Englishmen Lake near Merritt: Fishing Spots, Seasons and Access

• Overview

  Out in Thompson-Nicola Regional District, British Columbia, sits Englishmen Lake. Beyond the shoreline you have pine and birch. Small at around 4 hectares: two anglers spread out cover most of it. Our Thompson-Nicola Regional District list holds plenty of bigger water. Merritt is the closest place, 18 km off. Princeton lies 57 km off, Logan Lake another 60 km. No boundary runs near, so the local rules hold throughout.

• Where to Fish on Englishmen Lake

  No figure exists for depth, so let the water show you. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Records held for Thompson-Nicola Regional District cover Chinook salmon, sockeye salmon, Coho salmon and rainbow trout. At least one recorded species is protected in parts of its range; read the local rules before targeting anything. On Englishmen Lake a short move beats a long cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Long-term averages put August at about 15°C and December near -6°C. The year runs cold to warm and back, with clear transitions. Ice fishing carries the winter, and the water opens about mid April. Break-up near mid April, freeze-up near late November: that is the shape of an average year. Late spring and early autumn carry the year between them. That is the shape of the year on Englishmen Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public sources are silent on who controls the bank. No launch point is recorded nearby, so this is a bank water unless you carry a boat in. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Gates get locked out of season on water like this. Check whether bait restrictions apply before you buy any. Should this one be busy, Harmon Lake is 1.8 km off. For Englishmen Lake in particular, ask before you travel.