Lundbom sits in dry, open grassland east of Merritt, country that looks closer to desert than trout water. In late June, while most boats on the lake are trolling, the rainbows come close enough to the grass shore to reach with a fly rod from the bank. After dark, with no town light to speak of, the Milky Way comes up over the water.
Think of it in three parts: the open water, which most people troll; the shoreline, which the fly anglers work in early summer and autumn; and the country around it, with a smaller lake on the way in and trails running off into the hills.
The open water is where most of the lake’s fishing happens, from canoes and aluminum boats put in at the launch on the east side. Lundbom was once known for very big rainbows. Heavy fishing took the edge off that, and these days it is mostly a lake of plenty of fish, many of them modest, and the odd big one still turning up.
The shoreline is the find. In late June, and again in autumn, fish come close enough to reach from the bank, and the grass shore gives you room to cast with nothing behind you. Start on the open side of the lake in the evening and walk until you find fish moving.
The country around it repays a day. You drive past Marquart Lake a few minutes before you reach Lundbom, and trails for riders and hikers leave from the campground. Weekends are busy here; come midweek if you can, and fish both lakes with room to spare, checking the regulations for Marquart Lake first.
When you want bigger fish and a different kind of lake, head back to the highway and south past Merritt, where Courtney sits beside Highway 5A south of Merritt, a roadside water with two deep holes that most traffic drives straight past.
Fish in this water
Each fish is rated by its strongest evidence. A rating says how sure we are a fish is here, not how many there are, whether it is worth fishing for or whether you may keep it.
Likely
Older records here, recent stocking, a local guide or fly shop, a guide listing, or recent records on connected water nearby.
How to fish it
From a boat, anchor where the shoal drops off and fish a chironomid pupa under an indicator, set just off the bottom, or let it sink on a floating line without one and bring it back with a slow hand-twist. If nothing takes, change the depth before the fly. When the hatch is off, a leech on a sinking line, retrieved in long slow pulls along the drop, covers more water. BC allows one fly on the line, so change flies rather than adding one.
From shore, in late June and autumn, a damselfly nymph or leech on a floating line, cast along the edge rather than straight out, keeps the fly in the shallow margin where fish are cruising. Keep walking the bank rather than standing in one spot.
Access and safety
Lundbom lies less than half an hour from Merritt. Drive east on Highway 5A/97C, the Okanagan Connector, and turn off at the signs for Lundbom Lake Road; the gravel takes you past Marquart Lake and on to Lundbom. Expect cattle guards and potholes, dust when it’s dry and mud after rain. The recreation site has two campgrounds: the west one has horse corrals, and the east one has sunny, level sites near the water. Sites have tables and fire pits, with pit toilets nearby. There is no power or drinking water, and the camping is paid. Cell reception is better on the open side of the lake than in the trees. Black bears use this country, so keep a clean camp.