Crater Lake Fishing Guide, Cariboo Regional District, British Columbia

• Overview

  Out in Cariboo Regional District, British Columbia, sits Crater Lake. The bank is 1,344 metres above sea level. Surface area is around 11 hectares, which gives you real water without needing a boat. The full circuit measures close to 1.2 km on foot. On size it sits at the modest end of our Cariboo Regional District list. Quesnel lies 81 km from the water. Hanceville follows at 114 km, then Anahim Lake at 118 km. No county line comes close, which keeps the paperwork simple.

• Where to Fish on Crater Lake

  We hold no depth figure for this one. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. Survey and observation records for Cariboo Regional District include sockeye salmon, Chinook salmon, bull trout, Coho salmon and longnose sucker. Some of the species recorded here are protected or tightly regulated, so check what may be targeted before you fish. At Crater Lake the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Long-term averages put August at about 12°C and January near -11°C. Fishing here follows the temperature more than the calendar. Winter fishing happens on the ice here, with open water back around late April. Ice usually gives way near late April, and forms again about mid November. The strongest runs come at either end of the open season. Expect Crater Lake to follow that timing.

• Tackle & Baits

  The access position is unclear from public sources. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. You can camp 740 m off, which suits an early start. Light line and small metal for the trout; a fly rod earns its place on calm evenings. Where a permit is needed, the nearest town usually sells it. Night access is frequently treated as a separate matter. Should this one be busy, Marmot Lake is 11 km off. Nothing on Crater Lake should be assumed from this page alone.