Bone Lake Fishing in Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako, British Columbia

• Overview

  This water sits in Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako, British Columbia. The setting is pine and birch. At about 51 hectares, a day is enough to walk the shoreline properly. Around 5.6 km of bank, which is a long day on foot. Fort St. James at 14 km is the nearest place to stop. Vanderhoof follows at 49 km, then Prince George at 104 km. It sits well inside the county, so one set of rules covers it.

• Where to Fish on Bone Lake

  No figure exists for depth, so let the water show you. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Across Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako, recorded fish include sockeye salmon, Coho salmon, Chinook salmon, pink salmon and Chum salmon. Several of these carry legal protection or closed seasons; the rulebook comes before the rod. On Bone Lake that means starting tight and working out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages here run 14°C at the top of summer and -12°C at the bottom of winter. Spring and autumn carry the fishing; summer and winter test it. Winter locks it down, and mid April brings it back. Ice usually gives way near mid April, and forms again about mid November. The open run goes from the thaw to the freeze, and April through October covers most of it. At Bone Lake the season follows that pattern closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  The rules here are undocumented as far as public sources go. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. Nothing is listed nearby for parking or launching a boat. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Season dates differ by species, so read the table. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. Nahounli Lake sits 3 km off and takes the overflow. Where Bone Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.