Mathew Lake near Merritt: Fishing Spots, Seasons and Access

• Overview

  Mathew Lake is set in Thompson-Nicola Regional District, British Columbia. The water sits 1,046 metres up. At 6 hectares it is the sort of place you fish for an evening rather than a day. It is a small entry by Thompson-Nicola Regional District standards. Merritt sits 12 km from here and is the nearest stop. Logan Lake lies 50 km off, Princeton another 67 km. Rules here are straightforward: one set of provincial rules.

• Where to Fish on Mathew Lake

  Nothing we hold settles how deep this runs. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Fish documented in Thompson-Nicola Regional District include Chinook salmon, sockeye salmon, Coho salmon, rainbow trout and pink salmon. Some of the species recorded here are protected or tightly regulated, so check what may be targeted before you fish. The near bank of Mathew Lake is often the one people ignore.

• Seasonal Patterns

  In an average year August sits at 16°C and January at -7°C. Hard water is a season in its own right here. The open season starts with the thaw, near enough early April. Ice clears near early April and comes back about late November in a typical year. Right after break-up, and again as the nights sharpen, is when to go. That is the shape of the year on Mathew Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing on record says whether the bank is open or closed. 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. Ask in the nearest town if you are unsure. Some stretches are reserved and marked as such on the ground. The nearest alternative is Garcia Lake, 1.1 km out. None of that is settled for Mathew Lake in what we hold.