If you have a canoe, belly boat or inflatable watercraft and you can handle a short 10-minute hike on a good trail, you should try a quick journey for a day's fishing into Shane Lake.
Reached by turning onto Cranbrook Hill Road off Foothills Boulevard and following the signs for Forests for The World, the well-developed trail to Shane Lake is accessed from the parking lot, and is suitable for any age group to traverse.
Shane Lakes' amenities include a gazebo, picnic tables, fire pits and a floating dock, so it is suitable for a family gathering as well as introducing children to the abundant aquatic organisms that inhabit this little lake.
Shane is a shallow, weedy lake that is capable of producing plentiful food for trout, but fish cannot survive the low-oxygen content of the lake's winter cycle, so they will not see spring and will die from suffocation.
Because of this annual winter kill, catch-and-release practice is not necessary to conserve the fish population - anglers are encouraged to kill trout for eating purposes.
For the past two years, the Department of Fisheries has stocked 3,000 catchable trout (25 to 30 centimetre range) into the lake in early May, and because of its nutrients and admirable insect population, these trout gain up to 10 centimetre of length and one-half kilogram of weight during spring and summer, making them fat and feisty for the few ardent anglers that fish for them.
Adding to the resource, the trout hatchery at Spruce City Wildlife also drops some of its worn-out brood stock of rainbow trout, sizes in the 50 centimetre range, into the lake, making it possible to catch some trophy trout at Shane (witnessed in our photo).
For the business-type fly fisher living in Prince George, lakes like Shane are a bonus. They can be reached in under one-half hour, can be fished thoroughly in under four hours and are remote enough to be peaceful.
They are also within cell range if you're playing hooky from work - sort of like playing nine holes of golf during lunch break, and no one misses you.
Fly fishing in our lakes will begin to pick up in late August as evenings cool down and water temperatures drop into the low teens. Patterns to rely on as fall approaches (we missed summer this year) are olive shrimp, small micro blood leeches, dragonfly nymphs and chironomids, always keeping a watchful eye for rising trout that will greedily gobble a caddis imitation from the surface if they get the opportunity.
One of the most exciting times for fly fishers is soon approaching - the inevitable nuptial flights of water boatmen.
You will notice their activity on the shoreline first: small, shiny and brownish beetle-like insects with protruding swimming legs that resemble paddles. As they mature and begin to mate, they take flight over the water and then plop onto the lake's surface, swimming frantically to dive for cover from marauding trout that gleefully chase them down for quick meals, all the while fly fishers joyfully in pursuit of the visible cruising trout.
For more information on fly fishing places and patterns in the Central Interior, refer to the book "Fly Fishing BC's Interior" by Brian Smith, available at local bookstores and sporting goods retailers.
