Kathleen Lake near Port McNeill: Fishing Spots, Seasons and Access

• Overview

  Kathleen Lake belongs to Regional District of Mount Waddington, British Columbia. The shore lies 11 km out. At some 1.29 sq km it is far too large to cover on foot in a day. At about 11 km of edge, most people work one arm at a time. It ranks high for size among our Regional District of Mount Waddington listings. The town to know is Port McNeill, 26 km out. The nearest city of size is Vancouver, 325 km away. It sits well inside its county, with no border complications.

• Where to Fish on Kathleen Lake

  We hold no depth figure for this one. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. Survey and observation records for Regional District of Mount Waddington include Coho salmon, rainbow trout, Chinook salmon, sockeye salmon and Chum salmon. Several of these carry legal protection or closed seasons; the rulebook comes before the rod. Fish Kathleen Lake where the bottom changes rather than where it looks deep.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Expect August to average close to 13°C, with December the cold end at about 2°C. Seasons here are moderate, and the fishing runs most of the year. In a normal year the cover is thin and short-lived. Autumn steadies things again once the heat lets go. Time your trip to Kathleen Lake by conditions rather than dates.

• Tackle & Baits

  The paperwork position is blank for this one. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. Nothing formal is recorded here: no ramp, no car park, no marked path. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Where a permit is needed, the nearest town usually sells it. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. If the gate is shut, Benson Lake at 3.5 km is the nearest alternative. Rules at Kathleen Lake are worth checking on the day.