Twin Lakes
Twin Lakes
June 28th was the first time I actually tried fishing Twin Lakes. Tried being the key word. Yes, as much luck that I usually have fishing, I do have my off days. There is still lots of snow in the high country yet and I do like the roads to dry out a bit before I hit the high mountain roads so as not to chew them up in their soft state.
I zeroed the odometer at the old rail line just past the airport on Highway 97 heading out from Penticton. Just past the Kaleden Junction I turned right at Km. 9 on the White Lake Road. The road winds through the forested area until Km 13.6 where the exit to the Saint Andrews by the Lake Golf course gate is on the right. This is a nice little course with one nice hole with the green on an island.
At Km 16.4 the White Lake Astrosphysical Observatory is of to the left. This is open to the public in July and August with guided tours on the weekends. From here to Twin Lakes the country become open with sagebrush covered hills. At 17.2 Km the Fairview - White Lake Road heads off to the left.
The next intersection is at Km 23.3 where the Twin Lakes Road takes off to the Right. Keep to the left on the White Lake Road, then stay right at the Grand Oro Road. Then at Km 24.5 turn right on the East View Road you are soon down to the public access area at Km. 25.4. Be aware that the landing tends to be very loose and you often see where vehicles spin their wheels and have difficulty getting back out.
Putting the canoe in the water I spent two hours in the early evening trailing a shrimp and then a white and red spoon with just one weak strike on each. This in spite of the slow but steady rises around the lake. What fish that broke the surface looked like they may have been carp which I’ve heard inhabit the lake along with the annually stocked rainbow and brook trout.
All in all a pleasant outing, but never far from a home as the lake shore is about two thirds developed.
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Glen Lake
There are many ways into Glen Lake, which ended up being fortunate on this, my first trip into the lake. Edda and Stephanie Fox and I headed west from Summerland on the North Prairie Valley Road. At the Faulder junction we kept to the left and headed past the Bald Range on the Princeton road.
Down we dropped into the valley bottom again and crossed Trout Creek a few times before eventually coming to the Trout Creek Ranch. Just before we crossed another bridge Glen Lake Forest Service Road took off to the right. I zeroed the trip meter here. The road then crossed the Trans Canada Hiking Trail and traversed some semi open grassland before swinging into a fairly narrow draw with a small creek.
This portion of the trip was fairly well forested and with lots of raspberries and other bushes along the roadsides. As it would turn out these berries were very important. We turned right at first two major intersections at 5.6 and 6.3 kilometres. At 7.7 kilometres the Big Fir Forest Service road takes off to the right, which should lead us to the Eneas Lakes at some later date. However, we took the left hand road and at just over 12 kilometres found Glen Lake off to the right hand side of the road.
There are several private properties here, but we found our way down to the public access at the southern end. It was not easy to reach deep water casting from shore, but I did manage a few strikes. This is another lake that really requires a car top boat or a canoe, so goes it onto my list to try once more when I am again able to carry a canoe. There is a small passage through the weeds from this section to the main portion of the lake.
The lake is stocked regularly with a good supply of both brook trout and rainbow trout. At an elevation of 1144 metres and a surface area of over 10 hectares fishing should be good through most of the season. Reportedly the fish can reach 1.5 kilograms (3 lb.).
Heading back home, we paused to pick some wild raspberries. Just after we stopped, there was a loud crash. An animal crashing through the bush? fairly loud for that! A tree falling in the bush?
Once we got back in the jeep and carried around the next bend we had the answer. A tree of at least 18 inches in diameter had broken from the bank and was across the road. By the time I was about half way though the trunk I realize that by the time I cleared the path and got out my wife at home would be worried and I would be in agony with my back. Time to start carrying a chain saw in the back on these trips.
Recalling the kilometre signs were declining as we had approached the lake I took another look at a map and decided to back track and come out on the more traveled route at Peachland. This, as it turns out would, have been the easiest route to the lake.
This alternate route involves going north from Summerland on highway 97. In Peachland turn left at the stop light on highway and head up hill on Princeton Avenue. Once you run out of pavement go another 5.4 kilometres and turn left on the Headwaters Road. At 15 kilometres take another left and once you pass the 18 kilometre sign keep you eyes open for two roads off to the left which should take you down to the public access point at Glen Lake.
Munro Lake
Years ago I might have been to Munro Lake: I was at a lake in the general vicinity, but was not 100 % sure of the name. Today, with it plotted on my G. P. S., I was going to see if I was at the right lake then. I had also been studying several maps, so had a rough idea of where I was heading.
Again we headed west from Summerland on the Summerland-Princeton Road, past the Bald Range, until we dropped down to Trout Creek again. Just after the second bridge we took the Munro Forest Service Road, which appeared on the right. We quickly crossed the Trans Canada Trail and began climbing the side hill with its grassland and mature trees.
It was quite likely that most of the traffic was going into Munro Lake, so we would generally ignore the smaller side roads. 8 kilometres along we took the left hand branch and at 9.7 kilometres the right hand fork in the road. There many changes since my last trip years ago, so the decisions of which road to take were taken with the aid of the G. P. S. and a little intuition.
Sitting at kilometre 11.8 I was really torn, but eventually decided on the left hand fork. At
kilometre 15.2 I took the right hand turn and soon ended up at the lake. There were a few
camping spots and an outdoor loo. There is also a private cabin on the lake -- please
respect it.
In response to our questions, we were informed that the fishing was fairly good with fish up to 18 inches, but it was much better to use a boat. We did not have the canoe with us so after a quick lunch, Edda, Stephanie and I headed along a trail along the shore to try our luck. On Stephanie’s first cast, a decent sized fish smashed into her float. In fact she ended up having much more action than Edda and myself, although most seemed to be after the float. I have since suggested that she do away with the fly and leader and just attach a hook to the float.This trail was somewhat overgrown and is in need of someone to go through with a machete and possibly a chainsaw.
This is a nice lake, fairly well treed, but the far end appeared to be marshy. Possibly the right hand fork at 11.8 kilometres would have taken us to that end, which was more like the lake I remembered. Munro Lake is about 20 hectares and at an elevation of 1555 metres should have reasonable fishing though out the season. It is reasonably deep with a maximum depth of 8.2 metres and an average depth of 4.5 metres. Although records show it has both brook trout and rainbow trout, the last six annual stockings have been 3000 rainbow trout.
This is fairly good deer country, both for white tail and mule deer, so it is an ideal lake for a combined hunting and fishing trip. There should also be a fair amount of grouse around. There’s nothing I like better than wings and legs floured and slowly fried up in margarine. Note though, that regulations require that you keep one wing on the carcass until you get to your permanent residence, unless of course you have eaten the bird, so be prepared to cook the rest of the bird up as well.
One thing I noticed in some areas of the trip was a lot of windfalls amongst the trees. All this fuel in the woods presents a real danger if a camper is careless with fire or there is a lightning strike or other ignition point. Cutting these windfalls for campfires or for the fireplace at home would greatly reduce the risk.
