STUMP LAKE
fishing reports
Stump Lake is producing kokanee in the one to three pound range as well as some big rainbow trout. Read more about Stump Lake
May 27, 2026
When I headed to Stump today, I wasn't sure what was going to work. I brought a huge selection of gear just to be sure I would have something that would catch. It turns out that I really didn't need many options.
I arrived at around 8 a.m. and started scanning the water. I marked a few in front of the highway launch, but not many.
I saw several boats to the south so I headed that way. There were 11 boats anchored in about 45 to 60 feet of water. As I neared them I could see why- I started marking several fish from 30 feet deep to the bottom. I anchored about 150 yards away and threw my chironomid jigging gear down. It did not take long to start getting action. I got several marks to chase my chironomid and caught two kokanee in the first few minutes. Since it seemed so productive I reeled up and crimped my barbs so I could attempt to shake some off without handling them. I soon found that the black and red ribbed chironomid with a white tungsten head worked the best.
I also found that I did not need to get the fish to chase the chironomid- they were readily taking the chironomid while it was still. This is often not the case with kokanee; generally the slow rising chironomid is the key to success. In short order I had my limit of kokanee and shook off four kokanee by the boat. I also caught two good-sized rainbows (about 3.5 and 4.5 pounds) that I released.
All of the boats that were anchored around me were fishing chironomids, and every one was catching both kokanee and rainbows. It looked like the boats that were out trolling were all catching kokanee too. Some were trolling gang trolls and doing well, and others were using dodgers on downriggers and were also successful. From now to the beginning of July I expect the kokanee fishing in all the local lakes to be at its best. Let's hope that it is!
the Strategy
rod one: A 3.5 inch Williams wobbler with 12 inches of leader to a black and red ribbed chironomid with a white tungsten head
rod two: A A 3.5 inch Williams wobbler with 12 inches of leader to a chrome and red ribbed chironomid with a white tungsten head
THE CATCH
Chironomids for the win!
kokanee: 5
rainbows: 2
PHOTO GALLERY
click to enlarge
April 29, 2026
I haven't been getting out on the water nearly as much as I would like to, but I finally had a chance to get out today and it was a beauty calm day! When I arrived at the highway launch the water was much shallower than last year. This made loading and unloading the boat somewhat more complicated, but when there's a will there's a way.
I started scanning the water for fish right in front of the boat launch. Instead of thoroughly scanning the area, I rushed it a bit and only marked a couple. I would find out later in the day that was a mistake.
I then headed across the lake to an area where I have done well in the past. I was marking the odd fish in ones and twos at 25 and 40 feet. I started fishing here with slim swing tail dodgers paired with pink micro spinner hoochies. I trolled for about an hour at various depths and speeds with no luck. I then switched out one of the spinner hoochies for a wiggle hoochie and I caught a nice kokanee on it almost immediately. I thought I had found the key. I then ran two wiggle hoochies for about an hour but caught nothing.
I decided that I needed to go exploring until I found more fish. I searched several of my usual hot spots but this was also unsuccessful. I then headed back towards the boat launch to scan the most common ice fishing area in front of the boat launch. It was stacked with fish! I was finding several schools of kokanee from 20 feet down to the bottom. This is where I had started my day scanning for fish but clearly I didn't scan thoroughly enough.
I put a micro spinner hoochie and a wiggle hoochie down. I moved the downriggers up and down, depending on what I saw on the finder. It didn't take long. The micro spinner hoochie caught the kokanee number two, and shortly after number three. While I was reeling in kokanee number three, the other rod with the wiggle hoochie went off. By the time I landed my third I had lost the double header. I caught two more kokanee on the micro spinner hoochie to fill the limit and lost one more on the wiggle hoochie. I was trolling at 1 to 1.2 mph and turning frequently. I caught fish at 20 feet, 40 feet and 60 feet.
the Strategy
rod one: A slim swing tail dodger with 14 inches of leader to pink micro spinner hoochie
rod two: A slim swing tail dodger with 14 inches of leader to pink wiggle hoochie
The bait: no bait
THE CATCH
The kokanee were very schooled up and all in one area.
kokanee: 5
rainbows: 0
PHOTO GALLERY
click to enlarge
February 19, 2026
I am very happy that the cold weather has returned! It won't be here for long but it has hardened up the ice at Stump. It is still only 3 inches thick in front of the highway launch, but out in front of the gravel launch I found a solid 7 inches of ice!
I headed out from the gravel launch in a north east direction and set up over 58 feet of water (look in the gallery to see the location). There were two other tents a little south of me that reportedly didn't catch anything.
