Huff Lake, BC - Days Gone By

Kamloops Trout

One of the best bodies of water that I ever fished in British Columbia, B.C. was called Huff Lake. By normal standards it was a relatively small, narrow lake that had a large population of Kamloops trout. It was chuck full of freshwater shrimp, caddisflies and a variety of other insects. It was not uncommon to hook 10-15 fish a day that averaged 4-6 pounds. Some were much larger, with a record fish weighing close to 14 pounds.

Their length belied their size as a 20 incher could weigh 5 pounds or more. Their small heads and thick bodies were the size of a football. I believe that this probably occurred because, after the ice melted in June, they became voracious feeders and devoured everything that was edible. The largest fish that I caught was 24 inches and weighed almost 10 pounds. My friend Rob played one that towed him around the lake until it broke him off.

At times during harsh winters, the lake would freeze over and have high incidents of winter kills. The problem was resolved when the Wilson family installed a windmill to aerate the lake. This greatly reduced the damage to fish. Sadly though, this great fishery fell on hard times when anglers began to keep fish instead of releasing them. It's doubtful today that Huff Lake holds any of the trophy fish of the past.