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The lakes of

ByC.CONLAND

Another close-to-Vancouver fishing area,the well-known Harrison. But, with a bonus lake, that

according to the author, few fishermen have tried.

ftWhere the heck did you comefrom?" said a gruff voice, startlingme out of the dream I was having. . . landing my first trout of theday on a dry fly!

I turned in the direction of thespeaker; there, just off the road,rising from where he had been sitting, came a man who, I was soonto find out, objected to my presencein this area!

"I hiked the mountain trail afterleaving my car at the Forestry Office this morning," I said ... "it ismy intention to try this first lake—"

"Well you just get right backwhere you came from . . .and nevermind fishing trips into this area —this is private logging, and all roadsand trails are closed . . . you hadbetter think yourself lucky that Iam letting you go with just a warning," he snarled through a mouthful of snoose.

That was my first introductioninto the lakes in the Harrison area:

the year was 1954! I had driven myold Ford out from Vancouver that

particular morning, and had goneas for as the road would permit —

The author and his "black" canoe, ready for another day on one of his many fakes.

it

the B.C. Forest Station on the eastside of the Harrison Lake. Fromthis parking spot I had taken outmy map and started on the three-mile hike that would take me intoa lake known as "Trout." Thetrail twisted and climbed along theshoreline, and ended at the placewhere—today—Green Point Parkis established.

I find it hard to believe now asI drive along the good road fromthe village of Harrison t| GreenPoint Park that this whole area isopen to the public. Before you arrive at the picnic tables at the Park,there is a stop sign. Off to yourright is a good gravel road, and ina matter of minutes you can beparked at the end of Trout Lake.This lake is well fished in the summer months, but it is stocked regularly so there is always someaction. Today the water level hasbeen dropped^ leaving a wide rush-grass shoreline that is free of snags.In my estimation it is the ideal lakein this area for teaching youngstersthe art of fly fishing. When conditions are right, the twelve-inchrainbows respond very well to thedry fly, and you need not worryabout being thrown out as I was in'54!

Two miles farther up the road,keeping \o your right, there is a"Y" fork; left will take you on to"Deer Lake," right to "Hicks." Tome Hicks Lake is the "jewel of the

A

Moss Lake, with its trout to 3 pounds, yours to try If you care to make the effort.

mountains"—it is a large lake witha wonderful shoreline, small, secluded sandy beaches—lots of privacy for the family campout, andmountain peaks that are sufficientlyseparated to allow you to relax ona long, sunbaked day in completeisolation from your neighboringcampers. The water is shallowaround most of these beach areas,and by mid-July it is beautifullywarm for swimming. This is one ofthe few lakes I have found that iscomparatively free of mosquitosduring the summer months! Why Ido not know—maybe it has something to do with the sand, but during the day mosquitos seem hard tofind!

After dusk insect life increases,and this is the best time to fish. Inmy experience I have found that thefish come into the shallow waterin that last hour before dark; and Ihave caught my limit during thislast hour by trailing any small,brown wet fly behind the canoe.

Hicks is the ideal lake for thefamily headquarters. If the familymembers are not as ardent fishermen as you, they should hot haveany complaints at being left alone

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here for the day, while you go offand explore Trout and Deer Lakes;I have found that these other twoare not as suitable for the familycampout.

Deer Lake is a hard lake to fish,and it is almost essential that youhave a small boat with you. I havetalked with scores of disappointedanglers over the years who havecome all the way from Vancouverand Seattle to fish this lake, onlyto find, when they reached it, between the road and water there is asteep hillside thick with vine mapleand devil's club. The lake is so hidden from view that it is possible todrive well past it before you realizeit is down below the road. There isonly one place to put a boat in thewater, and that is at the extremewest end—but this also has itsproblems and it is not advisable toventure down to the lake withoutfirst checking the road. I have beendown this road in mid-August, andif we have had any amount of rain,my 4-wheel drive has had a job tomake it through to the lake. However, if you find the road good, takea supply of insect repellent along!At this lake there is an abundance

of mosquitos.

