Hook Lake, British Columbia: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  British Columbia holds Hook Lake, in Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen. Elevation runs to 1,274 metres. Surface area is around 13 hectares, which gives you real water without needing a boat. Shoreline comes to about 2.3 km, small enough to learn in a day. The town to know is Princeton, 37 km out. It is 79 km to Kelowna, the nearest city. It sits well inside its county, with no border complications.

• Where to Fish on Hook Lake

  Depth figures are not published for this one. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen records list sockeye salmon, rainbow trout and Coho salmon among the fish reported. Protected fish appear in the records for this area, so treat the list as information, not an invitation. Hook Lake gives up its fish to patience rather than distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The year swings from about -7°C in December to roughly 15°C in August. Cold winters and warm summers give a wide working range. Ice-out usually falls in mid April, and the weeks after it fish hardest. The open-water window runs from around mid April to about late November in an average year. Late spring and early autumn carry the year between them. Plan around that when you fish Hook Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. You can camp about 260 m away, going by the mapping. Light line and small metal for the trout; a fly rod earns its place on calm evenings. Some banks are open only from a marked point. Signs go up and come down, so check on the day. Should this one be busy, Upper Ketcham Lake is 1.7 km off. Ask locally about Hook Lake if anything is unclear.