did not work I also took a small plastic lure box filled with Apex, Flatfish, Kastmaster, Rapala, Super Duper, Thomas Buoyant and Tor-P-Do lures.
In my fishing vest, I carried assorted items such as spare fishing line, different colored and sized attractor blades, snap swivels, split shot sinkers, a jar of red Salmon eggs, a jar of “Smelly Jelly,” a fillet knife and my 2012 British Columbia non-resident fishing license.
I was ready to outfish Bob for 2012 Mitchell Lake bragging rights!
My small carry-on bag with all my fishing items weighed 16 pounds.
I was allowed 50 pounds for the helicopter flight, so that left me a maximum of 34 pounds for everything else: Sleeping bag, rain gear, light jacket, sweat shirt, sweater, hiking shorts, an extra pair of long pants, shirts, underwear, extra tennis shoes, towel, shave kit, camera bag, insect repellent, etc.
I ended up with a total weight of 43 pounds for everything, which was well under the allowable 50 pounds.

Fishing:
At Mitchell Lake, it is virtually impossible to fish anywhere from shore due to the dense growth of trees and brush that grow right down to the edge of the water. It would be like an Amazon jungle if you were to try to walk through it, and spincasting from shore would impossible.
The only way to catch fish there is to troll or still fish from a boat.

Trolling:
Early on the morning of Friday, August 17, Bob and I took off in a boat for a few hours of trout fishing, and immediately began to tease one another.
I told him to pay attention as I was going to show him how to catch fish.
We headed for a nearby stream that flows into the lake, rigged up our poles (Bob had a red/white striped, size 0, Mepps spinner and I had a red/white striped, size 2, Mepps), and we began to slowly troll, very close to shore, in front of the mouth of that stream.
I was trolling on the side of the boat next to the shoreline.
Remember that very important fact.
In what seemed like only the blink of an eye, I caught and released four nice Rainbow Trout, while Bob was being completely skunked with his tiny lure.
Like a dummy, I smugly smirked, giggled and told him, “Geez, Bob, sorry to see you are getting skunked, while I’m having all of the fun. Try harder.”

The Scoundrel:
Sadly, little did I know that I was being set up like a favorite pigeon.
That sly rascal (my own relative!) had a sneaky, under-handed trick up his sleeve that was going to nail me cold and bring my bragging to an end.
Shortly after my sixth consecutive fish, Bob “innocently” said, “Well, let’s pull in and go further up the lake to see if my fishing improves.”
At this point, the score was: Don 6 – Bob 0.
Like a fool, I replied, “OK, go for it. I’m tired of catching all the fish. By now, you should realize that I am the better fisherman of the two of us.”
We raced up the lake for several miles to another stream mouth, he turned the boat back toward the direction that we had come from, we let out our lures, began to troll, and now, he was the one trolling closest to shore.
In an instant, he began to catch fish, while all I was doing was dragging my non-productive, non-fish-catching lure through the water.
Now, it was his turn to smugly smirk, giggle and make nasty and disparaging comments, while I was getting skunked.

In an attempt to catch some fish:
I switched my red/white No. 2 Mepps to a smaller No 1. Nothing happened.
I switched the red/white No. 1 to a No. 0. Nothing happened.
I switched to a bronze blade, size 0. Nothing happened.
I switched to a bronze blade, size 1. Nothing happened.
I switched to a bronze blade, size 2, Nothing happened.
I switched to a gold Flatfish lure. Nothing happened.
I switched to a small red/white striped TOR-P-Do lure. Nothing happened.
I was getting more and more frustrated, as he was grinning and bragging.

My fishing partner:
All the time, he (with a big grin on his face) was getting strike after strike after strike, and catching and releasing fish after fish after fish.
He smirked, giggled and told me, “Geez, sorry to see you getting skunked.”
It is amazing how quickly you can get an urge to throw someone out of a boat or to bash him over the head with one of the oars, even if he is your first-cousin’s husband.
I reluctantly said, “Geez, I don’t know what happened but now I can’t catch a fish. I’ve tried all kinds of lures and none of them work.”

The Mitchell Lake Secret:
He finally got tired of catching fish while I was enviously watching and confessed, “OK, I’ll let you in on a Mitchell Lake secret. I don’t know why but when two fishermen are trolling from a boat, only the fisherman closest to shore catches the fish, while the other one is usually getting skunked.”
It was absolutely true: The inside fisherman catches almost all of the fish.
A short time later, we quit fishing, brought in our lines and returned to the compound, where the fish that we had kept were cleaned, dunked in seasoned flour and fried as part of that morning’s breakfast.
Each of the following three days:
Our fishing action was identical to the first day: The fisherman trolling closest to shore did most, if not all of the catching, while the other watched.
So, to keep peace in the family, I would troll on the inside as we traveled up the lake and catch and release fish after fish while Bob watched.
Then we would turn around, troll back to the compound and Bob would catch and release fish after fish while I watched.
Weird but true. Mitchell Lake is a strange lake to fish.
For each day that we trolled, we caught lots and lots of rainbow trout, but nothing over 14-15 inches.
Most of the fish were caught and released, some were cooked for breakfast, a few were cooked for afternoon snacks and some were smoked to take home with us (you can have 10 trout in possession per person).
In closing:
The moral to this story is: Never, never, never trust my cousin’s husband when fishing with him…anywhere…especially at Mitchell Lake, B.C.
Be careful because he could be setting you up and you don’t know it.

My revenge:
Being “slightly” vindictive, I took a series of photos of Bob “Hard at Work” (AKA goofing off while others worked) during our stay at Mitchell Lake.
Some of those photos are included with this article.
Yahoo! Vengeance is mine!
Now, it’s my turn to smirk and giggle.

Finally:
In summary, I can tell you that when you fish from a boat at Mitchell Lake, either anchored or slowly trolling where a stream flows into the lake, you can pick any number that you want to choose: 5, 10, 20, 40, etc., and I guarantee you will catch that number of fish…if you use a Mepps spinner and if you are the one fishing closest to shore. I now know that!
The two of us had fun catching countless trout at Mitchell Lake, and I came home with 400+ digital photos and unforgettable memories of a special place, a special group of friends and a special relative.

Thanks:
I would be remiss if I didn’t sincerely thank Bob Scholes for inviting me to go on an unforgettable, fun-filled trip and I would also be remiss if I didn’t thank Jim and Brigitte Harkey of Auburn for being such gracious hosts.
Thanks to each one of you.

— Writer Don Quilici is the Outdoor editor for Carson Now and www.SouthTahoeNow.com. He can be reached at donquilici@hotmail.com