As with the other lakes mentioned,Deer is stocked regularly withtrout. Conditions permitting, youwill find this to be an excellen^lakefor the dry fly; my favorite is abrown, black or grey bivisible andthe fish here grow up to twopounds!

At this point I will open my"Pandora's Box" of local fishing information for the Harrison Lakearea. A side road branches off toyour right immediately before youcome to Deer Lake—it is fairlysteep and you many find the average car cannot make the grade;but a 4 x 4 can normally climb it,with an occasional helping push!The shale on the hill is the chiefcause of any trouble you might experience— and more often thannot, if you do not know why youshould bother climbing this grade,there is no apparent reason whyyou should make the effort to get Utthe top! My disclosure to the readeris about a lake that the averageweekend fisherman never seems tofind—do not look for its name onthe* map because it is not marked;

(Continued on page 46) 4«j

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46

Distributed by

A. M. STEVENS987-3222

start justifying our use of the resource more effectively, or werun the risk of democratising ourselves out of existence .. .Licciice fees levied for freshwaterfisheries in B.C. have certainlynot led to any decline in non=:rresident anglers so there is littlefear that tourist and marinaoperators would suffer to any ex-

' tent. The possibility of a blanketlicense to cover casual fishingthrough marina and charteroperators should be considered.

We would recommend:1. That a substantial license for

non-resident (non-Canadian) anglers be instituted in keepingwith the license fee levied for 'non-resident use of other provincial fish and wildlife resources.

2. That a season limit for non-resident anglers be established.

3. That a licensing system for resident Canadian anglers be considered to facilitate the collectionof data. Whether or not thislicense should be used as a meansof generating revenue, to assistin the management of the fisheries resource is, we would suggest, a political decision. Wewolud point out however, as abody representing the largestsingle block of outdoorsmen inthe province, that the B.C. Wildlife Federation believes that thesportsman will be able to safeguard his stake in resource allocation by being prepared topay for the resource that he uses,and justify its use on the sameeconomic ground as other resource users." •

THE LAKES OF HARRISON(Continued from page 17)

it sits on the ridge above Deer, andlocal fishing buffs call it "Moss."

Are you interested . . . ?.Then letme guide you in: I take it that you ^have already found Trout, Hicksand Deer Lakes; and just to makesure you are heading up the correct mountain—the road is on yourright as you drive between Hicksand Deer. The first 500 yards iseasy; on your left you will see DeerL. below you—now the road startsto get steep, and you will soon findyourself on the grade mentionedearlier. If the car cannot make it. . . park to the side and walk, theexercise will do you good! There isa problem however—to fish Mossyou must have a iight boat or canoe;a rubber raft will suffice, but somewater transportation is essential. Ifyou cannot get a light craft up the

mountain with you, you will be disappointed!

Simply driving or walking thehill is not enough to find this secluded paradise; I think that thisis why it gets so few fishermen. Itis possible to drive up and over themountain and locate other smalllakes (I know of the existance of atleast another four, but none of themproduce, trout), and you could return to the Hicks Lake road without knowing that you had passedone of the best fish producing lakesin the area—so here are my in

structions: when you get to the topof the mountain you will come toa "Y"; the road is twice as widein this location so park here. Thereare signs of old campfires, cigarettepackages, etc., but if you follow theabove information you will be inthe right area. There is a furthercheck you can make to ensure youare in the right place: on yourleft-hand side, which is the direction in which your lake ought to be,walk into the bush about twentyyards and you find a stream; thisfast, bubbling stream comes out ofMoss, and it flows all the yearround.

Now that you are at the streamdo not strike out for the lake without finding the trail. .'. thick, shortspruce and devil's club make^hismountain top an impenetrablejungle! Instead follow along thestream, in either direction, a shortdistance and you will find a log thathas obviously been made into acrossing—on either side of this logyou will find the trail. It* Jakesabout, ten minutes to waif* intoMoss from where the car is parked. . . and a little longer if you arepacking a light boat!

