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

• Overview

  The Regional District of East Kootenay end of British Columbia holds Cartwright Lake. What surrounds it is pine and birch. At about 42 hectares, a day is enough to walk the shoreline properly. Around 2.8 km of margin, front to back. Head to Radium Hot Springs, 33 km away, for anything you forgot. Calgary sits 166 km out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. The county line is nowhere near, so one local authority covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Cartwright Lake

  Our records hold no depth for this water. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Species logged across Regional District of East Kootenay include rainbow trout, mountain whitefish and sockeye salmon. Several of these carry legal protection or closed seasons; the rulebook comes before the rod. Fish Cartwright Lake where the bottom changes rather than where it looks deep.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages here run 12°C at the top of summer and -11°C at the bottom of winter. The freeze arrives properly here and holds. Once it clears, about early May, the fishing comes on quickly. Expect the water usable from around early May until roughly early November. Just after the ice goes and just before it returns, the fishing lifts. Time your trip to Cartwright Lake by conditions rather than dates.

• Tackle & Baits

  No public source sets out the position on this bank. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. A platform or pier sits within 310 m. There is camping recorded roughly 380 m off. For the trout, small spinners and a box of nymphs cover both approaches. Rules differ from one water to the next round here. Keep proof of licence with you rather than in the car. Failing this one, try Topaz Lake, 2.8 km away. Where Cartwright Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.