Botts Lake near Radium Hot Springs: Fishing Spots, Seasons and Access

• Overview

  Look for Botts Lake in the Regional District of East Kootenay part of British Columbia. The water sits 1,097 metres up. Surface area runs to about 4 hectares — small enough to read in one session. Most waters listed here for Regional District of East Kootenay are larger. 29 km away sits Radium Hot Springs, the nearest town. Calgary sits 162 km out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. One jurisdiction covers this water end to end.

• Where to Fish on Botts Lake

  Depth is not on record here, which means reading the ground instead. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Fish documented in Regional District of East Kootenay include rainbow trout, mountain whitefish, sockeye salmon and bull trout. Protected fish appear in the records for this area, so treat the list as information, not an invitation. At Botts Lake the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate normals give 15°C for July and -10°C for January. The year runs cold to warm and back, with clear transitions. Ice fishing carries the winter, and the water opens about mid April. The season between ice runs from about mid April to mid November. Look to early summer and the first cool weeks of autumn. That shapes the year on Botts Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Ownership and access are not documented in what we hold. Overnight stays are possible 150 m away. For the trout, small spinners and a box of nymphs cover both approaches. Read any posted signs at the access point rather than assuming. Rules for boats are stricter than rules for the bank in many places. Failing this one, try Big Fish Lake, 2.1 km away. Nothing here settles the position at Botts Lake for certain.