When I go into Moss (about twoor three times a year) I pack a lightfly rod, red and white flatfish, andmy ever faithful canoe. On my lasttrip I took a friend along who alsofishes "fly rod and canoe." It was aholiday'weekend, and before wedrove to the mountain top wechecked Hicks, Deer and Trout—allhad fishermen, but Moss had noother anglers.

Moss Lake is not as large as the' other lakes I have mentioned, how

ever it has been made progressively deeper over the years by thepresence of an active family ofbeavers. These animals have industriously dammed the completeoutlet side of the lake, raising thewater by several feet. They havebuilt a massive lodge on the left-hand side of Moss, and this is afavorite location of mine to drift

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over with a sixty foot line and wetfly!

I mentioned earlier that in fishing this water it is advisable to havea small boat; or, if you have to hikein, a rubber raft. This is not a lakefor an outboard |notor! The quietapproach is absolutely essential—Ihave had tackle-snapping actionuntil the lodge beavers come out inthe evening; then KERPLUNK—the first tail splash seems to sendthe fish into hiding! . .

On all the lakes around HarrisonHot Springs, I fish exclusively withfly rod and canoe. I have tested thecanoe many times against otherboats and rafts on small lakes, andbackwaters, and I have proved tomy own satisfaction that I can takemore fish with the silent approachthan by thrashing the water withoars and poles, or an outboardmotor. I have even tested, andfound, that the color of your craft

' can make an important differenceto the final tally of the day's catch.*My canoe may look unimpressive

on the top of my Rover but once Ihave it in the water . . . wow!—itsconstruction is canvas and wood;(in my opinion fibreglass and aluminum craft have a tendency to benoisy when the water becomeschoppy) and in my research with

&

paint and colors, I found the bestto be flat block, similar to that usedon chalkboards!—and, if you cancredit it, I painted my paddles toxmatch the boat!

The far side of the lake (Moss) Isnothing but a large, floating, greenspongy mat of vegetation—fromthis the lake derived its name. Byplunging a long stick through thismat it would appear that it variesin thickness between' a foot toeighteen inches; under this floatingmoss carpet the water is very deep.

There are two main ways I approach my fishing here: when Ifirst arrive I drift and glide throughthe lily pads, barely making a ripple on the surface of the water—my fly rod ready with a brown orblack bivisible. Silently I watch thepads for a nudge or slight movement ... this would indicate thepresence of a trout! I find this anexciting way to fish; my paddle isbarely in the water giving me justenough thrust to glide slowly forward—I find I am holding mybreath watching for the sign, then—about twenty feet ahead a lilypad moves as a deep-bodied troutpushes by its stem . . . silently nowI make a cast: if I am lucky my flywill land on a pad near the fish!

Then with a slight tip to the rod, myfly is 'ringing' the surface of thewater and spaloosh—the fight is on!

Because the tackle I use is light,and the lily pads are thick I do losea lot of fish ... but the sport! Theexcitement! The battle! It's worthevery moment I have him on myline. Would you believe Moss hasyielded me fish up to three pounds?

Then, when the action at the lilypads subsides, I drift over thebeaver lodge changing my fly to anymph; or if that fails, to the redand white flatfish. Silently I trailmy line over the deep water up tothe head of the lake then, turning,I bring the canoe back along theside of the floating vegetation.When the fish' strike in Moss theystrike hard, so I keep the fly rodright out over the edge of thecanoe. This gives it lots of springaction and prevents that first lungefrom ending in a broken leader.

The lakes I have talked abouthere will give the resident, or visitor to the Fraser Valley, a completeweek of exploratory camping andangling enjoyment. — .--.

Back in the 1920's when therewas a fish hatchery on the Harrison Lake, a large number of smallponds, streams and lakes in thisarea were stocked, and quite a num-

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