Reprinted from BC Outdoor, May 2000 Bob Jones

When it comes to rainbow trout, anglers want one of two things – fish abundance and large sizes. Period. If either or both meet their expectations, they will put up with crowded conditions and accept the most rundown accommodations imaginable. And they’ll return as often as time and money permit. However, for a winning combination, make the target lake fairly large, like 1,618 hectares with an irregular shoreline that permits a reasonable degree of solitude, stock it with lots of trout, many reaching double-digit weights, when top it off with some comfortable, well-maintained, reasonably priced accommodations. Welcome to Sheridan Lake Resort, folks, where the number of repeat customers each season is around 80 per cent. Yet, despite the growing number of people who fish Sheridan Lake, this body of water, located about 68 kilometers west of Little Fort, produces bragging-size rainbows on a consistent basis.

Credit this fast growth to the lake’s abundance of freshwater shrimp. Two-year-olds stock as fry are usually over two pounds and some three year olds hit six pounds. The one fish that sticks in the minds of most anglers who regularly fish the lake weighed 17-pounds, seven ounces. Further testimony to the size of Sheridan’s rainbows are the brag boards that line the front porch of the lodge office – hundreds of names of anglers who have caught five, six and seven pound trout. There are more inside, including those, which climb into the mid-and high teens.

Best Lures
The tackle shop includes a good selection of lures and fly patterns with proven track records for catching Sheridan’s rainbows. Predominately Lyman plugs and Hot Shots and a well-stock fly fox including two “must have patterns for trolling – the Horsehair Nymph and Slim Pickin’s.

“Charley Moore out of Washington designed the Horsehair,” explained Bob Leith who, together with his wife, Jeanine run Sheridan Lake Resort. “They used to tie them with horse hair and sometimes black bear hair, but now they use synthetics. I think the olive colours are the ones that are worth trying.

Sheridan is noted for excellent springtime chironomid hatches, and later on, it’s afternoon mayfly and evening sedge hatches. Nevertheless, trolling remains the most popular fishing technique. Because of the water’s clarity, trout in the shallows are very boat-shy, which calls for long lines. Those trolling lures usually rely on down-riggers for depth control, but most fly trollers favor lead-core because they can work their fly erratically, pulling it forward, then dropping it back.

“We put five colours on our reels, at 30 feet per colour. The amount of lead-core to put out depends on the conditions. The deepest I normally fish is three-and-a-half colours. Three colours at the rate we troll takes it down close to 24 feet. We can get into the shallows and fish with half a colour and that’s probably putting it down three or four feet.

“The two best flies are the Horsehair Nymph and the Slim Pickin’s. Those two patterns are pretty standard. I think they have to be a leech imitation, it might be a big of a stretch to say a hellgrammite. I’ve use Hot Shots occasionally, mostly with a perch finish, and they are effective at times. I normally do that when the flies don’t seem to work, so you start throwing the tackle box at them. A black F5 Flatfish with a silver speckle works quite well sometimes.

“Whatever you use, you’ve got to troll them slow, that’s one of the main ingredients for catching fish around here. Less than a foot a second. I gauge my speed by watching something in the water and counting one thousand one, one thousand two. I feel a foot a second may be just a bit too fast. I use a six-horse motor that I’ve put a smaller-pitched prop on so I can troll fairly slow.The fishing at Sheridan usually starts sometime in May. According to Bob, the ice is usually off by May 1^st and the lake turns over between June 2^nd to the 7^th. The shallows generally go first but, if it gets windy, the entire lake turns over quickly. The fishing can be very good right after ice-out, especially if the shallows warm up, as the trout are ravenous when they come out of the cold water.

“After the ice-off, the chironomids come on slowly. Man, there are a billion different kinds! Then there are the mays and sedges – those big travellers – and that’s about July 1.” Bob said. “You start off using leaders at nine feet until about the middle of July, then when the water temperatures drive them back out to the deep, its up to 30 feet

“We have very typical bite periods here. Early mornings and late evenings are best. During the middle of the day, go have fun with the kids, relax or do some sightseeing. Because a lot of people come here on more of a family vacation trip, they’ll fish in the early morning, go play 18 holes from 10 o’clock until mid afternoon, then come back and fish for the rest of the evening.”

Head for Deep Water

When the shallows become too warm during the summer, the trout head for deeper water, 45 feet or more. Once into those deep channels, trolling with Lymans, Hot Shots or spoons can be very effective.

“It does get slow, but the fish you do catch stay nice for eating because the lake is all spring fed and they stay in the cold water,” explained. “One of those channels is 118 feet deep.

The switch back to cool shallows is around the middle of September. It can be outstanding, but hardly anybody comes then because school’s back in and it’s hunting season. I’ve had outstanding fishing in November, but I live here. I can look out my window, decide it looks good and I’m here all the time, so I can pick when to go. But if anyone wants to come up for three days in the fall, just call me and I’ll help you figure out the best time. Normally the ice starts forming about November 24 or 25 then it’s over.”

Since Bob and Jeanine Leith bought the operation nearly 11 years ago, they completely remodeled the 16 existing cabins inside and out, then built three new ones. All cabins have hot and cold running water, electric heat, a electric range and a refrigerator. Other new buildings include the office and tackle shop, a show house and a fish house. They also increased the number of RV sites to 100, each with power and water.

Boats on Hand

There are 16 rental boats – 14 footers with new Johnson six-horsepower outboard – and plenty of dock space for those who tow their own.

“We have no launch fee,” Bob Leith told me. “We’ll even launch the boats for folks with RV’s. No trouble – you go park, we’ll launch your boat for you. We have 36 moorages, 20 feet per moorage, at three bucks a day.

“If it’s your first time here, we can help you get out there and catch fish, “ he said. “And all of the guest you meet will help you, too. It’s a real friendly crowd here. It’s not hard to get in with everything from fly fishing to trolling to whatever.”

Quite a season, quite a lake. Evidently, being easily accessible and heavily fished doesn’t matter the least bit to the serious anglers who enjoy the challenge of fishing for larger and average rainbows. And it’s certainly not a problem to those thousands of repeat customers who visit Sheridan Lake Resort each year.