Burnell - Sawmill Lake

Burnell - Sawmill Lake

It’s nice to wake up to a beautiful sunny day and look forward to getting up into the hills. I whipped through my chores and headed south to pick up Edda Fox and then her kids Stephanie and Aaron from school. (Yes, this was a couple years ago)  We had planned to spend the afternoon exploring around Sawmill Lake, also known as Burnell Lake.

Heading north on the Fairview - White Lake Road we were surrounded with hills white with Saskatoon berry blooms. Thoughts quickly turned to Saskatoon jelly and pies, but that will be a while off yet. About half way between the Fairview and Secrest Road the road to Sawmill headed off to the west over a little cattle guard. There is a large sign asking users to stick to the roads and not to litter, but unfortunately not all people respect this.

We took the first major intersection to the left. I was trying to use the GPS to fine- tune my directions, but sometimes these finer details do go wrong. The next major intersection I knew went to either side of the lake, but the left hand fork was the easiest to travel. we went past a corral and finally arrived at the lake.

The lake is well posted as a catch and release fishery. Other regulations to note are the December 1^st to March 31^st closure to all fishing, as well artificial fly with single barb-less hook for the balance of the year with a bait ban in place. Note that the release fishery applies to trout and char only. It appears that pumpkinseed and smallmouth bass have also been recorded here, but I’ve yet to see them.

Records show an annual stocking of between 200 and 500 fish a year, but the aeration project has worked wonders in maintaining some great fishing. This does create a bit of a hazard for those venturing out on the ice as to the thin spots that can develop around the fences. Asked point blank, the people of the National Park Feasibility Study advised me that stocking would no longer be allowed in this and other lakes if the park is established.

This was not yet the first weekend in May and I calculate that there were at least twenty parties settled in for a weekend of fishing. We, however, were just going to walk around the lake.

Buttercups and spring beauty flowers abounded and I noticed a few plants that I think would prove to be rice root, though it was still to early for the rice root to be in bloom though. I also took some pictures of some very tiny flowers that I will have to identify, as well as a downy woodpecker. No painted turtles were out sunbathing this day, but we used to see lots of them.

There were many spots to camp and lots of outdoor loos around the lake, so although there were lots of people it did not seem all that crowded. Alas we did spot a couple of old mattresses and picked up a fairly full garbage bag of bottles and cans.

As we sat eating our lunch we watched one angler play and land a fish approximately 18 inches in length -- a nice fish on any lake. I spent some time talking to a couple who told me it is quite common to land fish around the five pound mark, with some larger ones sometimes coming to the hook. Being catch and release, he said some anglers are on a first name basis with many of the fish.

This is definitely not the south Okanagan’s best kept secret, but if you want a reasonably easy to get at lake with large fish and haven’t tried it yet, do give it a whirl.

Tight Lines and keep backing the garbage out.