I opened the stillwater fly fishing season with a wild trip to Corbett Lake Lodge. Corbett Lake is located just outside of Merritt, British Columbia and its around a three hour drive from my front door step. It’s a private fishery, stocked with some beautiful big Rainbow Trout and we had the pleasure of catching a lot of them!
I arrived at Corbett Lake Friday morning on the last weekend of April to find the boat launch area still covered in ice. There was a narrow pathway leading out to open water carved out by the Lodge’s caretaker, I believe his name was Jim. (Shoutout to Jim and his dog Paul) At this point, only 25% of the lake was fishable.
Regardless, I put the boat in the water and began carving my path through the shifting ice.
With the air temperature in the mid twenties (Celsius) and a constant blow of wind, by late afternoon the ice was completely off the lake. It was actually astounding to watch how fast the ice disappeared. No longer did I have to be selective as to where I fished. As the water opened up, it was game on!
Corbett Lake is well structured. It has a large surface area of shoals which surround the lake, these are ideal grazing grounds for Rainbow Trout that stalk the 3-4 ft shallow water. The drop-offs are steep, abrupt and covered in thick vegetation. It’s a paradise for growing large healthy Rainbow Trout, until of course, they chomp down on the wrong food source and end up on the line of a fly rod. The lake is bordered by those classic Merritt grass rolling hills, often times I missed a few takes because I found myself staring at the scenery and not my indicator.
The cabins are exactly what you would expect to find at a fishing lodge. Rustic, clean and perfect for a weekend getaway. The bathrooms were equipped with showers, plenty of sleeping space, drinkable water and a big bbq on the patio. The cabins surround the southern end of the lake and the main lodge is located at the entrance of the property which includes a restaurant, a great selection of hand tied flies and of course, a well stocked bar.
It felt great to finally be back on the water again after what seemed like a long winter of tying flies. The first day was all smiles and a few fish. Day two, we dialed it in with a killer balanced leech pattern.
FISH ON!
Tap the video below to watch our adventure at Corbett Lake Lodge!
