Ross Moore Lake lies only a few kilometres east of Lac Le Jeune, but the tracks between them are too rough to drive, so you come in the long way round. What waits at the end is a small forest lake with dead trees standing in the water along its edge, and a long reputation for rainbows bigger than a lake this size seems able to grow.
The shape is simple, and it is all edge. High-country forest comes down to the shore, swampy margins run into the water in places, and flooded timber stands off the bank. Beyond that edge is the open water of the middle. A small recreation site with a cartop launch sits on the south-east shore, and a cabin stands on the north shore.
The drowned trees are where to start. Standing timber gives trout cover close to the shallows where the insects grow, so a fish can feed in the weed and be back under a branch in a second. Work along the timber in a canoe or float tube early and late in the day, and expect to lose a fly or two to it.
The open middle is for the hours when the edge goes quiet. Nothing here tells you where the drop-offs are, so read the water yourself: look for the colour change where the shallows give way to deep water, or sound it, and fish that line.
The way in is part of the find. The recreation site is reached by a rough road that may need four-wheel drive, while the old tracks from the east end of Lac Le Jeune make a better walk than a drive: a few kilometres through the forest from one lake to the other, with a rod in your hand.
A second small lake, Fred, lies close by and shares the same name for big fish. It is the obvious next question once you have Ross Moore worked out.
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
BC allows one fly on the line, and the lake’s own rule is a single hook, so trollers leave the treble-hooked lures at home. Along the timber, cast a damselfly nymph or a small leech tight to the trees on an intermediate line and bring it out in slow pulls. If it hangs up too often, go to a floating line and a lighter fly fished higher in the water. Over the drop-off, hang a chironomid pupa under an indicator set just off the bottom, and change depth before you change the fly. On evenings with sedges about, a dry sedge skated past the timber is worth trying. When the fish follow and turn away, change to a smaller, darker pattern. A heavier tippet than usual earns its keep around wood.
Access and safety
From Kamloops, drive south on the Lac Le Jeune Road and turn off onto McConnell Road. It crosses the pipeline twice; after the second crossing it narrows and turns rough, and four-wheel drive may be needed. The recreation site is on the left about 5 km along. Another route reaches it from the Long Lake Road side, also rough. The site is small and first come, first served, with pit toilets, tent sites and a cartop launch; dogs must be leashed. The old roads from the east end of Lac Le Jeune hold puddles that seem to have no bottom. Bear and moose use the forest around Lac Le Jeune next door, so keep a clean camp here too.