At 9:30 a.m. I was set up and seeing fish in the top 10 feet of water. I quickly got my gear down (gear can also be seen in the gallery) and just as quickly reeled in a nice kokanee. When the fish are there I don't waste any time. I quickly got the gear back down to ten feet and was into another, but this one I lost by the hole. Again I got the gear down quick and caught kokanee number two followed by another that I lost at the hole. I had only been fishing for 15 minutes and caught two and lost two. After the flurry of action it slowed a bit but the fish were still coming in about every 10 to 15 minutes. They were mostly near the surface but there were a few marking deeper.
When the fish did come in they were usually interested. I found that they were biting most often on the downward jig. By noon I had my limit of kokanee on the ice and had lost just as many. I caught everything in the top 15 feet of water. The water has cleared up significantly from my last time out making it possible to sight fish!
On my way out I stopped and chatted with a couple of others who were out fishing. They had managed to put one fish on the ice between them. I gave them a few jigs and some tips. Hopefully they got into some more!
As always, conditions can change quickly- always check ice thickness for yourself.
the Strategy
the setup: A 3.5 inch Williams wobbler with 12 inches of leader to a hand tied pink tungsten ice fly.
The bait: Bait-less pink tungsten ice fly
THE CATCH
I found the limit in the top 15 feet of water.
kokanee: 5
rainbows: 0
PHOTO GALLERY
click to enlarge
January 26, 2026
After I saw how thick the ice is at Paul Lake yesterday, I had a hunch that I would finally be able to get out on deep enough water at Stump to find some kokanee. It wasn't the spot I would normally go to, but I still found some kokanee!
When I arrived from the Kamloops end I was happy to see that the lake was completely ice covered and I drove to the paved highway launch to check out the conditions. As I suspected, it was not thick enough for me to go out on- there was only two inches of ice.
I continued driving southward to the gravel launch where I found 6 inches of good ice. I was stoked! I headed out towards the middle and slightly north of the launch. I tested a couple of spots along the way and scanned for marks on the Garmin. When I got to 55 feet of water I started seeing lots of marks in the 30 foot range, so this is where I set up for the day (see the photo gallery for my location). By the time I set up, it was a little after 9:30 a.m. and the marks I had found had mostly disappeared. I was still marking the odd one and managed a couple of bites.
At about 10 a.m. the school came back at 30 feet and they were aggressive! I quickly got into my first kokanee of the day and madly got my gear back down in an attempt to get back into the school before they left. I was able to put three more kokanee on the ice in short order and I shook off another small 8 incher in the hole. The school moved on but I was happy to catch four of them before they were gone. A short while later two kokanee came in and I was able to put my limit fish on the ice. It was only 10:30 a.m. and I wasn't ready to leave.
I started chasing some deeper marks that I thought might be rainbows. I was able to get a couple of bites and I lost another halfway up to the hole. I stayed until a little after noon and I never saw the big school of kokanee come back, just singles and doubles.
There were two other anglers that showed up when I did and they managed to get one nice kokanee. Unfortunately they were in the process of moving their tents during the short-lived flurry of kokanee action. I'm sure if they were on the spot sooner they too would have got into lots of kokanee.
the Strategy
the setup: A 3.5 inch Toronto wobbler with 10 inches of leader to a hand tied pink tungsten ice fly.
The bait: Bait-less pink tungsten ice fly
THE CATCH
Limit of kokanee through the ice! Finally!!!
kokanee: 5
rainbows: 0
PHOTO GALLERY
click to enlarge
ICE UPDATE
Stump is still mostly open water, with only the south end iced up. I checked the ice at the gravel launch along the highway and found about 3.5 inches of ice. I didn't venture out too far. I headed to the very south end and fished for a while on 5 inches of clear ice. The water was murky and the fishing was slow slow slow.
JANUARY 21, 2026
ICE UPDATE & SHORT REPORT
Today I took a run up to Stump and found that it was pretty much as I expected it to be, as far as ice goes. Most of the lake was open water and the shallow south end was iced over. I went with the intent that I would most likely be able to ice fish the south end and chase some big rainbows.
JANUARY 8, 2026
I headed out on the south end, testing the ice often. There was 6 inches of clear ice near shore and 4.5 inches about 75 meters off shore where I set up. I was over 8 feet of water and jigged for about 30 minutes without seeing anything. Finally two fish came into view on the underwater camera and to my surprise they were both kokanee, one chrome one and one showing some spawning colours. The spawner grabbed the jig fast as I was attempting to catch the chrome one. I released the spawner and continued fishing. Throughout the three hours I was there I saw about 12 kokanee come through and only one rainbow. I managed to catch two nice kokanee, one at 15.5 inches and the other at 18.5 inches. I lost two others near the hole that were of good size. I know that sometimes kokanee can be found in the shallows but I did not expect to see more kokanee than rainbows in eight feet of water.
