Drinnan Lake, British Columbia: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  In British Columbia, Drinnan Lake belongs to Regional District of Central Kootenay. Everything around it is lake country bush. It runs to roughly 11 hectares — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. The edge runs 1.3 km or so, easy to work in an afternoon. It is high ground by British Columbia standards. Start from Nelson, 46 km down the road. The nearest city of size is Kelowna, 126 km away. The nearest boundary is well away, so one set of rules covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Drinnan Lake

  No figure exists for depth, so let the water show you. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Survey and observation records for Regional District of Central Kootenay include rainbow trout, sockeye salmon, mountain whitefish, largescale sucker and cutthroat trout. Protected fish appear in the records for this area, so treat the list as information, not an invitation. Anyone new to Drinnan Lake should walk it once before setting up.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Average temperature peaks around 11°C in August and bottoms out near -10°C in December. Winter puts a hard lid on this one. Expect a solid lid for months and a thaw around mid May. The open-water window runs from around mid May to about early November in an average year. Early summer and early autumn carry the open-water season. Plan around that when you fish Drinnan Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. A campsite lies 310 m away for anyone staying over. For the trout, small spinners and a box of nymphs cover both approaches. Take the rules with you rather than trusting memory. Keep proof of licence with you rather than in the car. For a change of water, Valhalla Lake is 2.4 km distant. Treat Drinnan Lake as unsettled until someone local tells you otherwise.