Roberts Lake gets a lot of mentions by local anglers when discussing trout fishing around Campbell River.
One guy had mentioned that he took his grandma, wife and kids and a dog fishing in his boat and didn’t catch anything. I asked him how much time did you spend fishing and he laughed and said not much.
One thing to know is that Roberts Lake is well suited for family outings but when it comes to fishing you can catch rainbows and cutthroat and, yes, even small kokanee. During the afternoon the wind can come blowing across the lake and at times you have to stay on shore and get out when the wind dies down.
The lake was last stocked in the mid-nineties and today a good number of trout can be caught if you follow a few guidelines. You can fish from a boat and the location in the middle of the lake is fished deep with blue or pink plugs. Fly anglers can fish the shoreline in early morning or late evening. Keep your worms at home! There is a bait ban and any fish over 50 cm has to be released; hooks are single barbless. A number of years ago, when the fishing derby was held, a few kokanee were caught while trolling small lures or plugs.
Roberts Lake is a 20-minute drive north of Campbell River. The recreation day use area is marked on a sign just before you get to the resort and you can park and walk in and go fishing along the creek bed. The rest area is located on the highway and has picnic tables, an outdoor toilet and garbage receptacles.
A good gravel road takes you along the lake and a good boat launch is there; the sign has all information as to where you can park after getting your boat in the water.
John Aenadie in past years has it down pat when it comes to catching trout and I have yet to find out what plug he is using. Fly anglers can use Clouser minnow patterns and when the weather gets warmer, the trout go down. Multicoloured flies seem to work just fine.
At the north end of Roberts Lake there is a camp for kids but because of COVID-19 it wasn’t in operation last year. By boat or canoe you can go across the lake and on the eastern side of the lake, a sandy beach is there to rest up, gear up and go fishing. Cabins are available and at the moment you can go online and reserve. I get a chance to stop in and see what is happening on a week-to-week basis. The restaurant is not open and your next stop for food will be a drive 20 minutes to the Sayward Junction.
If the wind is blowing up, a close lake to go fishing is Cedar Lake, which has a day use area only, but fishing is productive on those days where you can get a small boat or belly boat in and fish the shoreline.
When the weather heats up in July a number of hoppers are in the upper elevation areas and those small critters make good bait in other lakes except Roberts Lake.
Remember, the free family fishing weekend is June 18 to 20 and a license is free here in B.C. on that day.