Butterfly Lake, British Columbia: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  Look for Butterfly Lake in Regional District of Kitimat-Stikine, British Columbia. Height above sea level is 1,510 metres. It covers about 5 hectares, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. On size it sits at the modest end of our Regional District of Kitimat-Stikine list. Nearest place of any size is Petersburg, 107 km away. Wrangell is 119 km away, with Juneau at 187 km. One jurisdiction covers this water end to end.

• Where to Fish on Butterfly Lake

  No chart reached our records; the first cast is your sounding. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. County-wide records name pink salmon, Chum salmon, Coho salmon and sockeye salmon. Some of the species recorded here are protected or tightly regulated, so check what may be targeted before you fish. At Butterfly Lake the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Temperature averages peak at 11°C in July and bottom out at -9°C in January. Hard water is a season in its own right here. Hard cover is dependable here; it goes around early May. Climate figures give an open season running early May to early November. May into June fishes hardest, and September gives a second good stretch before the lid returns. Butterfly Lake runs to that rhythm year in and year out.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public sources are silent on who controls the bank. There is no mapped parking or launch nearby, which keeps numbers down. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Check whether a boat is allowed before you tow one. Keep proof of licence with you rather than in the car. Yehiniko Lake sits 24 km off and takes the overflow. Confirm before you fish Butterfly Lake.