Desiree Lake, British Columbia: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  Within Regional District of Kitimat-Stikine, British Columbia, you have Desiree Lake. It stands 552 metres above sea level. It runs to roughly 24 hectares — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. Bank access stretches around 2.4 km in total. The town to know is Wrangell, 138 km out. Further out sit Petersburg (162 km) and Ketchikan (197 km). The county line is nowhere near, so one local authority covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Desiree Lake

  No depth figure appears in our records, so the bank has to tell you. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. Records held for Regional District of Kitimat-Stikine cover pink salmon, Chum salmon, Coho salmon, sockeye salmon and Chinook salmon. Several of these carry legal protection or closed seasons; the rulebook comes before the rod. At Desiree Lake the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Average temperature peaks around 14°C in July and bottoms out near -8°C in January. The year runs cold to warm and back, with clear transitions. The lid usually goes in mid April, which opens the strongest weeks of the year. Break-up sits around mid April on average, with the water closing again about mid November. The weeks after the thaw and the ones before the freeze are the strongest. Keep it in mind when planning a trip to Desiree Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  No public source sets out the position on this bank. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. We find no slipway, car park or made path within a short radius, so treat access as rough. For the trout, small spinners and a box of nymphs cover both approaches. Sort the permit out before you load the car. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. If the gate is shut, Bob Quinn Lake at 2.5 km is the nearest alternative. Where Desiree Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.