Hiahkwah Lake Fishing near Barrière, British Columbia

• Overview

  Hiahkwah Lake lies in Thompson-Nicola Regional District, British Columbia. The water sits 1,481 metres up. With some 26 hectares of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. The shoreline runs about 5.2 km, so it pays to pick a stretch and stay with it. It sits higher than most water we list in British Columbia. Some 30 km away sits Barrière, the nearest settlement. It is 52 km to Kamloops, the nearest city. The nearest edge is a long way off, so local rules apply throughout.

• Where to Fish on Hiahkwah Lake

  Depth remains unrecorded, so treat the first session as a survey. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Public occurrence data for Thompson-Nicola Regional District names Chinook salmon, sockeye salmon, Coho salmon, rainbow trout and pink salmon. At least one recorded species is protected in parts of its range; read the local rules before targeting anything. Hiahkwah Lake responds to conditions more than to tactics.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Between January at about -8°C and August at about 13°C, the water has a wide range to work through. Winter closes the water for a while, and the reopening is worth catching. Count on hard cover from midwinter, and open water from late April. Expect the water usable from around late April until roughly mid November. Just after the ice goes and just before it returns, the fishing lifts. The season on Hiahkwah Lake rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  The paperwork position is blank for this one. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. No made access appears within a short radius, so plan to park on a verge and walk. Light line and small metal for the trout; a fly rod earns its place on calm evenings. Rules for this water may differ from the county norm. Some stretches are reserved and marked as such on the ground. For a change of water, Stadia Lake is 2 km distant. Check the current arrangement for Hiahkwah Lake.