Long John Lake Fishing Guide, Cariboo Regional District, British Columbia

• Overview

  You will find Long John Lake in Cariboo Regional District, British Columbia. Height above sea level is 1,187 metres. Roughly 26 hectares: a morning covers one end, an afternoon the other. Shoreline comes to about 2.4 km, small enough to learn in a day. 49 km away sits Quesnel, the nearest town. Hanceville follows at 100 km, then Williams Lake at 102 km. No boundary runs near, so the local rules hold throughout.

• Where to Fish on Long John Lake

  We hold no survey for this water; read the slope of the shoreline instead. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Across Cariboo Regional District, recorded fish include sockeye salmon, Chinook salmon and bull trout. Protected fish appear in the records for this area, so treat the list as information, not an invitation. Fish Long John Lake to its features, not to its size.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The range across the year is -10°C to 13°C. Winter puts a hard lid on this one. Hard water holds through the cold months, breaking up near late April. Break-up sits around late April on average, with the water closing again about mid November. The first weeks of open water and the last are the ones to plan for. Plan any trip to Long John Lake around it.

• Tackle & Baits

  There is no clear statement anywhere on who can fish it. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. No built facilities appear in mapping around this water. For the trout, small spinners and a box of nymphs cover both approaches. Check locally before you travel, because a wasted drive is a long one. Some water is controlled locally without a sign saying so. Margaret Lake, 13 km away, makes the obvious fallback. Rules at Long John Lake are worth checking on the day.