Fishing at Eugene Lake, Cariboo Regional District, British Columbia

• Overview

  Eugene Lake is one of the Cariboo Regional District listings for British Columbia. The surface lies 1,154 metres up. It measures some 1.26 sq km, and wind has room to build across it. You are looking at roughly 7.1 km of shoreline, with plenty of water between access points. The town to know is 100 Mile House, 46 km out. The big place round here is Kamloops, 91 km distant. No county line comes close, which keeps the paperwork simple.

• Where to Fish on Eugene Lake

  No figure exists for depth, so let the water show you. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Cariboo Regional District records list sockeye salmon, Chinook salmon, bull trout and Coho salmon among the fish reported. Some of the species recorded here are protected or tightly regulated, so check what may be targeted before you fish. On Eugene Lake the quiet end is the one worth the extra effort.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Long-term averages put August at about 14°C and January near -8°C. Winter closes the water for a while, and the reopening is worth catching. Winter fishing happens on the ice here, with open water back around mid April. Break-up sits around mid April on average, with the water closing again about mid November. September and October fish steadily right up to the freeze. Eugene Lake runs to its own calendar within the local pattern.

• Tackle & Baits

  We have no record of the rules that apply on this bank. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. No made access is recorded, so a short walk in is the likely arrangement. For the trout, small spinners and a box of nymphs cover both approaches. Where the road in crosses private land, ask first. Some water is controlled locally without a sign saying so. Knight Lake sits 1.4 km off and takes the overflow. Rules at Eugene Lake are worth checking on the day.