Lower Taseko Lake in Cariboo Regional District: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Lower Taseko Lake lies in Cariboo Regional District, British Columbia. Land around it is rolling bush. Surface area runs to some 21.23 sq km, so a boat and a plan are both worth having. With about 38 km of shoreline, local advice saves a lot of walking. Size puts it in the front rank of our Cariboo Regional District list. Hanceville is the closest town at 79 km. Further out sit Pemberton (122 km) and Mount Currie (125 km). The nearest boundary is a fair way off.

• Where to Fish on Lower Taseko Lake

  Our records hold no depth for this water. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Across Cariboo Regional District, recorded fish include sockeye salmon, Chinook salmon, bull trout and Coho salmon. Several of these carry legal protection or closed seasons; the rulebook comes before the rod. Lower Taseko Lake responds to conditions more than to tactics.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages here run 11°C at the top of summer and -9°C at the bottom of winter. A full turn of seasons, with the strongest sport on either side of summer. Break-up comes around early May, and the run that follows is short and strong. On the long-run averages the water opens up around early May and starts locking again about mid November. June through September is the settled part of the year, with the shoulders busier for fish. It holds true on Lower Taseko Lake more years than not.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. Mapping records no facilities at all near this water. For the trout, small spinners and a box of nymphs cover both approaches. A landowner's word beats anything printed elsewhere. Where tickets apply, they are sold in the nearest town rather than on the bank. Should this one be busy, Lastman Lake is 5.7 km off. Check the position on Lower Taseko Lake before loading the car.