PILLAR LAKE
fishing reports
Pillar Lake is best known for its hike to a unique stone pillar and it's rainbow trout fishery. Now stocked with kokanee, Pillar Lake's kokanee fishing is quickly growing in popularity. Learn more about Pillar Lake here.
December 6, 2022
I have been waiting somewhat impatiently for the ice to be safe on Pillar Lake and was hoping today would be the day! I did not expect to find 8 inches of ice at the boat launch after finding only 1 inch just a week ago.
I carried my ice picks and wore my PFD anyway as I ventured out to deeper waters.
I headed north from the boat launch and drilled test holes along the way, just in case. Today was a classic example of how easy it is to become complacent to the possibility of changing ice conditions.
I tested 5 different spots and the ice was consistently 8 inches. When I arrived at the location where I wanted to fish, I was surprised to find that I was standing on 3.5 inches. My previous test hole was only about 50 feet away with 8 inches of good ice. I backed off a bit and set up my tent over about 4.5 inches of ice, just north of the resort and in the middle.
I was set up over 54 feet of water and started fishing at 25 feet deep. I jigged for about 10 minutes and marked 3 fish at 45 feet deep, and no fish in the shallower water. I lowered my camera and hook to 45 feet. The fish were coming in every 5 to 10 minutes, but only 1 to 2 at a time. At exactly 10:30 I got into a nice 16.5 inch chromer. It was fairly slow fishing, but by 2 p.m. I had caught 4 rainbows and 3 kokanee. Unfortunately, I also lost 3 kokanee, one of which was larger than the others and got lost right by the hole. I would have caught several more rainbows but because I was targeting kokanee I strategically pulled my jig away from some of the rainbows. I saw 5 other good-sized kokanee on the camera. It is nice to know that there are some big ones still in the lake!
the Strategy
Rod one: A 2.5 inch williams wobbler with 12 inches of leader to a Chrome Catchers' hand-tied pink tungsten jig (jig can be seen in the gallery)
The bait: shoepeg corn scented with a Pautzke brine and anise oil.
THE CATCH
It was a bit slow today but I still managed to put 3 nice chromers on the ice!
kokanee: 3
rainbows: 4
PHOTO GALLERY
click to enlarge
ICE UPDATE
November 29, 2022
I was very optimistic that I might be able to get out on Pillar Lake today. I figured worst case scenario, I could fish at nearby Joyce Lake. I saw two ice huts on the south end of the lake but when I tested the ice at the south end I found 3 inches of ice, only 1 of which was good clear ice. The ice off the main day use area was only 1 inch thick. Off to Joyce Lake!
October 3, 2022
It was a perfect October day. There was not even a ripple on the water when I arrived at Pillar Lake.
This time of year, red and green kokanee can be seen near the shorelines of many local lakes. I decided to go to Pillar because it is one of the three local lakes that currently contains adult triploid kokanee. About 10% of triploids spawn after four years while the rest often live a couple of years longer. Because of this, Pillar Lake will still have a large number of chrome adult kokanee.
The first thing I saw when I arrived was a school of bright red kokanee right beside the boat launch. I always like watching the spawning fish!
I headed toward the north end of the lake and trolled along the way at 30 feet deep. I was using a pink and chrome Chrome's dodger and a Chrome's single spinner (bubble butt) on one rod and the same dodger with a pink wiggle hoochie on the other rod. The single spinner got a fish on almost immediately, and then two more bites within about 20 min. The wiggle hoochie caught one.
Most of the fish were marking between 25 to 35 feet. I switched out the wiggle hoochie for a pink micro spinner hoochie and lowered it to 30 feet and caught a nice kokanee soon after. I then changed the single spinner to another micro spinner hoochie and I became very busy- a good kind of busy! I was reeling in fish and downrigger weights with very little downtime. I hit my limit in about an hour and lost about the same amount. Most of the kokanee were about 14 inches, but one was a hog! All of the fish were caught close to 30 feet deep and at a speed of 1.2 MPH.
the Strategy
Rod one: A Chrome's pink and chrome dodger with 14 inches of leader to a micro spinner hoochie.
Rod two: A Chrome's pink and chrome dodger with 14 inches of leader to a micro spinner hoochie.
The bait: scented shoepeg corn
THE CATCH
Lots of kokanee biting the spinner hoochies today!
kokanee: 5
rainbows: 0
PHOTO GALLERY
click to enlarge
January 19, 2022
One year ago today I was out on the ice at Pillar Lake searching for kokanee. I managed to catch only one, along with a bunch of rainbows. I was determined to do better this year.
One of the issues with targeting kokanee in Pillar Lake is that the rainbows outnumber the kokanee by a little better than 5 to 1. The underwater camera really helps with this if you are targeting only kokanee, because you can strategically pull your jig away if you see the rainbows coming in.
I set up right in front of the resort where the lake widens. I was in 56 feet of water and the fish were consistently marking at 45 to 50 feet.
After getting my gear down I could see on the camera that most of the marks were rainbow trout. Every so often the fish finder screen became heavy with marks as a school of kokanee would come in and mingle with the rainbows. I tried a variety of baits and small jigging spoons but the tiny pink grub tail worked best.
I was on the lake from 10:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The rainbow trout were fairly aggressive and would strike readily, but the kokanee needed a constant jig or they would lose interest and swim away. I caught 5 rainbows (even while trying to avoid them!) and three chrome kokanee, all at about 45 feet deep. I was very impressed by the size of the kokanee- nearly 18 inches! I saw several good sized kokanee on the camera but only managed to catch one of the big ones.
the Strategy
The set up: a 3.5 inch chrome with pink and green glow flasher with 12 inches of leader to a small jig head and small pink grub tail.
The bait: I tried meal worms, pink gulp maggots, and scented shoepeg corn. It seemed as though no bait worked just as good.
THE CATCH
I was very happy to catch a kokanee that measured just shy of 18 inches!!!
kokanee: 3
rainbows: 5
PHOTO GALLERY
click to enlarge